Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12578-12580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05799]

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Docket No. C-4458]

CoreLogic Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter is intended to remedy the
impact of CoreLogic's failure to comply fully with the Decision and
Order previously issued in In the Matter of CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No.
C-4458. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms
of the Order To Show Cause and Order Modifying Order--embodied in the
consent agreement--that would remedy CoreLogic's failure to comply
fully with the Decision and Order.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write: ``In the Matter of
CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' on your comment, and file your
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/corelogicconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``In the Matter of
CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex
D), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Huber (202-326-3331), Bureau of
Competition, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained
from the FTC Home Page (for March 15, 2018), on the World Wide Web, at
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before April 16, 2018.
Write ``In the Matter of CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' on your
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the
extent practicable, on the public Commission website, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/corelogicconsent by following the instructions on the web-based
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you
also may file a comment through that website.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``In the Matter
of CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex
D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the
Commission by courier or overnight service.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC
website at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making
sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively sensitive
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is

[[Page 12579]]

requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted on the public FTC website--as legally required by FTC Rule
4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC website,
unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements
for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel
grants that request.
Visit the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and
the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the
Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to
consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission
will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it
receives on or before April 16, 2018. For information on the
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Orders To Aid Public Comment

I. Introduction

The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') has accepted for
public comment, subject to final approval, an Agreement Containing
Consent Order (``Consent Agreement'') from Respondent CoreLogic Inc.
(``CoreLogic''). The Consent Agreement is intended to remedy the impact
of CoreLogic's failure to comply fully with the Decision and Order
previously issued in this matter.
Under the terms of the proposed Consent Agreement, CoreLogic
consents to the Commission issuing an Order to Show Cause and Order
Modifying Order. In the Order to Show Cause, the Commission describes
the changes it proposes to make to the Decision and Order and the
reasons these changes are necessary. CoreLogic disputes the allegations
in the Order to Show Cause but consents to the Commission issuing the
Order Modifying Order amending the Decision and Order.
The Commission has placed the proposed Consent Agreement on the
public record for 30 days to solicit comments from interested persons.
Comments received during this period will become part of the public
record. After 30 days, the Commission will again review the proposed
Consent Agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it
should withdraw from the Consent Agreement, modify it, or make it
final.

II. The Respondent

Respondent CoreLogic is a publicly-traded company headquartered in
Irvine, California. It provides real property information, analytics,
and services to a broad array of customers. As part of its business,
CoreLogic collects, maintains, and licenses aggregated county tax
assessor and recorder data (``bulk data'') from across the United
States.

III. The Decision and Order

In 2014, CoreLogic sought to acquire DataQuick Information Systems,
Inc. (``DataQuick''), a subsidiary of TPG VI Ontario 1 AIV L.P. Both
CoreLogic and DataQuick licensed bulk data to customers, and the
Commission alleged that the acquisition would significantly increase
concentration in the market for national bulk data in violation of the
federal antitrust laws. CoreLogic agreed to settle the matter by
divesting assets to Renwood RealtyTrac LLC (``RealtyTrac'') that would
enable RealtyTrac to replace DataQuick in the market for national bulk
data. The Commission issued the Decision and Order requiring the
divestiture on May 20, 2014 and CoreLogic completed the acquisition of
DataQuick soon thereafter.
The central requirement of the Decision and Order is that CoreLogic
provide RealtyTrac with DataQuick's bulk data, and certain ancillary
data that DataQuick sold with its bulk data so that RealtyTrac could
compete on the same basis as DataQuick in the market affected by
CoreLogic's acquisition. In addition, CoreLogic is required to license
and provide updated bulk data to RealtyTrac for at least five years.
CoreLogic is also required to provide information and assistance to
RealtyTrac so that RealtyTrac can replicate DataQuick's ability to
gather, license and maintain national bulk data after RealtyTrac's
license with CoreLogic expires.
The Decision and Order requires CoreLogic to enter an agreement
with RealtyTrac to license the required data within 10 days of
purchasing DataQuick. Sixty days after entering the license with
RealtyTrac, CoreLogic was to provide DataQuick's bulk data and begin
delivering updated bulk data. CoreLogic and RealtyTrac entered their
license agreement on March 26, 2014.
The Order also contains a number of provisions to support
RealtyTrac's efforts to maintain competition in the bulk data market.
CoreLogic must allow certain legacy DataQuick customers to terminate
their DataQuick contracts in order to do business with RealtyTrac, and,
during a period lasting until nine months after the Divestiture Date,
include a six month termination clause in all new agreements with
former DataQuick bulk data customers. In addition, the Decision and
Order requires CoreLogic to facilitate RealtyTrac's ability to hire
experienced DataQuick employees. Finally, the Order appoints Mr.
Mitchell S. Pettit as monitor to oversee CoreLogic's compliance with
the Order.

IV. The Order To Show Cause

When CoreLogic signed the Consent Agreement, it represented that it
could fulfill the terms of the Decision and Order. Instead, soon after
CoreLogic began delivering bulk data to RealtyTrac, RealtyTrac
discovered that it was missing data that DataQuick has provided to bulk
data customers. RealtyTrac continued to uncover additional missing data
for at least the next 2 years. When RealtyTrac contacted CoreLogic
about the missing data, CoreLogic provided the data, but at a time well
after the deadline for providing data in the Order. Contrary to the
requirements of the Order, CoreLogic did not proactively identify the
full scope of bulk data that DataQuick had used and ensure CoreLogic
was delivering this data to RealtyTrac. In addition, CoreLogic did not
provide RealtyTrac, Commission staff, or the monitor with complete and
accurate information regarding the manner in which DataQuick provided
bulk data to customers.
CoreLogic also did not provide RealtyTrac certain data that
DataQuick licensed from third parties. The Decision and Order requires
CoreLogic to provide all of the bulk data that DataQuick used,
including data licensed from third parties. CoreLogic agreed to this
provision when it signed the Decision and Order. However, after the
Commission entered the Decision and Order, CoreLogic informed
Commission staff that it could not provide RealtyTrac with some of the
required data because of limitations on DataQuick's rights to
sublicense the data. CoreLogic offered to provide information and
introductions to enable RealtyTrac to attempt to license the data from
its owners. Although useful, this offer did not

[[Page 12580]]

comply with Decision and Order and required RealtyTrac to expend
additional resources not contemplated when the Commission issued the
Decision and Order.
It also appears that CoreLogic did not provide all of the support
to RealtyTrac that was required by the Order. For example, CoreLogic
stopped standard third party testing of an ancillary product, in
violation of the Decision and Order, and did not tell RealtyTrac or
Commission staff that it had stopped this testing. RealtyTrac
subsequently discovered a quality issue with the product that CoreLogic
did not discover through its internal quality control processes. The
issue was ultimately resolved and third party testing resumed.
To help resolve the issue of missing data, the Monitor hired a
Technical Assistant, Dr. Thomas Teague. Dr. Teague helped the Monitor
develop and recommend a technical plan to (i) identify the data that
CoreLogic was required to provide under the Order, (ii) provide all
missing data and information to RealtyTrac, and (iii) verify that the
required data and information had been provided. With the help of the
Monitor, CoreLogic is in the final stages of completing this plan with
RealtyTrac. After that, CoreLogic will transfer of all required
information regarding DataQuick's bulk data business to RealtyTrac.
CoreLogic's actions violated the Decision and Order and interfered
with its remedial goal of maintaining competition in the market
affected by CoreLogic's acquisition of DataQuick. CoreLogic slowed the
delivery of DataQuick's bulk data and information to RealtyTrac.
Further, RealtyTrac relied on CoreLogic's inaccurate assertions that it
was providing RealtyTrac with all of DataQuick's bulk data. These
actions, which violated its obligations under the Order, harmed
RealtyTrac's reputation and required RealtyTrac to expend technical and
financial resources to uncover missing data.

V. The Order Modifying Order

The most significant modification to the Decision and Order is a
three-year extension of the period during which CoreLogic must provide
updated bulk data to RealtyTrac. The initial five-year term in the
Decision and Order will expire in March 2019. This extension will
remediate the effect of CoreLogic's delays in providing all of the
required data to RealtyTrac and extend CoreLogic's obligations through
March 2022.
The Order Modifying Order also adds two detailed addenda to the
Decision and Order: A Technical Transfer Plan and a Service Level
Addendum. The Technical Transfer Plan identifies the steps CoreLogic
will take to transfer required data and information. The Service Level
Addendum requires CoreLogic to meet certain data quality metrics and
identifies the steps that CoreLogic must take to resolve any quality
issues that arise. The Order Modifying Order also requires CoreLogic to
provide prior notice before modifying the DataQuick Fulfillment
Platform, which will allow the Commission to verify that CoreLogic has
not altered the platform in a manner that violates the Order.
Finally, the Order Modifying Order resets two deadlines and
decreases the frequency of required compliance reports. CoreLogic must
provide customers early termination rights until nine months after
completion of the first portion of the Technical Transfer Plan and
provide technical assistance to RealtyTrac until one year after
completion of the Technical Transfer Plan. The frequency of interim
compliance reports is extended from every 60 days to every 90 days.
This reduces the burden on CoreLogic without diminishing the ability of
the staff and the Monitor to effectively monitor CoreLogic's compliance
with the Decision and Order and Order Modifying Order.
The Commission does not intend this analysis to constitute an
official interpretation of the proposed Consent Agreement or to modify
its terms in any way.

By direction of the Commission. Commissioner McSweeny not
participating by reason of recusal.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-05799 Filed 3-21-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P