On Wednesday, a panel of appellate judges agreed with a lower court’s decision to throw out a federal antitrust case against the National Association of REALTORS® and others.
Texas real estate broker Luz De Amor Eytalis sued NAR, the Texas Association of REALTORS® and the Wichita Falls Association of REALTORS®, as well as Paragon MLS Connect. Eytalis claimed the defendants violated federal antitrust and Texas state laws regarding breach of contract and unjust enrichment by requiring membership to participate in the multiple listing service provided by the Wichita Falls Association of REALTORS®.
Last July, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed the federal claims with prejudice and declined to exercise jurisdiction over the state claims, dismissing them without prejudice.
Judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently allege an antitrust injury; that the district court did not err when it used its discretion to dismiss state claims; nor when it overruled the plaintiff’s objections to the magistrate judge’s findings and conclusions, because it had conducted its own review of the contested portions of those findings and rulings.
“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. "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.”
