Judge sets trial date for Compass vs NWMLS case
The brokerage giant and a Washington state MLS have been butting heads over pre-marketing rules and private listings. Now a jury may get to decide who’s right.
A trial date has been set in the court battle between Compass and Northwest Multiple Listing Service over the MLS's pre-marketing rules and the brokerage's pursuit of private listings.
U.S. District Court Judge Jamal Whitehead has scheduled the trial for June 8, 2026, and he expects discovery to be completed by Jan. 9, 2026.
In a joint status report filed earlier this month, NWMLS had asked the judge to delay the trial date and discovery until a ruling was made on its motion to dismiss. That request was not directly addressed in the June 20 filing from Whitehead.
What this case is about: Compass is suing NWMLS over what it calls anticompetitive business practices, claiming that the MLS's rules prohibiting pre-marketing and office exclusives limit seller choice, hurt consumers and block the brokerage from employing its marketing strategy in the region — an approach that starts with private exclusives.
Compass CEO Robert Reffkin doubled down on those claims when speaking to the firm's agents during a June retreat: "Organized real estate is trying to end the Compass 3-phased marketing strategy," Reffkin asserted — "but I'm not going to let that happen."
Hurting consumers — or helping them? In a June 16 status report on the case, Compass attorneys wrote, "By preventing consumer choice to market properties in any way other than immediately on the MLS, NWMLS has deprived homeowners of choice."
In response, NWMLS said its policies are designed to "provide market transparency for home sellers, buyers as well as listing brokers and brokers representing buyers."
NWMLS also said Compass is pursuing a business strategy of withholding listings but "expected unfettered access to the real estate listing of all other brokers participating in an MLS."
The leadup to the lawsuit: In March, Compass decided to move ahead with a private exclusives blitz in NWMLS's coverage area, in defiance of the MLS's rules. NWMLS responded in April by suspending the brokerages' IDX feed for two days. Compass filed the lawsuit a week later.
Prior to that April 25 filing, Reffkin had hinted at possible legal action via an Instagram post. The brokerage had also launched a website — "Washington Homeowner Rights" — which sought to collect contact information from Compass seller clients for a possible class action against the MLS.