New real estate antitrust lawsuit brought against NAR

On March 6, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Illinois against the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and four large brokerage companies alleging that the defendants conspired to restrain price competition among buyer brokers via promulgation of NAR’s MLS rules.

Below is NAR’s official statement:

The complaint is baseless and contains an abundance of false claims. The U.S. Courts have routinely found that Multiple Listing Services are pro-competitive and benefit consumers by creating great efficiencies in the home-buying and selling process. NAR looks forward to obtaining a similar precedent regarding this filing.

NAR General Counsel Katie Johnson shared that members who receive media inquiries regarding the lawsuit should direct all media inquiries to NAR’s VP of Media Communications, Mantill Williams (mwilliams@realtors.org). If you have any questions about the legal allegations, please direct those to Lesley Muchow (lmuchow@realtors.org).

View the frequently asked questions compiled by NAR to help you as you discuss this litigation with colleagues and consumers.