Latest news with #BrianSchwalb
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
W.C. Smith to pay $1M in DC apartment pricing suit
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced Monday that William C. Smith & Co. will pay over $1 million and reform its business practices to resolve charges that it conspired with other District landlords while using pricing software from RealPage to allegedly inflate rents. In November 2023, Schwalb's office filed suit against RealPage and 14 landlords, including W.C. Smith, accusing them of 'unlawfully colluding' by collectively adopting the rents set by the Richardson, Texas-based revenue management software company's technology and 'unlawfully agreeing to exchange competitively sensitive data in violation of the District of Columbia Antitrust Act.' W.C. Smith, which owns 9,000 units and is the first company to settle in the Washington, D.C., case, denied the allegations in the complaint and denied that it violated any law or engaged in any anticompetitive conduct, according to the consent order filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 'We have consistently asserted that we did not participate in any of the activities alleged by the Office of Attorney General in the RealPage litigation,' John Ritz, president of W.C. Smith, said in a statement provided to Multifamily Dive. 'We now have been dismissed from this case without admission of the allegations or acceptance of liability. By settling this matter, we avoid considerable and unnecessary legal expenses and can return our focus to creating thriving communities for the residents of Washington, D.C. — which has been our mission for more than 50 years.' As part of the consent agreement, W.C. Smith, which ceased using RealPage's Lease Rent Options software in December 2023, agreed to a number of conditions for 10 years, including: The company will not use or license software that uses nonpublic information related to buildings that it doesn't manage or that discloses recommended prices for leases concerning buildings not managed or owned by the firm. W.C. Smith will not encourage or require anyone else using revenue management software to accept recommended prices, provide justification when rejecting any recommended price, or encourage or require any person to choose a certain override amount or option. The firm will not promote the use of revenue management software to other owners and operators of apartments in the District of Columbia. The company will not communicate any information about any multifamily properties other than public information with another apartment manager. In Washington, more than 30% of apartments in multifamily buildings with five or more units and approximately 60% of units in large multifamily buildings with 50 or more units are priced using RealPage's software, according to Schwalb. Another landlord named in the original suit, Arlington, Virginia-based REIT AvalonBay Communities, had its motion to dismiss granted in May 2024 because its contract precludes sharing its pricing and supply data. The 12 other firms named in the suit include: Avenue5 Residential. Bell Partners Inc. Bozzuto Management Co. Camden Summit Partnership. Equity Residential. Gables Residential Services. GREP Atlantic. Highmark Residential. JBG Smith Properties. Mid-America Apartments. Paradigm Management II. UDR. In the original filing, Schwalb claimed that RealPage policed contracts with these operators, and landlords abided by its suggested rents more than 90% of the time. If the market were truly competitive, he said the defendants would 'keep their pricing strategies confidential.' 'RealPage and the defendant landlords illegally colluded to artificially raise rents by participating in a centralized, anticompetitive scheme, causing District residents to pay millions of dollars above fair market prices,' Schwalb said in a news release announcing the suit. 'Defendants' coordinated and anticompetitive conduct amounts to a District-wide housing cartel.' Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Recommended Reading DOJ: RealPage suit should move forward Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
DC attorney general inks first settlement in RealPage price-fixing lawsuit
June 2 (Reuters) - The District of Columbia attorney general's office has secured its first settlement in a lawsuit accusing landlords and technology company RealPage of conspiring to inflate rental prices. The preliminary settlement, opens new tab with Washington apartment property manager William C. Smith & Co was disclosed on Monday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and requires court approval. The District's lawsuit in 2023 was the first in a string of cases against RealPage by state attorneys general accusing landlords of keeping rental prices high through the use of a RealPage revenue management platform. In a statement, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb on Monday said some of the city's landlords "operated as a housing cartel — illegally colluding to push rents even higher." William C. Smith & Co inflated rents at more than 9,300 apartment units across the city, according to Schwalb's office. The settlement would restrict William C. Smith & Co from using and promoting any revenue management software that relies on non-public or confidential data from rival companies. William C. Smith & Co in a statement said settling the lawsuit will allow the company to focus on its core business and to avoid what it called "considerable and unnecessary legal expenses." RealPage, William C. Smith & Co and other defendants in the lawsuit have denied any wrongdoing. RealPage did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Schwalb's lawsuit alleged 14 landlords agreed to share competitively sensitive data with RealPage and collectively used rents set by the company's revenue management technology. The city contends the scheme drove up rental prices at more than 50,000 units in the District, in violation of the District's antitrust law. A monthly report from W.C. Smith in 2022 showed the company had increased revenues per unit by 4.6-4.7% despite decreased occupancy levels, according to the lawsuit. Other apartment managers in the lawsuit include Greystar, the largest apartment owner in the United States. Greystar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. RealPage and other property managers face parallel federal litigation in the federal court in Nashville, Tennessee. Some other state attorneys general also separately are pursuing lawsuits against the company. The case is District of Columbia v RealPage et al, District of Columbia Superior Court, No. 2023-CAB-6762. For plaintiff: Adam Gitlin of the D.C. attorney general's office, and Emily Levens of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll For William C. Smith & Co: W. Todd Miller and Lucy Clippinger of Baker & Miller Read more: Apartment manager Greystar faces more 'junk fee' lawsuits after FTC case New Jersey sues RealPage, says collusion with landlords drives up rents RealPage goes on the offense in lawsuit against city of Berkeley over AI rent pricing law Landlords, software maker Yardi must face price-fixing lawsuit, US judge rules
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Lawsuit alleging rent inflation in D.C. leads to $1 million settlement
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) announced a $1 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that multiple property management companies conspired to inflate rents in 50,000 apartments in the city through the RealPage company's pricing software. Several lawsuits have been filed around the country in the past two years against RealPage, the maker of widely used property management software, alleging that the company collects landlords' private data to undermine competition and set higher rents. Schwalb's office, which sued RealPage and 14 of the city's 'largest landlords' in 2023, said that the William C. Smith and Co. property management firm is the first defendant in the lawsuit to reach a settlement with the city. WC Smith, which owns more than 9,000 of the affected units, according to Schwalb's office, has denied that it 'violated any law or engaged in any anticompetitive conduct,' according to the settlement. 'We have consistently asserted that we did not participate in any of the activities alleged by the Office of Attorney General in the RealPage litigation. We now have been dismissed from this case without admission of the allegations or acceptance of liability,' John Ritz, president of WC Smith, said in a statement. 'By settling this matter, we avoid considerable and unnecessary legal expenses and can return our focus to creating thriving communities for the residents of Washington, D.C. — which has been our mission for more than 50 years.' A spokesperson for RealPage did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The alleged actions by the Texas-based company and the property management companies that use its software have garnered increased attention in multiple states after numerous complaints from tenants about their escalating rents. In Maryland, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (D) sued RealPage and six major landlords in the state earlier this year, alleging that RealPage products 'use non-public, competitively sensitive data — for example, the number of potential tenant visits to a property — to estimate supply and demand, and then generate a 'price' to charge that maximizes the landlord's revenue.' A bill that would have barred landlords from using RealPage software failed to advance to a vote. In its lawsuit, Schwalb's office alleged that RealPage offers 'revenue management' software to real estate owners and property managers that relies on competitive, nonpublic pricing data to estimate supply and demand for rental units. RealPage uses that data to generate 'an artificially inflated rental price that maximizes the landlord's revenue,' according to his office. More than 30 percent of D.C.'s apartments in buildings with five or more units, and about 6o percent of apartments in buildings with 50 units or more, are priced using RealPage's software, Schwalb's office said, leaving many residents 'with no choice but to pay RealPage's inflated rents.' Monday's settlement requires WC Smith to pay just over than $1 million to the District in civil penalties, money for affected residents and legal fees. Under the settlement's terms, WC Smith is prohibited from using revenue management software that relies on nonpublic data to set rent prices. The company must also refrain from promoting this software to other firms. 'Rents in DC are already sky-high, and amidst this housing affordability crisis, many of the District's top landlords operated as a housing cartel — illegally colluding to push rents even higher,' Schwalb said in a statement. 'I commend W.C. Smith for putting an end to its anticompetitive practices and cooperating with my office to reach this agreement.' 'We will continue working to hold RealPage and the remaining landlords accountable,' he added. RealPage has been the subject of lawsuits in several jurisdictions after a ProPublica investigation found that the company's software may have led to illegal rent increases. In an amended antitrust lawsuit filed in January, Illinois and Massachusetts joined eight other states and the Justice Department in alleging that RealPage coordinated with six property management firms to raise rents.
The Star
20-05-2025
- The Star
Here's how TikTok plans to help users wind down and sleep
The company, owned by Chinese tech-giant ByteDance, began testing the meditation exercises with select teens earlier this year and is now making the feature available to all users on its app. — AP Have you, with the rest of the world, noticed how children, teens and young adults are addicted to TikTok? Well, it seems TikTok has come up with a way for users to proficiently wean themselves off the app in order to get a good night's sleep. The social media sensation plans to do that by launching in-app guided meditation exercises, the platform announced last Thursday. The company, owned by Chinese tech-giant ByteDance, began testing the meditation exercises with select teens earlier this year and is now making the feature available to all users on its app. The premise of the feature is to help users improve their sleep quality and encourage them to put take a break from the app late at night, as opposed to scrolling endlessly while the night carries on. Here's how TikTok plans to implement the feature. For teens under the age of 18, meditation will be turned on by default. If a teen is using the app after 10pm, their 'For You' feed will be automatically interrupted by a guided meditation exercise that encourages users to wind down for the night. The meditation feature displays a calming screen and mellow music accompanied with breathing exercises. But many would ask what if teens ignored the feature? If teens choose to ignore the message and continue to scroll through the app, a second full-screen prompt will urge them to go to sleep. As for the adults who might be interested in the new feature, adults can turn it on by navigating the app's Screen Time settings page. They would then toggle on the 'sleep hours' feature. From there, choosing a time to start seeing the meditation exercise each night is available as well. TikTok has been introducing new teen safety features in recent years due to concerns over the app's impact on younger users. This newest feature is the company's latest response to satisfy lawmakers. One such suit from Attorney General Brian Schwalb of the District of Columbia accused TikTok of being intentionally addictive and psychologically damaging to kids, posing profound risks including depression, anxiety, sleep loss and body dysmorphia. – News Service
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘We will hold you accountable': DC Attorney General sues five drivers for traffic violations, $425K in unpaid fines
WASHINGTON () — A Maryland driver and four Virginia drivers are facing legal action for their alleged dangerous and illegal conduct on Washington, D.C. streets, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for the District of Columbia announced Tuesday. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said he is suing the five drivers, who owe a total of $425,000 in unpaid fines, to hold them accountable for repeatedly violating D.C. traffic laws. The Maryland driver, Charles V. Sanders Jr., owes $187,200 for 344 traffic infractions, according to Schwalb. 316 of those citations were for speeding, and 61 were for driving at least 30 MPH above the speed limit. The OAG noted that Sanders had accumulated the tickets in just two years. Commanders fans excited about RFK site deal but raise concerns over ticket prices The four Virginia drivers amassed over 800 D.C. traffic tickets for speeding, running stop signs and running red lights, among other infractions, Schwalb outlined. The details of their respective lawsuits are as follows, according to the OAG: Ayanna Khalya Wilson owes the District $77,100 for 244 traffic infractions. This includes 202 citations for speeding, of which eight were for driving 30+ miles per hour over the speed limit. Omar Rahmouni El Idrissi owes the District $69,456 for 263 traffic infractions, including 246 for speeding. Dejene A. Abebe owes the District $58,608 for 197 traffic infractions, including 163 citations for speeding. Pedro James Baker owes the District $31,316 for 159 traffic infractions, including 30 citations for speeding, 20 for running red lights and 15 for running stop signs. The OAG filed the lawsuits under the Strengthening Traffic Enforcement, Education, and Responsibility (STEER) Act, which the in February 2024. The act allows the OAG to sue drivers who violate D.C. traffic laws even if they don't live in the city. 'Too many drivers think they can speed recklessly through the District, putting the safety of Washingtonians and visitors at risk, with no financial consequences for their lawlessness,' Schwalb said in a statement. 'These suits reflect our continuing commitment: if your actions behind the wheel put people's lives at risk, we will hold you accountable, no matter where you live.' The lawsuits come just two months after for failing to pay D.C. over $90,000 in fines. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
