Camden Property Trust To Vigorously Defend Against U.S. DOJ Lawsuit Allegations

Camden Property Trust

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(RTTNews) - Responding to the U.S. Department of Justice Lawsuit, Camden Property Trust (CPT) said it disagreed with the allegations made in the amended complaint against RealPage, which added Camden and others as defendants. Camden will vigorously defend itself against these claims and intends to move for dismissal.

Camden said it is committed to enhancing the lives of its employees, residents, and shareholders, one experience at a time. Since its inception, Camden has been dedicated to delivering Living Excellence to its residents. Many of the Department of Justice's claims pertain to actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when Camden made the choice to not increase renewal rates, waive late fees, freeze evictions, and took the unprecedented step of providing over $10 million in cash directly to its residents to support them during that uncertain period, with no strings attached. This support came before federal, state, or local governments offered any form of financial assistance due to the pandemic.

Earlier today, the U.S. Justice Department, together with its state co-plaintiffs, filed an amended complaint in its antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, to sue six of the nation's largest landlords for participating in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.

The amended complaint alleged the landlords — Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC; Blackstone's LivCor LLC; Camden Property Trust; Cushman & Wakefield Inc and Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC; Willow Bridge Property Company LLC and Cortland Management LLC — participated in an unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing, harming millions of American renters. Together, these landlords operate more than 1.3 million units in 43 states and the District of Columbia. The Attorneys General of Illinois and Massachusetts joined the amended complaint as co-plaintiffs, increasing the total number of State and Commonwealth co-plaintiffs to 10.

At the same time, the Justice Department filed a proposed consent decree with landlord Cortland that requires it to cooperate with the government, stop using its competitors' sensitive data to set rents and stop using the same algorithm as its competitors without a corporate monitor.