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Real estate professionals nationwide have filed lawsuits in which they are representing themselves in order to challenge the requirement that they become Realtors in order to access the multiple listing service, but a federal judge is suggesting that might not be the best idea.
On Friday, April 11, Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania partially dismissed a lawsuit brought by W. Preston Moore, a veteran real estate agent at Howard Hanna and a former president of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.
Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan
In a footnote at the end of the order, Ranjan suggested Moore, who filed the case “pro se,” hire an attorney to represent him, comparing the situation to hiring a Realtor.
“I would note that the complaint here has several complex claims, including antitrust claims,” Ranjan wrote.
“I would also note that in Mr. Moore’s last filing, he reiterated the importance and magnitude of this case to him, and the public at large. In light of this, it seems like Mr. Moore might benefit from retaining a lawyer to represent him.
“Put differently, if I were to engage in a complicated real estate transaction, I would hire a Realtor to represent me. Hiring a lawyer to bring a federal antitrust lawsuit is no different.”
Ranjan added that if Moore were to hire counsel, he would allow that attorney to file an amended complaint and give the attorney time to properly serve all of the case’s defendants.
The suit targets the National Association of Realtors’ three-way agreement, which requires agents and brokers to join a local, state and national Realtor association in order to qualify for membership in any of those NAR affiliates. It also targets a common rule enforced by many Realtor-affiliated MLSs that they join NAR in order to access the MLS. NAR itself does not require Realtor membership for MLS access.
Moore’s suit is similar to a suit filed by Pennsylvania broker Maurice Muhammad in October. Suits challenging the same policies have also been filed in Michigan, Texas, California and Louisiana. All except the suit in Michigan have been filed “pro se.”
W. Preston Moore
On Nov. 25, Moore filed a lawsuit against NAR; the state Realtor associations for Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey; the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission; and the Black Caucus of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives “for discriminatory practices, antitrust violations, forced membership, and violations of civil rights, particularly regarding minority demographics and inequitable enforcement of rules.”
PAR CEO Michael McGee; PAR Chief Legal Officer Hank Lerner; PAR Chief Growth Officer Kevin Juliano; current-PAR President Bill Lublin; PAR President-elect David Dean; PAR members Albert Perry III and Chris Beadling; and Kathryn L. Simpson of Mette, Evans & Woodside, an attorney for the New York and New Jersey Realtor associations, were also named as defendants.
In his April 11 order, Ranjan granted a motion to dismiss the case filed by the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission, the only defendant so far to respond to the case in court. Ranjan tossed the suit against the commission “without prejudice and with leave to amend,” which means Moore can update his suit and re-file it.
“Mr. Moore’s complaint fails to allege sufficient facts to state a claim against the Commission,” Ranjan wrote.
“The complaint only mentions the Commission for its ‘role[] in the regulatory and political context of this matter[,]’ but contains no allegations as to how the Commission is personally involved in the alleged misconduct.”
Ranjan also noted that Moore had made no indication in the court’s docket that he had served the defendants with a court summons and complaint.
He gave Moore until April 25 to amend his complaint and until May 12 to file executed proofs of service or executed waivers of service as to the other defendants or else the claims against the other defendants would also be dismissed without prejudice.
Inman has reached out to Moore and will update this story if and when a response is received.
Read the court’s order (re-load page if document is not visible):
