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CREXi asks 9th Circuit to reverse Quinn Emanuel disqualification in CoStar case

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17

Why it matters

CREXi has petitioned the Ninth Circuit to reverse a federal judge's disqualification of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and to stay district court proceedings while the appeal proceeds. U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall ruled that Quinn Emanuel could not represent CREXi because the firm simultaneously represented CoStar in a separate federal matter, creating an impermissible concurrent conflict of interest.

The disqualification order remains in effect pending appeal. The scope of Quinn Emanuel's other work for CoStar and the specific details of Judge Marshall's conflict analysis are not yet fully public. The Supreme Court's March 2026 denial of CoStar's petition on the antitrust issues suggests the underlying dispute will continue in the lower courts.

CREXi and CoStar have been litigating since 2020 over alleged copyright infringement and DMCA violations in commercial real-estate listings and property images. CREXi countered with antitrust claims, which the Ninth Circuit revived in June 2025 after dismissal. The disqualification fight matters because it will determine CREXi's counsel going forward in a high-stakes competition between two major commercial real-estate data platforms. More broadly, the outcome will clarify how courts apply concurrent-conflict rules when firms represent opposing parties in separate matters—a recurring issue in complex commercial litigation.

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