Editors’ Note: This article has been updated to clarify which claims have been dismissed with and without prejudice, following the judge presiding over the case granting the plaintiffs’ motion to clarify her March 25 ruling.
A Louisiana judge has dismissed a “three-way agreement” lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors, ROAM MLS, and several other defendants.
Brokers Carla DeYoung and Carlos Alvarez, along with agents Tammy Jo Williams and Darlene Currie, filed a complaint against NAR and the other defendants in January 2025. The complaint argued that NAR’s three-way agreement rule — which requires members to also join a local and state association to access the MLS — violated their First Amendment rights alongside the Fair Housing Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and other laws.
Louisiana District Court Judge Shelly D. Dick made her ruling on Wednesday, permanently dismissing the Clayton Act and First Amendment Act claims against NAR, GBRAR, NOMAR, ROAM MLS, and Kenneth Damann, the registered agent for ROAM MLS and executive vice president of GBRAR.
Judge Dick also postponed action on the state antitrust claims and dismissed the Sherman and Fair Housing Act claims against the defendants without prejudice, giving the plaintiffs 21 days to file an amended complaint.
“We are pleased that the Court adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation and dismissed the plaintiff’s federal claims,” a NAR spokesperson told Real Estate News, which first reported the news on Friday. “As we have previously stated, NAR stands by the pro-competitive, pro-consumer local broker marketplaces, which local associations may choose to provide as a member benefit.”
“Each local MLS sets its own requirements for determining access to the platform and for governing participants’ conduct on the platforms,” they added, referring to the repeal and revision of several MLS access rules during NAR NXT in November 2025.
The association has navigated a handful of three-way agreement lawsuits, with wins in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas. There are still pending complaints in Michigan, Maryland, and several other states.
Despite the lawsuits, NAR remains steadfast in its support for the agreement and its role in maintaining the “ecosystem.”
“Some of you have heard rumblings of the challenging of the three-way agreement,” NAR CEO Nykia Wright said in November 2024. “Well, we are here to make sure that those rumblings subside because it is our duty to make sure that people understand what happens at the local level, the state level and the national level, and really make sure that people understand that there isn’t a cannibalization of services, but it really is working together … to make things work.”
