Campoli v. Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
- Jeffrey Bryan
- 0:24-cv-04481
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 10
In Campoli v. Anywhere Real Estate Inc., Judge Bryan denied the plaintiffs’ request to block TrustFunds’ operations.
The ruling directly affected Michael R. Campoli and Lauren J.C. Campoli’s request for emergency relief against TrustFunds LLC; TrustFunds was not enjoined.
What happened
In Campoli v. Anywhere Real Estate Inc., Michael R. Campoli and Lauren J.C. Campoli sued many individuals and entities connected to the attempted 2022 sale of their home. They sought a preliminary injunction against TrustFunds LLC, an electronic service for transferring real-estate earnest money.
The plaintiffs asked the court to stop TrustFunds from operating through NorthstarMLS, processing earnest-money transactions, withholding information about the 2022 transaction, or misrepresenting transaction status. They also asked TrustFunds to produce records.
Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan denied the motion. He ruled that the plaintiffs had not shown imminent, irreparable harm—a serious injury that cannot be adequately repaired later with money damages—and therefore did not analyze the other requirements for a preliminary injunction.
The detailed version
- Campoli v. Anywhere Real Estate Inc. · No. 0:24-cv-04481
- Jeffrey M. Bryan
- Apr. 10, 2025
Background
Michael R. Campoli and Lauren J.C. Campoli asserted 57 causes of action against 34 defendants involved, directly or indirectly, in the attempted sale of their home in 2022. They asserted six claims against TrustFunds LLC, including claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, civil conspiracy, fraud, negligence, and the Lanham Act.
TrustFunds provides an electronic service for transferring earnest money in residential real-estate transactions through a third-party automated clearinghouse processor. It is integrated into the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, also known as NorthstarMLS. TrustFunds charged buyers a $5 convenience fee during the relevant period.
The plaintiffs entered into a purchase agreement with Jesse Bull and Lee Bull on May 6,
- The agreement required a $100,000 earnest-money payment by May 10,
- The plaintiffs alleged that the Bulls never transferred the money. TrustFunds maintained that the Bulls initiated the payment through its service on May 9,
- The dispute over the earnest money remained part of a pending state-court case, where $100,000 had been deposited with the court administrator.
Requested injunction
The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction, which is a temporary court order intended to prevent imminent harm while a case continues. They asked the court to order TrustFunds to stop operating on NorthstarMLS, stop processing earnest-money transactions, disclose the delivery status of the May 2022 transaction, and stop misrepresenting or concealing transaction statuses. They also asked the court to require TrustFunds to produce documents and records.
Court’s analysis
The court applied four factors used for preliminary injunctions: the threat of irreparable harm, the balance between the parties’ injuries, the likelihood of success on the merits, and the public interest. The plaintiffs had the burden to establish every factor.
The court began and ended with irreparable harm. It explained that such harm must be imminent and cannot be based only on past injury, speculation, or harm that money damages could remedy. The court found that the plaintiffs’ alleged injury from TrustFunds was nearly three years old. They did not allege any impending real-estate transaction in which they would be forced to use TrustFunds again.
The court also rejected the plaintiffs’ theory that TrustFunds’s alleged refusal to confirm that the Bulls failed to deliver the earnest money, or its alleged use of fabricated records, justified an injunction. The state-court case had not yet been decided on the merits, so the alleged future harm depended on speculation about the result of that case. The court further found that this alleged harm was not linked to the requested relief.
Because the plaintiffs failed to establish irreparable harm, the court did not analyze the remaining three preliminary-injunction factors. The court noted, however, that it also had concerns about the plaintiffs’ likelihood of success because their opening brief relied on allegations from an unverified amended complaint and did not cite legal authority.
Disposition
The court denied Michael R. Campoli’s and Lauren J.C. Campoli’s motion for a preliminary injunction against TrustFunds LLC. The order did not decide the underlying claims against TrustFunds or the other defendants.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.