CREXi settles lawsuit with rival Ten-X

Tim Morse of Ten-X, Michael DeGiorgio of CREXi (Ten-X/CREXi)
Tim Morse of Ten-X, Michael DeGiorgio of CREXi (Ten-X/CREXi)

CREXi, a commercial real estate platform for brokers and property owners, agreed to pay $1.6 million to rival Ten-X, both companies announced Wednesday in a joint statement.

The agreement stemmed from a complaint Ten-X filed in California Superior Court in April 2016 against the Venice-based startup and its founder Michael DeGiorgio. It claimed DeGiorgio, a former executive at Ten-X, had stolen trade secrets and proprietary information to launch CREXi.

DeGiorgio launched the CREXi website in 2015. The site gave property owners, buyers and brokers an online service to broker deals, schedule tours and see analytics on their listings – similar to the offerings of Ten-X.

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“I regret my conduct at the time I departed Ten-X and believe that the settlement is a fair resolution,” DeGiorgio said in a statement. “With the litigation now settled, CREXi looks forward to competing in the commercial real estate marketplace on a level playing field.”

In addition to the settlement payment, the agreement between the companies places additional restrictions on CREXi, including prohibiting the firm from using Ten-X platforms.

Ten-X is the parent company to Ten-X Homes, Ten-X Commercial and Auction.com. Its investors include CapitalG, formerly Google Capital, and Stone Point Capital.