August 22: A new lawsuit against NAR, Anywhere, HomeServices of America, RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and the Wasatch Front Regional Multiple Listing Service, was filed by Homie, a flat fee brokerage, that alleged it was harmed by the defendants anti-competitive practices. NAR intends to answer the complaints in court.

July 15: A case originally settled back in 2020 by NAR and the U.S. Department of Justice has been in dispute between the two parties over what the phrase "has closed" means when it comes to renewing an investigation into the association. NAR has contended that the case cannot be reopened, while the DOJ has said the phrase was a backward-looking statement and NAR was seeking a forward-looking commitment, something the federal agency said it did not give. On Friday, July 13th, the court sided with the DOJ.  If NAR wants to pursue this further, it could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. In the meantime, the DOJ can pursue its case. DOJ has made it clear that it disapproves of any cooperative compensation between a listing broker and a buyer's licensee, in or outside of the MLS.

June 11: NAR Applauds VA Announcement of Home Loan Benefit Changes.  See the VA Circular.

May 7: Settlement Timeline

April 24: The court has granted preliminary approval of the NAR settlement agreement and the plaintiffs have requested a hearing for final court approval on  November 26th.  The practice changes set forth in the agreement are slated to take effect in late July, and class notice - the date on which NAR members will be covered in the settlement - has not yet been set but will be sent no earlier than August 17th of this year. 

April 20: NAR Settlement Fact Sheet

April 19: The plaintiffs’ counsel for the proposed settlement agreement announced that they have filed a Motion for Preliminary Approval with the federal court in the Western District of Missouri. Importantly, this filing initiates the 60-day time period during which all REALTOR® MLSs, brokerages with 2022 total transaction volume for residential home sales in excess of $2 billion, and non-REALTOR® MLSs who want to be covered by the settlement must take action. The deadline for these actions is June 18, 2024. 

Scrivener’s errors were corrected in the filed version, but no substantive changes were made. NAR expects that the Court will rule on the motion for preliminary approval soon. The practice changes set forth in the settlement agreement are slated to take effect in late July of this year, and class notice will take place no earlier than August 17, 2024. The settlement is subject to final Court approval, and plaintiffs have requested a hearing on final approval of the settlement to be held on November 22, 2024. NAR will let members know when the date is confirmed. See NAR's Q and A.

April 11: What's ahead for your business? REALTOR Magazine's 16-page digital supplement -- The real story on NAR's pending settlement. Members also can subscribe to the Navigate With NAR newsletter for the latest settlement updates.

April 5: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Decision: The United tates Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a decision holding that the DOJ’s 2020 settlement with NAR does not prevent it from reopening its investigation into NAR’s policies, including the cooperative compensation rule and clear cooperation policy. See the NAR Q and A. 

March 29: Inman News: Association of more than 200 MLSs blasts DOJ 'flaws' in Nosalek case - CMLS has asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to accept an amicus brief telling the court to disregard a statement of interest the DOJ filed in February in the Nosalek antitrust commission case.  Also, attorneys for CMLS member Northwest MLS similarly asked the court to accept their own separate amicus brief detailing alleged flaws in the DOJ’s filing.

March 28: NAR letter urges VA to allow their buyers to compensate their representative directly. 

March 25: NAR Settlement Briefing with NAR Chief Legal Officer Katie Johnson and President Kevin Sears (Video)

March 22: Facts about the Settlement from REALTOR Magazine

March 21st: Kevin Sears Discusses Key Settlement Considerations and Ongoing Advocacy Efforts (Video)

March 18th: NAR corrected the record: NAR Does Not Set Commissions

March 15: NAR announced a proposed settlement agreement that would end litigation of claims brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions. The settlement is subject to court approval.

The agreement would resolve claims against NAR, over one million NAR members, all state/territorial and local REALTOR® associations, all association-owned Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), and all brokerages with an NAR member as principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of $2 billion or below.

The key terms of the proposed settlement include:

• Release of liability
• Compensation offers moved off MLS
• Written agreements for MLS participants acting for buyers
• Settlement payment

There are materials available for members about NAR’s announcement at facts.realtor. You will need your NAR login credentials to access these materials.

2/15/24 -  The US Department of Justice filed its anticipated Statement of Interest in the Nosalek vs. MLS PIN class action antitrust lawsuit.

The DOJ urged the judge not to approve the proposed settlement between MLS PIN and the plaintiffs because the DOJ believes that it will not do enough to protect consumers from paying artificially high commissions.  The settlement would eliminate offers of compensation from listing brokers to cooperating brokers and replace them with offers of compensation from sellers to cooperating brokers. The DOJ specifically stated that buyers should pay their own buyer representatives.

The DOJ recommended the judge apply injunctive relief to prohibit MLS PIN from allowing offers of compensation from listing brokers or sellers in MLS. The National Association of REALTORS was not named in this lawsuit. What Happens Next?

1/23/24 - NAR files arguments to hear pending lawsuits in the Federal Court in the Northern District of Illinois: Last month plaintiffs in some of the cooperative commission lawsuits filed a motion with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) asking the panel to centralize and transfer various cases to the federal court in the Western District of Missouri, which is where the Burnett case was tried. Today, NAR filed our response to that motion. As stated in the filing, NAR supports centralizing 19 currently pending commission lawsuits, but disagrees with plaintiffs’ arguments that it would be most efficient to transfer the cases to the Western District of Missouri. Instead, NAR believes the best venue to hear the pending lawsuits is the federal court in the Northern District of Illinois. 

1/17/2024 - New Nevada lawsuit names REALTOR® associations only: The complaint names the National Association of Realtors, Las Vegas Realtors, Nevada Realtors, Sierra Nevada Realty, Incline Village Realtors, Elko County Realtors, Mesquite Real Estate Association and Northern Nevada Regional MLS as defendants. Unlike other commission lawsuits, the Whaley suit only names REALTOR® associations as defendants.

1/11/2024 - Read the REALTOR® Magazine article on post-trial motions.

1/9/24: Lawsuit Update: January 8th was the deadline for post-trial motions to be filed in the Burnett V. NAR case.  NAR asked the Court to vacate the verdict and enter judgment as a matter of law in favor of NAR or order a new trial. 

According to the schedule set by the Court, the motions will be fully briefed by mid-March, and the Court will rule on them sometime after that. 

1/8/24: NAR President Tracy Kasper Resigns; President-elect Kevin Sears Steps into Role, Effective Immediately. Read the NAR news release.

12/27/23: Another Nationwide Class Action Lawsuit Filed in the U.S. District Court of Missouri - The new case brought forth by Daniel Umpa against NAR and several brokerages included the filing of a separate brief with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation requesting that the new case, along with the Gibson case also filed in the U.S. District Court of Missouri on October 31st, be consolidated with seven other copycat lawsuits filed in different districts and be tried in the U.S. Western District of Missouri before Judge Stephen Bough, who oversaw the Sitzer/Burnett trial. There are now more than a dozen lawsuits in total filed throughout the country.

12/18/23: NAR Messaging - NAR President Tracy Kaplan appeared on CNBC's The Exchange to clarify how REALTORS and the MLS compensation policy are in the best interest of consumers. An op-ed was also published in USA Today on Dec. 17th. Also, topline key messages and FAQs were released to members. (See FAQs updated 2/2/24 in resources below.)

12/5/23: Court Updates - On December 1st, an appellate court panel of judges in Washington, D.C. heard arguments from both NAR and the DOJ, over whether the federal agency’s Antitrust Division will be able to reopen its investigation into the trade group’s Clear Cooperation Policy and Participation Rule. Based on reports from several news agencies, the panel of judges seemed inclined to allow the DOJ to reopen its probe. 

12/1/23: State-Wide MLS Compensation Policy changes went into effect.