Lawyers for plaintiffs in the proposed class action lawsuit said the evidence includes screenshots and numerous confidential witnesses. “Discovery is required to litigate this case.”
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that the Zillow Flex and Zillow Home Loans programs violate consumer protection laws have asked a judge to proceed with the case, saying they risk losing evidence if it is not submitted during discovery.
In a new legal filing Monday, plaintiffs’ attorneys objected to Zillow’s attempt to suspend discovery in the case. They said evidence in the case includes short-lived electronic material, along with testimony from confidential witnesses who may be forgotten.
“Suspension only prejudices plaintiffs by delaying relief while witnesses’ memories fade and electronically stored information risks being overwritten,” the plaintiffs wrote.
The plaintiffs said the alleged conduct was detailed in screenshots, program matrix indexes, public documents and “numerous confidential witnesses.”
“The key evidence here is dynamic and ephemeral: website and app variants, automated check default changes, program dashboards and ‘green, yellow, red’ rankings, compliance reminders, and internal messages regarding assignments and reassignment of leads are all at issue,” the plaintiffs wrote. “Staying away increases the risk that relevant information stored electronically will be stolen or lost, and memory is more likely to fade.”
The first complaint, filed in September 2025, focused on the portal’s Flex referral program, which has since been rebranded to Zillow Preferred.
Plaintiffs alleged that Zillow did not proactively explain the referral process to consumers. This includes matching buyers with Flex agents, who pay up to a 40% referral fee, or “success” fee. Plaintiffs say the fees are paid to consumers through high fees, in violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act.
The complaint was expanded to include Zillow Home Loans in November, with the plaintiffs alleging that the portal forces Flex members to push mortgage products on homebuyers, a violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). It also added a racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) count to account for intermediary participation in Zillow’s alleged scheme to drive up consumer costs.
In their new filing, the plaintiffs write that the complaint “extensively details RICO’s operations…”[and] It also alleges aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty based on management assignments imposed by Zillow and evidence from multiple witnesses showing that agents were pressured to prioritize Zillow’s interests over their clients’ interests. ”
Zillow did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new filing.
Zillow said in a recent filing that the class action lawsuit is based on a series of “nonsensical” events, including homebuyers believing they were connected to listing agents despite having tour agreements and buyer-broker agreements in place. Additionally, if a homebuyer wishes to contact a listing agent, the information will be “readily available” on each property page, the portal says.
Defendants in the case asked the judge to suspend discovery requests and dismiss the lawsuit.
Email Taylor Anderson
