A U.S. District Judge has ruled that a lawsuit accusing property management companies and software maker Yardi Systems of overcharging millions of American renters can proceed. The case, which targets alleged price-fixing in the rental market, centers on claims that landlords coordinated rental prices through Yardi’s revenue management software to maximize profits at the expense of renters.
Judge Robert Lasnik, presiding in the Western District of Washington, denied a motion to dismiss the case, stating that the plaintiffs had provided enough evidence for their price-fixing claims to move forward. The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleges that a group of property owners and operators of multifamily residential properties used Yardi’s software to share sensitive pricing data, which was then used to fix rental prices across the market.
The proposed class action lawsuit, representing renters across the country, claims that the defendants violated U.S. antitrust laws by colluding on rental pricing. Plaintiffs argue that Yardi’s software facilitated this illegal coordination by allowing landlords to access nonpublic rental data, which allegedly led to inflated rent prices. Steve Berman, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, called the judge’s ruling a “total victory,” stating that it marked an important step forward in holding landlords and technology companies accountable for their actions.
In response to the ruling, Yardi Systems, based in California, maintained that its software does not use confidential pricing data to set rental prices. The company stated that it relies solely on publicly available market information and its clients’ own data to generate rent recommendations. Yardi insists that its practices are lawful and that the allegations against it are false.
This lawsuit is part of a broader trend in the legal landscape, where a growing number of cases accuse companies of using sophisticated algorithms and revenue management platforms to coordinate prices unlawfully. Critics argue that these technologies are being used not to make independent business decisions but to orchestrate illegal agreements that inflate prices across entire industries.
This case follows a similar legal challenge in Nashville, where a federal judge allowed a price-fixing lawsuit against RealPage, a technology company accused of conspiring with property owners to artificially inflate rents. Both cases raise concerns about the impact of technology on competitive practices and consumer pricing.
Yardi and the property management companies named in the lawsuit have argued that there is no evidence of a price-fixing conspiracy and have urged the court to dismiss the case. They also contended that they are not bound by Yardi’s pricing recommendations and that the use of the software alone does not constitute unlawful behavior.
However, Judge Lasnik disagreed, ruling that the fact that the property managers did not meet as a group but used Yardi as an intermediary does not absolve them of liability. He noted that the allegations suggest that the defendants did, in fact, adhere to the pricing recommendations provided by Yardi, which could constitute a violation of antitrust laws.
The case, McKenna Duffy v. Yardi Systems et al, will continue to proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for what they argue were unlawful price increases that affected renters nationwide.
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