The legal problems remain for the National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR).
On Wednesday, Maurice Muhammad – the real estate agent of Progressive real estate – filed a complaint in the US District Court in Pennsylvania alleging that NAR, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR) and the MLS from the greater Lehigh Valley (GLVMLS) have violated federal civil rights statutes, engaged in unlawful discriminatory practices, violated their contracts, created a monopolistic system, and violated federal antitrust laws.
“These practices disproportionately affect minority professionals and have resulted in unfair enforcement of the rules and exclusion from fair competition in the real estate industry,” the complaint states.
Muhammad alleges that the three defendants have “engaged in a pattern of discriminatory practices against minority professionals in the real estate industry.” These practices reportedly include “selective enforcement of professional rules, uneven application of disciplinary measures, and the exclusion of minority professionals from leadership positions.”
The complaint refers to a report by the Community Legal Services of the Lehigh Valleywhich revealed that minority members of NAR are subject to unequal enforcement of ethical standards. Additionally, the report states that the leadership structures of the three organizations are “overwhelmingly non-diverse, leading to policies and decisions that fail to protect minority members or meet their specific needs within the profession.” It adds that the claimant has personally been subjected to discriminatory treatment by the defendants.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that NAR’s membership structure – which requires agents to join NAR in order to access a broker-affiliated MLS – violates federal antitrust laws.
“The forced membership requirement imposed by NAR, PAR and GLVMLS creates a coercive environment that disproportionately affects minority professionals who lack the financial resources to pay mandatory membership fees,” the complaint states.
“Defendants have used their monopoly on MLS services to prevent the creation of alternative trade organizations, thereby stifling competition and strengthening their control over the real estate profession.”
This isn’t the first lawsuit to target the relationships between broker associations and MLSs. The Hardy lawsuit, filed in August by a group of Michigan real estate agents, alleges that the requirement for all real estate agents and brokers in Michigan to be members of NAR, their state real estate brokerage association and a local board of real estate agents represents a violation of antitrust law.
Muhammad also claims that the lack of diversity in leadership positions in real estate associations has resulted “in policies and regulations that do not address the unique challenges faced by minority professionals.”
“Despite repeated efforts by Plaintiff and other minority members to express their concerns about these issues, their grievances are consistently ignored by Defendants, perpetuating a system of exclusion and discrimination,” the complaint said.
The defendants did not return HousingWire‘s requests for comment.
