Last couple of days, I’ve given presentations and sat on a panel discussion talking about the class action lawsuits against NAR over the issue of commissions. I thought most people knew about these all-important cases that are making their way through the federal courts. Apparently, only about half of the REALTORS had even heard about … Read more
I haven’t written in a while. Part of it is being extremely busy with work, which I hope to be able to tell you all about soon, but a big part of the reason is dread. I keep looking for white pill stories, visions of a bright future, or at least some kind of a … Read more
I saw the news that the court dismissed the complaint in Leeder v. NAR, the antitrust lawsuit filed against the same defendants on the same legal theories as Moehrl and Sitzer, but from the buyer’s perspective. I didn’t comment on it as I was waiting to read the opinion, and because I didn’t think it … Read more
Suddenly, it’s become like legal issue week here at Notorious. I wrote about the entirely expected certification of class action status in Sitzer v. NAR yesterday. Today, I get emailed the opinion by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the PLS.com v. NAR lawsuit. If the class action opinion from Sitzer required reading tea … Read more
A number of readers have sent me the news and the actual opinion from the court hearing Sitzer v. NAR (Case No. 19-CV-00332-SRB), in which the court basically granted the plaintiffs everything they wanted. This is now officially a class action lawsuit, certified by the court, to include thousands, if not tens of thousands or … Read more
Back in July, I wrote about the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unexpectedly pulling out of the settlement agreement it had reached with NAR and said: The withdrawal, then, combined with the above (voluntary dismissal plus broader investigations) clearly signals that the DOJ will be pursuing other antitrust claims relating to NAR’s rules. Under a stipulation … Read more
Back in 2018, I had a series called The Red Dot. The very first red dot report was on real estate photography and copyrights. This was then and remains now an important issue for the industry, and one that still remains not very well understood by most brokers, agents, and MLS leaders. So it is … Read more
One of the lawsuits going on right now, which I’ve discussed in podcasts and such, is REX v. Zillow. I didn’t really write on it before for a variety of reasons, the biggest of which is that I regarded the lawsuit as an unfortunate waste of time for everybody involved. Another reason is that I … Read more
It’s Friday afternoon, and posting has been very light as I’ve been non-stop traveling. But I wanted to get this out because it came up in conversation earlier today with an MLS executive, and thought that many of you probably were wondering the same thing. In light of yet another intervention in a private lawsuit … Read more