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A federal court judge has rejected a request to pause legal proceedings against a broker-owned multiple listing service after plaintiffs argued that a settlement deal with the National Association of Realtors would not stop “a key element of the antitrust conspiracy”: offers of compensation from listing brokers to buyer brokers.
On June 20, Judge William S. Stickman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania denied a motion to stay from West Penn MLS, which is not Realtor-affiliated but is paying nearly $1 million to be covered under a provision in a proposed settlement with NAR to be released from commission-related antitrust claims.
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The stay would have temporarily stopped West Penn MLS’s obligation to respond to a class-action lawsuit filed by homesellers in December. That case is now known as Moratis after its lead plaintiffs (formerly, Spring Way Center).
The suit alleges a West Penn MLS commissions-related rule violates the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and is part of “nation-wide collusion within the real estate industry to maintain inflated commissions.” The rule is similar to NAR’s Participation Rule, which requires listing brokers to offer buyer brokers compensation to submit a listing to the MLS.
On June 19, West Penn MLS submitted a motion to stay the case “to conserve judicial and party resources” until after a Nov. 26 hearing for final approval of NAR’s settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. That court is handling settlements reached in Sitzer | Burnett, a major commission suit whose trial resulted in a jury verdict against NAR and major real estate franchisors that, when trebled, would have added up to $5.4 billion in damages.
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