Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!
A renter outside Portland became the latest to target a major real estate brokerage with a lawsuit over telemarketing practices this week when she filed suit against Compass and one of its offices over unwanted calls and texts.
Jessica Murch said the company and its brokers and agents violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 when they called her with questions about listing the home she lives in with Compass.
Murch, who said she doesn’t own the home, said she received at least four calls and five texts she says she didn’t consent to from brokers and agents at Compass.
Murch became the latest consumer to file suit against a major real estate company this spring when she sued Compass in U.S. District Court for Oregon on Tuesday.
Last August, Murch said she clearly asked the Compass broker to not call or email her again after the initial contact.
About two weeks later, Murch said she received another call from a different Compass agent asking if she was interested in listing her house and relocating.
“The Plaintiff stated that she thought that she was pretty clear that she no longer wanted to receive calls from Compass and didn’t want to talk to Compass, and reiterated her internal do not call request.”
Murch continued getting calls into 2025, she said, up until two weeks before filing her lawsuit.
“Telemarketing calls are intrusive,” Murch said in her complaint. “A great many people object to these calls, which interfere with their lives, tie up their phone lines, and cause confusion and disruption on phone records.”
Compass declined to comment, saying it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
“Plaintiff and the Class have been harmed by the acts of Defendants because their privacy has been violated and they were annoyed and harassed. In addition, the calls occupied their telephone lines, storage space, battery life, wear and tear, and bandwidth, rendering them unavailable for legitimate communication, including while showering, getting ready for work, driving, working, and performing other critical tasks.”
Murch proposed a class that includes anyone who received multiple calls or texts from Compass or its agents if their numbers had been on the National Do Not Call Registry for at least a month before the contacts began.
She is requesting damages of between $500 to $1,500 per call or text.
Murch’s lawsuit was filed just days after a New York homeowner sued Keller Williams. The homeowner in that case made similar allegations against the franchiser.
