Cushman & Wakefield (CWK), Camden Property Trust (CPT), and Blackstone's (BX) LivCor are among the landlords facing a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice Tuesday for allegedly participating in an algorithmic pricing scheme.
The three landlords along with Greystar Real Estate Partners, Cushman & Wakefield's Pinnacle Property Management Services, and Cortland Management were sued after the Justice Department amended its original antitrust lawsuit against RealPage.
The expanded lawsuit alleges the landlords participated in a scheme to decrease competition in apartment pricing by sharing sensitive information about rental prices and coordinating with each other to keep prices high.
The Attorneys General of Illinois and Massachusetts joined the amended complaint as co-plaintiffs, increasing the total number of State and Commonwealth co-plaintiffs to 10, the Justice Department said.
Meanwhile, Cortland had agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department and enter a settlement to end the use of common rental pricing algorithms and sensitive data to set rents, subject to court approval.
Greystar rejected DOJ's claims in a statement released Tuesday, saying it will defend itself in the lawsuit.
Cushman & Wakefield, Camden Property Trust, Cortland, and Blackstone did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MT Newswires.
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