Realtor.com frets Samuelson took knowledge of secret projects with him to Zillow | Bedford Hills Real Estate

In a lawsuit that seeks to prevent former realtor.com President Errol Samuelson from working for rival Zillow, Move Inc. and the National Association of Realtors say Samuelson was privy to two secret, yet-to-be-launched realtor.com projects — one that would provide “new consumer functionality” and the other which is “the modification of a major product.”

Filings in the case reveal that Samuelson’s would-be successor at Move, Curt Beardsley, was worried about the speed at which he would be expected to execute a plan to “save ListHub,” Move’s listing syndication subsidiary. Beardsley ended up following Samuelson to Zillow.

Move and NAR filed a lawsuit against Zillow and Samuelson for alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of trade secrets on March 17, less than two weeks after Samuelson unexpectedly jumped ship to become Zillow’s new chief industry development officer.
In a motion for a preliminary injunction filed on March 27, an attorney for Move argued Samuelson’s ”new position is so entwined with the role he had at Move that Samuelson cannot work for Zillow without relying upon trade secret information. Hence, the court should enjoin him from employment or consulting with Zillow.”

The court has not yet rendered a decision on the motion.

Such a motion is not uncommon in cases where a senior exec goes to work for one of the company’s biggest competitors, but courts are reluctant to grant such motions unless there are “troubling facts” involved, said I. Neel Chatterjee, a partner specializing in intellectual property at global law firm Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe LLP. Orrick is not involved with this case.




- See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/14/realtor-com-frets-samuelson-took-knowledge-of-secret-projects-with-him-to-zillow/?utm_source=20140414&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.Zg7KJaSd.dpuf

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