Rocket Companies subsidiary faces $175 million trade secrets verdict

A Texas jury awarded $175 million in damages against Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT) subsidiary Rocket Close in a trade secrets case on Friday. The San Antonio jury found that Rocket Close stole proprietary technology from real estate data platform HouseCanary related to home price valuation methods.

The verdict represents a retrial in a dispute that began a decade ago. Rocket Close, which provides title insurance services, rebranded from Amrock in 2022.

The current award marks a significant reduction from an earlier $700 million verdict that a Texas appeals court overturned in 2020. HouseCanary had alleged that the Rocket Companies subsidiary misappropriated its technology for determining residential property values.

"While disappointing, the dramatic reduction in award demonstrates how inflated HouseCanary's claims have always been," Rocket Close stated. The company said it plans to appeal the decision and expressed confidence the verdict will be overturned.

HouseCanary attorney Max Tribble said the jury finding validated that his client "developed valuable trade secrets that were stolen and misused by Amrock."

The case highlights ongoing intellectual property disputes in the real estate technology sector, where companies compete over automated valuation models and data analytics tools used to price residential properties.

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