Only five days remain to implement the changes to business practices outlined in Business Practices national association of realtors(NAR) National Council lawsuit settlement, but trade association isn’t out of litigation trouble yet.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by Douglas Hardy, Glenn Champion and Dylan Tent, the plaintiffs claim that all real estate agents in Michigan Both the agent and the agent must be members of NAR, the state association of REALTORS and the local association of REALTORS.
Hardy is Snyder Kinney Bennett & Keating LLCoperating in southeastern Michigan Signed by Sotheby’s International Realty. In addition, Hardy and Champion are principal brokers for Sotheby’s firms operating in southeastern Michigan, and Tent represents all Sotheby’s agents and associate brokers in the region.
In addition to NAR, the defendants include Michigan Association of REALTORS (March), TGrand Cape Board of Realtors (GPBOR), metropolitan association of realtors (GMAR), North Oakland County Board of Realtors (NOCBOR) and Real Comparison IIa “software company that manages the MLS and regulates its use by brokers and agents.”
The plaintiffs claim in the lawsuit that “forced membership in these associations” violates antitrust laws and is an example of “economic coercion, unfair trade restraints and conspiracy.”
The plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that the claims are based in part on NAR’s National Commission Litigation Settlement Agreement, which prohibits MLSs from indemnifying buyer’s brokers, which the plaintiffs say “essentially invites brokers and agents to engage in deceptive indemnification practices” and “encourages Discrimination between sellers and sellers’ agents, which will negatively impact consumers, agents and brokers.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs believe “Defendants’ misconduct” caused them to lose profit potential and caused overall harm to their business. Additionally, they claim that “membership required of defendants’ organizations in order to gain access to the MLS violates their ability to conduct business fairly and unencumbered, which has caused and will continue to cause them to suffer losses.” ”
The complaint alleges that NAR shifted mandatory membership requirements to state and local associations after lawsuits in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and California found that mandatory membership in the NAR for entry into the MLS was an unfair restraint of trade. , the plaintiffs claim “substantially continues the same mandatory membership practices that have been found to be unlawful.”
The lawsuit is seeking class action status for a class of plaintiffs that includes all real estate agents and brokers required to be members of NAR, all agents and brokers required to be members of MAR, all agents and brokers required to be members of MAR .
The plaintiffs seek damages, injunctive relief and a jury trial.
The defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
