President & Founder - AgentsCompared.com
Partner - Teeple Leonard & Erdman
Just like the forsalebyowner.com and zerobrokerfees.com cases, I think this lawsuit was properly filed in federal court. How a state defines terms such as "listings" and/or applies those definitions in this context likely raises constitutional issues. Michael Erdman, Esq. www.rerclaw.blogspot.com
Perhaps the amateur radio service licensee was thinking of the Federal Communications Commission's 1985 Order in PRB-1, which directed that "[l]ocal regulations that involve placement, screening, or height of antennas based on health, safety or aesthetic considerations must be crafted to accommodate reasonable amateur communications . ..." (codified at 47 CFR 97.15(b)) Of course here a lease, not a municipal ordinance, is at issue. But note an FCC Deputy Chief's 1999 statement that "we nevertheless strongly encourage . . . private contracting parties to follow the principle of reasonable accommodation and to apply it to any and all instances of amateur service communications where they may be involved." See FCC DA-99-2569. Accordingly, I think the last sentence of the author's response here is right on target. Michael Erdman
@Jonathan - I think consumers are best served when they’re provided meaningful information and allowed to decide for themselves who the right agent is for them. Taking 90% of agents off the table before a buyer or seller can even consider any of them strips consumers of choice and control. To answer your question, AgentsCompared.com is not a matching service. We don’t rank or recommend agents, and while they're important, we don’t think that years of experience or number of deals are the sole determinants of who the right agent may be for a particular person. In a nutshell, we help buyers and sellers find, evaluate and compare competing agents on a variety of parameters, including transactional experience, and leave it to consumers to decide who the right agent is for them. Our Standard Plan is free for agents (no referral fees). Michael Erdman President & Founder AgentsCompared.com http://www.AgentsCompared.com
