HomeAway Sues S.F., Saying New Law Favors Airbnb, The Recorder ft. Tad Devlin

Cheryl Miller

HomeAway Inc., the Austin, Texas-based vacation rental web service, sued in federal court on Monday to block San Francisco’s recently enacted home-sharing ordinance.

Lawyers for HomeAway say the controversial law violates the Commerce Clause by catering to San Francisco-based competitor Airbnb while “banning the business model of HomeAway.”

“This naked economic protectionism essentially bestows on Airbnb an effective monopoly over the short-term rental market in San Francisco,” says the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued a statement defending…