Top Agent Network Amends Eligibility to Focus on NAR as “Wrongful Offender”

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Opponents of the National Association of Realtors’ package listing law are signing on to the NAR.

On Tuesday, the independent listing service Top Agent Network (TAN) filed its fourth amended complaint challenging the NAR’s Clear Partnership Policy, which requires listing agents to post listings on their multiple listing service within one business day of marketing a property to the public. After settling with NAR, TAN named NAR as the sole defendant in the antitrust lawsuit and removed the San Francisco Association of Realtors as a defendant.

“NAR is the creator and promoter of the Clear Partnership Policy and is the only organization with the power to revoke it,” TAN CEO David Faudman told Inman in a statement.

“Removing the SFAR — which TAN did to change NAR’s agreement not to challenge jurisdiction in the Northern District of California — will allow us to focus on the real perpetrator here, NAR, as the case proceeds through discovery and trial.”

In a Sept. 30 filing filed jointly by TAN, NAR and SFAR, the parties told Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California that they had agreed that SFAR would be withdrawn from the case “with prejudice” (meaning, permanently ) because the NAR had agreed not to challenge the court’s jurisdiction over the case.

“[T]The Parties agree that, in this matter only and in lieu of dismissing Defendant SFAR, Defendant NAR shall not challenge this Court’s title or personal jurisdiction over the Parties or this particular case, or the venue of this case in this Court (while NAR does not compromise, and reserves clearly, the power to challenge jurisdiction or jurisdiction in any other cases),” the file continues.

On October 1, Chhabria dismissed the SFAR in the case, and TAN submitted its fourth amended complaint, which is almost identical to the company’s third amended complaint, except that the references to the SFAR were removed.

“This action seeks to stop the National Association of Realtors (‘NAR’) and its affiliates from conspiring to stop competition, disrupt the relationship between real estate agents and their clients, and deprive families of their freedom to choose how to market their home. for sale,” reads the complaint.

In an emailed statement, an NAR spokesperson told Inman, “We continue to believe that the District Court dismissed this case in August 2021. We will continue to develop our positions to support this outcome before the Court.”

According to NAR, CCP is intended to effectively end the practice of publishing lists for days or weeks without making them available globally to other agents. Proponents of the policy argue that it supports fair housing, benefits sellers by giving them greater exposure to their listings, and ensures MLSs — and therefore consumer websites that feed MLSs — have a comprehensive, accurate dataset.

TAN, however, alleges that the law is anticompetitive and violates state and federal antitrust laws, including the Sherman Antitrust Act.

“NAR’s policy includes a Group Boycott of NAR-affiliated members against TAN in the real estate listing services market, so NAR’s actions are antitrust violations per se,” the complaint states.

“The MLS Clear Cooperation Policy includes a Group Boycott because it cuts off TAN’s access to the supply and relevant market customers needed to compete with NAR-affiliated MLSs — that is, information about properties being marketed and/or sold outside of the MLS, and agents pay membership fees for this information — undermining the entire purpose of TAN services.”

“[T]The policy creates a horizontal agreement between real estate agents not to compete with each other using marketing outside of the MLS, in order to suppress the competition of more successful real estate agents for the benefit of NAR’s broader membership, which cannot effectively compete with the top players. ,” added the complaint.

TAN acknowledges that most home sellers prefer to market their homes through the MLS, but says there will always be sellers who are reluctant to sell.

“Many buyers wish to maintain their privacy and do not want to host viewings or have their property widely available for viewing on a listing website,” the complaint states.

“Some buyers engage in limited MLS advertising to ‘test the waters’ to find the right price to list their home on the local MLS – MLSs maintain listing data and overprice a home on the MLS and failure to achieve a quick sale can lead to a permanent downgrade. of the property value.

“Sellers may also wish to avoid expenses such as maintenance and staging required to maintain a home’s marketable value on the MLS. Others simply wish to avoid the hassle of regular MLS sales. “

Separately, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice is investigating CCP. The DOJ and NAR have been contesting the investigation in court and the battle may be headed to the US Supreme Court.

TAN’s fourth amended complaint comes after Chhabria in July granted TAN’s motion for reconsideration to dismiss the case. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sent the case back to the lower court in August 2023, ruling that TAN’s lawsuit was sufficiently similar to claims in another lawsuit filed by NAR over the pocket listing service ThePLS.com to treat the claims similarly. way.

In January, ThePLS.com’s lawsuit was temporarily suspended for settlement negotiations, and in July, NAR was dismissed from the lawsuit without prejudice, meaning ThePLS.com can refile its claims against NAR at a later date. Last month, ThePLS.com founder Mauricio Umansky threatened to file another lawsuit against the NAR as part of an intense pressure campaign to get the NAR to withdraw or change the CCP.

NAR is evaluating a Clear Partnership Policy. Its MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board, which is part of NAR’s Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee, met on September 12 and 13 to discuss the CCP, but no final decision was reached. The advisory board will meet again this month to consider the legislation. A date for that meeting has not been set, NAR told Inman on Thursday.

The NAR has 30 days to respond to the amended TAN complaint. The trial in this case is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2025, in San Francisco.

Inman has contacted SFAR for comment and will update this story if a response is received.

Read the complaint (reload the page if the document does not appear):

Email Andrea V. Brambila.

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