NAR discrimination case dismissed; Zillow clashes with FTC
Roshani Sheth’s case was dismissed with prejudice. Plus, Zillow and the FTC bicker over discovery; judge blocks a motion filed by Gibson settlement objectors.
Key points:
- A judge has dismissed a discrimination lawsuit filed in 2024 by ex-NAR employee Roshani Sheth — a move that the trade organization described as “a well-reasoned decision.”
- A motion seeking brokerage financial information — filed by objectors to a preliminary settlement deal in the Gibson case — has been denied.
- The FTC and Zillow are squabbling over the discovery process in an antitrust case filed last fall over the home search giant’s rentals deal with Redfin.
A discrimination suit filed in mid-2024 by a former National Association of Realtors employee was dismissed last week.
Meanwhile, a judge has denied a motion filed by Gibson settlement appellants who were seeking brokerage financial information, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argues with Zillow over discovery documents.
Discrimination case filed by ex-NAR employee ends
A discrimination suit initially filed in June 2024 by Roshani Sheth, who worked at NAR from 2014 to 2019, has been dismissed.
What the case was about: In her initial complaint, Sheth alleged that she was fired for complaining about "various acts of discrimination based on her sex and national origin during her employment," which she said included "sexual harassment, unequal terms and conditions of employment and failure to promote."
In September 2024, the case was expanded to include potential civil rights violations and breach of contract allegations.
Sheth was featured in The New York Times' 2023 coverage of issues facing NAR and its leadership — specifically an alledged pattern of sexual harassment, discrimination and retribution.
What the judge said: On Jan. 13, Judge Georgia Alexakis of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed three of the case's four counts with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. The court said it would not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the fourth count, a state law breach-of-contract claim.
In the eight-page filing, Alexakis wrote that the retaliation Sheth said she faced — which allegedly included a failure to respond to reference requests and a series of harassing text messages from NAR leaders — occurred after she left the trade association.
While NAR's alleged failure to respond to reference requests could amount to an adverse action, more than two years elapsed between the ignored requests and Sheth's filing, Alexakis noted, a period of time that was too lengthy to establish causation.
Meanwhile, the allegedly harassing texts were received nearly two years before that lack of response — and it could not be established that the texts came from people tied to NAR, according to the judge.
Sheth's discrimination claim was dismissed for several reasons, including that Sheth "cannot bring a claim based on a hostile work environment" because she "admitted that she released any claims based on NAR's actions during her employment when she signed the Settlement Agreement," Alexakis wrote.
NAR's response to the dismissal: In a statement, NAR told Real Estate News that it was "pleased that the Court has correctly dismissed this case in a well-reasoned decision."
The organization declined to comment further on employment litigation.
Judge denies Gibson objectors' request for brokerage financial info
While the future of the Gibson commissions settlement involving several large brokerages is currently in the hands of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, another battle is still being fought in Missouri.
In October 2025, Judge Stephen Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri gave preliminary approval for proposed settlements between home sellers and five brokerages: Howard Hanna, William Raveis, EXIT, Windermere and Lyon. Several objectors — Benny Cheatham, Robert Douglas, Douglas Fender and Dena Fender — later filed a motion asking to subpoena those brokerages' financial records.
On Jan. 21, Bough denied their motion. "The Court finds that courts are unanimous that objectors are generally not entitled to discovery," Bough wrote in a brief statement.
FTC, Zillow clash over discovery
The FTC is accusing Zillow of attempting to withhold documents in the antitrust lawsuit it filed last fall over Zillow's rentals deal with Redfin. The battle over discovery comes a week after Zillow and Redfin asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that their rental partnership makes "renters and property managers better off."
In a joint status report filed Jan. 19 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Zillow and the FTC disagreed over whether Zillow Group CEO Jeremy Wacksman and the company's two co-founders and co-executive chairs — Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink — should be required to disclose information about the rentals deal.
Zillow is attempting to invoke the apex doctrine, which typically protects employees at the highest levels provided that they are "removed from the daily subjects of litigation" and "have no unique personal knowledge of the facts at issue in a litigation," according to the FTC. The FTC contends that all three have direct and unique knowledge of Zillow's agreement with Redfin.
Zillow said its proposed list includes 22 individuals "most likely to possess materials responsive to Plaintiffs' discovery requests." It also argued that, with court-ordered deadlines approaching, collecting data from Wacksman, Barton and Frink — "most of which is likely to be duplicative" — threatens to create delays.
Another status report hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.