Below are summaries of the case funding recommendations made by NAR's Legal Action Committee, which were subsequently approved by the Board of Directors at the 2015 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, held in San Diego, CA, during November 2015.
NAR has renewed its Professional Liability Insurance policy with ACE for 2016. The coverages provided through the program will remain unchanged in 2016.
NAR provided funding of $282,000 in two cases as follows:
- Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. v. The Relocation Group, LLC (CT)
The Connecticut Superior Court ordered plaintiff and defendant to engage in arbitration of their commission dispute before the Greenwich Association of REALTORS®. After defendant prevailed in the arbitration, plaintiff filed this action in federal court. The district court vacated the award on the grounds that the arbitration panel had acted in “manifest disregard for the law.” The defendant appealed, and the 2nd Circuit Federal Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, holding that the lower court had improperly considered the arbitration panel’s application of Connecticut law. The Court of Appeals reinstated the Association’s arbitration award and ordered the plaintiff to pay it.
- MRIS v. AHRN (MD)
Metropolitan Regional Information System, Inc. (MRIS) sued American Home Realty Network, Inc. (AHRN) for copyright infringement of MRIS listing data, which appeared on AHRN's "Neighborcity.com" website without a license or other permission from MRIS. AHRN filed a counterclaim alleging that MRIS and NAR violated the antitrust laws by conspiring to not provide listing data to AHRN or adversely affecting AHRN in other ways. MRIS has reached a favorable settlement of its copyright infringement claim, and the court entered judgment in favor of MRIS and NAR on the antitrust counterclaim. MRIS is now seeking reimbursement of its costs incurred during the litigation.