Inman Connect
Real estate brokerage Howard Hanna is suing rival Compass, alleging the heavily funded firm stole agents and trade secrets in order to burnish its image as a disruptive tech company in advance of Compass’ initial public offering.
In a March 23 amended complaint, Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna alleged New York City-based Compass aided and abetted three former Howard Hanna agents — Michael Hornung, Jennifer Crouse and Leah George — to breach non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality provisions in the agents’ contracts with Howard Hanna and steal the brokerage’s trade secrets in order to compete unfairly and make itself look more impressive.
Compass and Howard Hanna are the fourth and fifth largest brokerages nationwide by transaction sides, respectively, according to Real Trends. Compass went public on April 1.