RealPage v. James — NY algorithmic rent ban enjoined (2026)

RealPage, Inc. v. James, U.S. District Court (Manhattan; Southern District of New York), Judge Valerie Caproni. RealPage challenged the New York statute signed by Gov. Hochul in October 2025 (S7882, amending the Donnelly Act), which RealPage argued violates its First Amendment rights. RULING: Reuters (published Wed. Sept 30, 2026) says Caproni issued the preliminary injunction 'on Tuesday' = Sept 29, 2026; PYMNTS/CPI cites a Sept 29 MLex report. preliminary injunction GRANTED against enforcement of Section 3, which bars residential rental owners from setting rental terms based on recommendations from software that performs a 'coordinating function'; the AG's motion to dismiss DENIED. Reasoning reported: 'Although it is a close call ... RealPage is, marginally, likely to succeed on the merits'; Section 3 does not distinguish software that uses publicly available data from software that uses non-public data, so it is likely facially invalid; 'Under the rubric of preventing price fixing, the statute prohibits normal commercial conduct just because it is facilitated by software.' The AG's office declined to comment on the ruling; it had argued the law regulates anticompetitive conduct, not speech. Reuters reported RealPage sued two days after settling with the U.S. DOJ (see DOJ-RealPage Consent Decree (algorithmic rent)). NOT ESTABLISHED from sources opened: docket number, whether the state will appeal. Related: New York S7882 (felony to use algorithms to coordinate residential rents). Reuters also reports the state had put the law on hold while Caproni considered the case. Section 3 description per PYMNTS/CPI.