Attorney General William Tong, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and eight other state attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against RealPage Inc. for allegedly using its algorithmic pricing software to facilitate price fixing among landlords and monopolize the market for revenue management software. The complaint alleges that RealPage collects competitively sensitive rental data from landlords to train its algorithm, which then recommends prices, harming renters by reducing competition. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to end these practices and restore competition.
The complaint seeks an injunction to prohibit RealPage from continuing its alleged antitrust violations, including the use of its pricing algorithm to coordinate rents and maintain its monopoly in the commercial revenue management software market.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor and customer agreements with property management software providers like RealPage, focusing on clauses governing the sharing of competitively sensitive data (e.g., rental rates, lease terms) and the use of algorithmic pricing recommendations. Specific clauses to examine include data licensing terms, non-disclosure provisions, exclusivity requirements, and any language that could be interpreted as facilitating coordinated pricing among competitors. Agreements may need amendments to explicitly prohibit the use of shared data for price-fixing, ensure landlords retain full autonomy over final pricing decisions, and require transparency on how algorithms use competitor data. Additionally, review termination rights and audit provisions to monitor compliance with antitrust guidelines.
Entity
RealPage Inc.
Also known as: RealPage
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2024-press-releases/attorney-general-tong-joins-lawsuit-against-realpage-inc-for-alleged-antitrust-violations
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1364976/dl?inline
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
$29.6M
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a coalition of 48 states and territories in a $29.6 million settlement with Glenmark, a generic drug manufacturer, for allegedly conspiring to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and restrain trade for numerous generic prescription drugs. The settlement includes cooperation in ongoing litigations and internal reforms to ensure fair competition.
$29.6M
Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 48 states and territories in a $29.6 million settlement with Glenmark, a generic drug manufacturer, to resolve allegations of a widespread conspiracy to artificially inflate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for numerous generic prescription drugs. The settlement includes cooperation from Glenmark in ongoing multistate litigations and internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.
$18.0M
Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 42 attorneys general in a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for 23andMe, resolving allegations from a 2023 data breach that compromised the genetic data of 6.9 million customers. The settlement includes $150 million in allowed claims, with $18 million paid from bankruptcy funds, and requires enhanced data security measures for the new entity holding the data.
Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in suing to block the $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in theatrical film distribution and basic cable television licensing, which would harm consumers through higher prices and reduced quality.
Attorney General William Tong and 48 other attorneys general submitted comments to the FCC urging stronger rules to prevent scammers from accessing legitimate telephone numbers for illegal robocalls. The coalition is responding to the FCC's proposed rules and asks for measures such as stronger certification, reporting, and prohibitions on number cycling.
$45.0M
Attorney General Tong announced a $45 million multistate settlement with Block, Inc., the company behind Cash App, for misleading consumers about the safety of the platform, failing to protect users from fraud, and not providing promised fraud protection and resolution services. The settlement requires Block to implement major reforms including real customer support, transparent communications, and security commitments, and reaffirms Block's commitment to distribute between $75 million and $120 million to compensate consumers as part of a separate CFPB settlement.