Real estate antitrust and commission lawsuits, week in court update

It has been a busy week in the courts and HousingWire is here to update you on all of the real estate lawsuit developments. 

The Compass v. NWMLS battle continues

Compass is seeking to dismiss the counterclaims asserted against it by Northwest MLS (NWMLS), according to a motion filed last Thursday. 

In the filing Compass claims that “only a monopolist like NWMLS would sue its own customer (Compass) for daring to stand up for competition and homeowner choice.”

“With its counterclaims, NWMLS tries to manufacture tort liability from Compass’s efforts to help its brokers comply with their fiduciary duties and offer homeowners different options to market their homes,” the filing states.

The motion continues on to claim that the counterclaims “an unveiled threat to Compass and any other Seattle area brokers who might consider opposing NWMLS’s mandates or breaking from the conspiracy of brokers it has organized.”

This comes after NWMLS filed In an emailed statement NWMLS CEO Justin Haag claimed that “Compass’s recent attempt to frame market transparency as a ‘monopoly’ is a distraction from the real issue: the creation of shadow inventory that benefits a single brokerage at the expense of the general public.”

“While Compass labels its “three-phased marketing” ploy as innovative, it is in fact nothing more than an exclusionary practice that hides material information and listings from the buyers who need them most. Northwest MLS is built on the belief that every broker and every homebuyer deserves equal access to every listing and all the information about each listing,” Haag added.

“By withholding listings and key information from other brokers and the public, Compass is manipulating critical market data, including days on market and price change history, which degrades the accuracy and reliability of the data Northwest MLS compiles and that all brokers, appraisers, and consumers rely upon.

Northwest MLS is not “blocking” self-proclaimed “innovation” – we are blocking exclusionary practices and deception. We believe a fair market is an open market. We will continue to defend the pro-competitive rules that benefit all brokers and consumers and protect the public’s right to a transparent, competitive, and honest real estate market.”

Compass did not wish to comment on its filing. 

Three-way membership agreement lawsuits look to rise from the ashes

Despite federal courts in Louisiana and Michigan dismissing the In the second amended complaint, the plaintiffs repled the federal claims the court had previously dismissed. Again, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants have “engaged in anticompetitive and exclusionary practices, including conditioning access to MLS data and MLS-related platforms […] on compulsory membership in local, state and national Realtor associations.” 

In regard to the amended complaint, a spokesperson for the NAR wrote in an email that the trade group “supports pro-competitive, pro-consumer local broker marketplaces, which local associations may choose to provide as a member benefit.”

“Each local MLS sets their own requirements for determining access to the platform and for governing participants’ conduct on the platforms,” the spokesperson wrote. “We will continue to defend our position, which is supported by the court’s prior dismissal of the plaintiffs’ federal claims.”

As for the Hardy suit, the plaintiffs filed an appeal in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last Thursday regarding the final judgement issued in the lawsuit in late March.

Filed inAccording to a NAR spokesperson, the trade group “”believes the district court correctly dismissed this case and continues to stand by the pro-competitive, pro-consumer local broker marketplaces, which local associations may choose to provide as a member benefit.”

“Like other national membership organizations, NAR’s integrated structure is essential to the value we provide our members, and we remain committed to policies that promote competition, transparency, and value for brokers and consumers alike,” the spokesperson added. “We will continue to defend our position on appeal.”

Another antitrust suit seeks to channel its inner phoenix 

Jorge Zea, the plaintiff in the aptly named Zea antitrust lawsuit filed an amended complaint on Monday after his lawsuit was fully dismissed in mid-April. The ultimate Zea runs www.snapflatfee.com, a brokerage that charges sellers a listing fee in exchange for limited services. Zea’s firm syndicates listings data to the A spokesperson for the trade group told HousingWire that NAR “stands by its settlement of buyer-side broker commissions lawsuits through its recent settlement in Tuccori, which addresses substantially similar claims to those raised in Batton.”

“NAR maintains that the settlement process established by the Tuccori court is in the best interests of the class and constitutes a fair and reasonable agreement, which was reflected in the court’s recent decision to grant a stay in Batton,” the spokesperson wrote. “NAR will continue to vigorously defend the settlement it reached after mediation and negotiations before the court-appointed mediator, Judge James Holderman.”

Similarly, the Lutz homebuyer commission lawsuit plaintiffs also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the court to prevent While not a homebuyer commission lawsuit, the legal battle in the Hooper home seller commission lawsuit continued this week with James Mullis and the Gibson lawsuit plaintiffs appealing the court’s awarding of attorneys fees in the Hooper suit related to home seller commission lawsuit settlements reached with eXp World Holdings and Weichert Realtors.The Gibson plaintiffs had previously