In a recent court filing, the National Association of Realtors announced its decision to appeal the ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which allowed the Department of Justice to reopen its investigation into the trade group.
Following the denial of NAR’s request for a rehearing by the appeals court in July, the decision to appeal to the Supreme Court was made.
The appeals court’s decision overturned the ruling of District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, who had previously ruled in January 2023 that the terms of the settlement between the DOJ and NAR were still valid and reopening the investigation would nullify the benefits NAR had negotiated in the original agreement.
The DOJ appealed this ruling in March 2024 and filed its first brief in June.
The initial settlement in 2020 aimed to end the DOJ’s investigation into NAR’s listing and agent compensation policies by increasing transparency and stopping the misrepresentation of buyer broker services as free. However, the Biden administration withdrew the settlement in July 2021, claiming it hindered further investigation into association rules that could harm buyers and sellers.
NAR filed a petition in September 2021 to challenge the DOJ’s probes into the trade group.
NAR plans to submit its writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court by October 10, 2024, and the DOJ has agreed to narrow the scope of documents requested in response to its demand for investigation. Additionally, NAR will produce relevant documents related to ongoing lawsuits and its Clear Cooperation Policy as required.
In the Nosalek suit, the DOJ expressed its opposition to cooperative compensation and buyer broker compensation offers.
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