Mandatory NAR membership facing a new legal challenge
The Georgia case joins a handful of others as agents argue they are being forced to pay unnecessary association fees to gain access to listings.
A new lawsuit was filed this week against the National Association of Realtors, adding to the handful of cases launched by agents and brokers who are challenging the association's mandatory membership rules.
Jerome Milko, a Realtor and broker with licenses in Delaware, Georgia and Maryland, filed his antitrust lawsuit against NAR on April 15. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Atlanta.
Milko alleges the trade organization has been "unjustly enriched" by forcing him to pay "exorbitant" NAR membership fees, in addition to those required by state and local associations, for the past 37 years. Milko has suffered at least $75,000 in damages, the lawsuit alleges.
The bigger picture: Milko's case joins several others across the country, including filings in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana. The plaintiffs argue they shouldn't be forced to join other associations in order to gain access to MLS listings — especially since the broker compensation option was removed following the $418 million NAR settlement with home sellers.
Other mandatory membership cases are still progressing through the court system. This is where they stand.
In Michigan: The case filed by Douglas Hardy and several other plaintiffs in August 2024 is awaiting a judge's decision on whether to dismiss after it was amended to include charges of deceptive compensation practices.
In Texas: Broker Lou Eytalis — who filed a lawsuit over mandatory membership but is also challenging NAR for requiring her to pay for inactive agents — is about five months into the case with no significant movement as the court weighs a motion to dismiss filed by one of the defendants.
In Pennsylvania: A judge is considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in the case filed in October 2024 by Maurice Muhammad of Progressive Realty.
In Louisiana: The judge overseeing the case filed in January by two agents and two brokers is also considering a motion to dismiss filing for failure to state a claim.