Sperry Van Ness Files Suit Claiming Competitor Unfair

Sperry Van Ness, an Irvine commercial real estate brokerage, Tuesday filed a lawsuit against a Palo Alto-based brokerage over what the suit said were “thousands of acts of unfair competition.”

An official of the Palo Alto firm, Marcus & Millichap, said the company hadn’t yet seen the suit, filed late Tuesday afternoon, and had no comment.

The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court here, is the latest chapter in a legal tussle between the two brokerages. Marcus & Millichap sued Sperry Van Ness for $5 million in July for allegedly pirating away Marcus & Millichap employees.

The latest suit doesn’t seek specific damages, but does ask a judge to issue an injunction against Marcus & Millichap and appoint a receiver to prevent the firm from “engaging in further illegal practices.”

Both firms specialize in representing buyers and sellers in real estate deals, a niche in the market smaller than that occupied by many other brokerages, which also represent landlords and tenants.

In the suit filed Tuesday, Sperry Van Ness said Marcus & Millichap intentionally misleads clients and other brokers about how it markets its listings and that its marketing isn’t as extensive as the brokerage claims.

Rather than share commissions with other brokers, the suit alleges, Marcus & Millichap doesn’t cooperate with them but tells clients that it does. When it should share a commission with another brokerage, the suit charges, Marcus & Millichap instead offers only a finder’s fee.

Sperry Van Ness also said in its suit that Marcus & Millichap brokers fraudulently obtain information about other brokers’ listings by calling them and claiming to be wealthy buyers.