A Texas judge has dismissed a “three-way agreement” lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, the Texas Association of Realtors, the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors and the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors MLS.
Broker Luz de Amor Eytalis filed the complaint in January 2025, taking aim at NAR’s three-way agreement, which requires members to also join a local and state association to access the MLS, and the Association’s “fair share” dues formula, which requires brokers to pay membership dues for all licensed agents affiliated with their firm.
Eytalis said the issue started in 2023, when she contacted WFAR about the inactive status of two agents affiliated with her firm. The broker said she asked WFAR to “consider waiving their fees due to their inactivity and non-use of membership services.” But WFAR declined Eytalis’s request and sent her an invoice for $5,300 to cover the dues for the agents in question. The invoice also included a 60-day compliance deadline, noting that her membership could be terminated if she missed the deadline.
Eytalis faced a similar issue the next year when WFAR billed the broker $1,700 for an agent whom Eytalis claimed she informed WFAR “was not in the area and had no communication with Plaintiff following sponsorship.”
The broker alleged WFAR Executive Vice President Greg Hadsell told her “that portions of the invoice, including assessment fees, MLS fees and Sentrilock fees, would be removed due to the termination of sponsorship.” However, she never received an updated invoice.
Both situations, Eytalis said, violated WFAR’s bylaws, “which require fees to be assessed equitably and prohibit penalties for agents who are not actively utilizing services,” and violated federal antitrust laws.
“[NAR, TAR, WFAR and WFMLS] have engaged in monopolistic practices that unlawfully restrict competition in the real estate market by requiring brokers to join multiple associations as a precondition for accessing MLS services, imposing a financial burden without proportional benefit and penalizing agencies if members opt to not join the membership, impeding their ability to do business,” court documents read, according to Inman‘s previous coverage of the complaint.
The Court dismissed Eytalis’s complaint in July 2025. However, the broker filed an appeal in August 2025, which was dismissed with prejudice—meaning she can’t refile—on Tuesday.
“We are pleased that the Court dismissed the appeal in the Eytalis case, leaving in place the district court’s dismissal of the federal antitrust claims with prejudice and rejection of the allegation that NAR’s three-way agreement violates antitrust law,” an NAR spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “NAR membership is voluntary, and the integrated structure connecting local, state, and national associations remains lawful and essential to the value we provide our members.”
The Eytalis ruling is the latest legal win for NAR regarding its three-way agreement, with Courts in Louisiana, North Dakota, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania also tilting the scales in the Association’s favor. Amid the barrage of lawsuits, NAR repealed a rule that required membership to access multiple listing services, allowing local Associations to decide on MLS access. Still, the group stood firm behind its three-way agreement.
“Some of you have heard rumblings of the challenging of the three-way agreement,” NAR CEO Nykia Wright said in a previous Inman article. “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.”
Two similar lawsuits in California and Georgia are still pending. NAR filed a motion to dismiss in the latter case in May.
