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Opponents of the National Association of Realtors’ pocket listing rules focus on NAR.
On Tuesday, private listing service Top Agent Network (TAN) Fourth Amended Complaint This challenges NAR’s clear cooperation policy, which requires listing brokers to submit listings to listing services within one business day of selling a property to the public. After entering into the agreement with NAR, TAN named NAR as the sole defendant in the antitrust lawsuit and excluded the San Francisco Association of Realtors as a defendant.
“NAR is the architect and promoter of a disastrous and clear cooperation policy and is the only party with the authority to reverse it,” TAN CEO David Faudman told Inman in a statement.
david faudman
“TAN’s removal of the SFAR in exchange for NAR’s agreement not to contest the Northern District of California’s jurisdiction makes us the real bad actors here as the case progresses through discovery and trial. We will be able to focus on NAR.”
On September 30th filing In the lawsuit, filed jointly by TAN, NAR, and SFAR, the parties told Judge Vince Chabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that SFAR was “prejudged” because NAR had: He said he agreed to be removed from the lawsuit (permanently). agreed not to contest the court’s jurisdiction over the case.
“[T]In exchange for dismissing Defendant SFAR in this case only, the parties agree that Defendant NAR has no right to the subject matter of this Court, the parties or personal jurisdiction over this particular case, or venue for this particular case in this Court. agreed not to file an objection. “NAR does not waive, and expressly reserves, the ability to object to jurisdiction or venue in any other case,” the filing states.
On October 1, Chhabria dismissed SFAR from the case and TAN filed a fourth amended complaint, which is the company’s third amended complaint except that the reference to SFAR is removed. is almost the same as
“This action is a move by the National Association of Realtors (“NAR”) and its affiliates to cut off competition, disrupt the relationship between real estate agents and their clients, and undermine the freedom of families to choose how their homes are marketed. The purpose is to prevent any conspiracy to steal the information. It is for sale,” the complaint states.
“We continue to believe that the district court properly dismissed this case in August 2021,” a NAR spokesperson told Inman in an emailed statement. We will also move forward.”
According to NAR, the CCP is intended to effectively eliminate the practice of publishing listings for days or weeks without making them widely available to other agencies. Supporters of the policy argue that it supports fair housing, benefits sellers by maximizing the exposure of property information to sellers, and provides comprehensive information to MLSs, the consumer websites they feed. claims to ensure accurate data sets.
However, TAN argues that this rule is anticompetitive and violates state and federal antitrust laws, including the Sherman Antitrust Act.
“NAR’s policy constitutes a collective boycott by NAR’s affiliated members of TAN in the real estate listing services market, and therefore NAR’s conduct is itself a violation of the antitrust laws,” the complaint states.
“The MLS’s clear cooperation policy amounts to a group boycott, as it cuts off TAN’s access to the relevant market supplies and customers needed to compete with NAR-affiliated MLSs; / or information about properties that are being sold by agents who have paid dues for this information, defeating the entire purpose of TAN’s service.”
“[T]This policy prohibits the use of non-MLS marketing to suppress competition from more successful real estate agents for the benefit of NAR’s broad membership, which is unable to compete effectively with higher-performing real estate agents. constitutes a horizontal agreement between real estate agents not to compete with each other. ” the complaint adds.
TAN acknowledges that most home sellers prefer to sell their homes through the MLS, but says there will always be sellers who don’t.
“Many consumers want to protect their privacy and do not want to host viewings or have their properties widely available on listing websites,” the complaint states.
“Other consumers engage in limited off-MLS marketing to determine appropriate prices for homes listed on their local MLS. Overpricing a home and not achieving a quick sale can have consequences “leading to a permanent decline in real estate values.”
“Sellers may also want to avoid the costs of repairs, staging, etc. that are required to maintain a home’s selling price on the MLS. There are too.”
Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is investigating the Chinese Communist Party. The Justice Department and NAR are fighting the investigation in court, and the dispute could next reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
TAN’s fourth amended complaint was filed after the state of Chhabria granted TAN’s motion for reconsideration of the case’s dismissal in July. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit remanded the case to a lower court in August 2023 because TAN’s lawsuit is sufficiently similar to the claims in a separate lawsuit brought by pocket listing service ThePLS.com against NAR. He expressed the opinion that claims should be treated in the same way. method.
In January, ThePLS.com’s case was suspended for settlement negotiations, and in July, NAR was dismissed from the case without prejudice. This means that ThePLS.com may re-file a claim against NAR at a later date. Last month, Mauricio Umanski, co-founder of ThePLS.com, threatened to file another lawsuit against NAR as part of an increased pressure campaign to force it to abolish or change the Chinese Communist Party.
NAR values a clear cooperation policy. The MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Committee, part of NAR’s Multiple Listing Issues and Policy Committee, met on September 12 and 13 to discuss CCPs but did not reach a final decision. advisory committee Let’s meet again We’ll be looking into this rule further this month. NAR told Inman Thursday that a date for that meeting has not yet been scheduled.
NAR must respond to TAN’s amended complaint within 30 days. A trial in this case is scheduled for November 3, 2025 in San Francisco.
Inman has reached out to SFAR for comment and will update this article if he hears back.
Read the complaint (reload the page if the document does not appear):
Email Andrea V. Brambilla.
