Michigan suit claims Realtor memberships have no value after compensation banned on MLS

Plaintiffs Douglas Hardy, Glenn Champion and Dylan Tent on Thursday filed an amended complaint in their antitrust suit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The plaintiffs take issue with what they claim is a requirement for agents and brokers — in Michigan and nationally — to be members of NAR, their state Realtor association and a local Realtor association in order to gain access to the MLS.

The three plaintiffs are real estate professionals. Hardy is the owner of Snyder Kinney Bennett and Keating LLC, which does business in southeast Michigan as Signature Sotheby’s International Realty. In addition, Hardy and Champion are primary brokers for Sotheby’s firms that operate in southeast Michigan, while Tent is a representative for all agents and associate brokers at Sotheby’s in the region. 

Defendants named in the filing include NAR, the Michigan Association of Realtors, Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors, Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors and North Oakland County Board of Realtors. Additionally, RealComp II, which is a “software company that manages the MLS and regulates the use of the MLS by brokers and agents,” is also a named defendant.

According to the amended complaint, now that offers of buyer broker compensation are no longer allowed in the MLS due to the terms of NAR’s commission lawsuit settlement agreement, the “compulsory membership” of the Realtor associations “have rendered membership in these organizations of no benefit.”

“Yet to successfully practice the sale of residential real estate and access the information compiled by the MLS, nationally and in the State of Michigan, membership in these organizations in mandatory,“ the filing states. “This required membership creates a restraint of trade to real estate brokers and agents who do not wish to belong to these organizations as brokers and agents consider the use of the MLS to be a necessity.”

The plaintiffs clarify that they are not seeking access to “the MLS information gratis” but are looking to be able to access the information on the MLS without having to belong to Realtor associations.

The plaintiffs go on to claim that these actions constitute a monopoly “in that brokers and agents would be unable to fairly compete with other Realtors who are members of these organizations as these organizations prohibit access to the information contained on the MLS without membership.”

The suit is seeking class-action status for all real estate agents and brokers in Michigan who hold a valid real estate license, and who are required to be members of the aforementioned trade groups and must use Realcomp II in order to access the MLS.

The plaintiffs are asking for damages, injunctive relief and a jury trial. The defendants did not return HousingWire‘s requests for comment.