Another Zillow executive is facing legal action by rival Move Inc.
This time it is Curt Beardsley, who joined Zillow as vice president of industry development in March.
Move Inc., which operates Realtor.com and was recently acquired by News Corp. for $950 million, alleges in its lawsuit filed in Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County that Beardsley illegally dumped his stock in Move upon learning that co-worker and former executive Errol Samuelson was leaving Move to join Zillow.
After learning that inside information, Beardsely — who joined Move in 2005 and reported to Samuelson — allegedly sold 33,775 shares for a $224,000 gain even though he knew that Samuelson’s departure would “adversely affect the market price of Move’s stock.” The suit alleges that Beardsley failed to comply with Move’s Insider Trading Policy and the company’s Code of Conduct.
In a statement to GeekWire, Zillow said that Beardsley is a “valued and highly respected member of our team.” The company declined to comment further on the litigation.
You may recall that Samuelson and Zillow were sued shortly after he joined Zillow, with Move alleging that the executive misappropriated trade secrets and breached his fiduciary duty. In June, Washington state Superior Court Judge Barbara Linde granted a preliminary injunction against Zillow and Samuelson, a legal victory that essentially sidelined the former executive.
Zillow also has recently faced a series of lawsuits regarding employee behavior in the sales ranks at its Irvine, California office, including age discrimination and a sexual harassment lawsuits.
You can see the full copy of the suit here via Realuoso.
