In re: RealPage, Inc., Rental Software Antitrust Litigation (No. II)

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee denied the LRO Defendants’ motion to dismiss claims arising from alleged price-fixing through RealPage’s rental revenue-management software. The court held that the Multifamily Plaintiffs plausibly alleged that RealPage’s enhanced Lease Rent Options service used nonpublic competitor data in its pricing algorithm and that the operative complaint did not contradict earlier pleadings. The court also declined to resolve whether statements in earlier pleadings constituted evidentiary admissions at the motion-to-dismiss stage.

Holdings

1. The Multifamily Plaintiffs plausibly alleged that RealPage's enhanced LRO service collected and used nonpublic competitor data in its pricing algorithm, thereby adequately alleging the conspiracy element of their Section 1 claims. Dismissal at the pleading stage was unwarranted.
2. The earlier allegations that LRO originally used public data did not contradict the operative allegation that RealPage later altered or enhanced LRO to use both public and private data after acquiring it.
3. The court would not decide solely on the pleadings whether statements in prior complaints constituted admissions against interest, and such statements did not provide a basis for dismissal at this stage.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Multifamily Plaintiffs plausibly alleged the contract, combination, or conspiracy element of a Sherman Act Section 1 claim as to RealPage's LRO service.
2. Whether allegations in earlier complaints and statements from a ProPublica article contradicted the operative complaint so as to require dismissal.
3. Whether the court could resolve, on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, whether prior pleading statements constituted admissions against interest.

Disposition

denied