The Department of Justice and eight states have sued RealPage, a real estate software company, for allegedly colluding with landlords to artificially hike rental prices through an algorithmic pricing scheme.
The DOJ and the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington filed a civil antitrust complaint on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The 110-page document contends that RealPage, which is based in Richardson, Texas, and is owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and “has built a business out of frustrating the natural forces of competition.” Counsel has yet to appear for the defendant.