West Penn MLS finally got his way in the lawsuit against the Moratis Commission.
Despite the fact that he has opted for the national settlement agreement for commission cases offered by the National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR) Judge William S. Stickman IV, who is overseeing the Moratis trial in the Western District of Pennsylvania, declined to stay the case before the MLS. That all changed on Monday, when Stickman announced his decision to grant a joint motion from West Penn MLS, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services And Everest Consulting Group LP to dismiss the case.
According to the court, the three defendants were dismissed with prejudice. The suspects submitted their request for dismissal in June. Howard Hanna had not reached a plea agreement.
Prior to Stickman’s latest ruling, he had sided with the plaintiffs, who argued that a stay or dismissal of the defendants’ case while they await final approval of their settlement agreements would “cause significant harm to the plaintiffs, the judicial efficiency and would not significantly change the ultimate burden on the defendants.
Due to Stickman’s decision to dismiss the three defendants, coupled with the stay of the case for the remaining defendants due to pending plea agreements, the court decided to close the case. Despite the closure of the case, the parties may request a status conference or attempt to reopen the case by filing a motion.
The Moratis lawsuit, originally filed in December 2023 in Pennsylvania, accuses real estate industry players of conspiring to artificially inflate agents’ commissions. It focuses on NAR’s Participation Rule, which requires brokers to make a blanket compensation offer to buyer’s agents to list a property on a Realtor-affiliated MLS.
Howard Hanna and West Penn MLS did not immediately return a request for comment.
