HomeAdvisor Sheds Racketeering Claims in Sham Leads Class Action

HomeAdvisor Inc. and associated business partners convinced a federal judge in Colorado to trim a proposed class action brought by a group of home service providers who claim they were fleeced for sham leads to non-existent clients.

The plaintiff home service providers allege they paid HomeAdvisor from $8 to $140 each for “sham” leads tied to disconnected phone numbers, non-homeowners, contacts for vacant residences, or already completed projects, Judge Philip A. Brimmer said Tuesday for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The cost is addition to their membership fee, they say.

The plaintiffs hope to certify state ...