The Supreme Court didn’t provide an explanation for its decision, allowing the Department of Justice to reopen its investigation into the association’s cooperative compensation rule.
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The National Association of Realtors faced another legal setback on Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its case against the Department of Justice.
The Supreme Court’s decision, without explanation, now allows the Department of Justice to resume its investigation into the association’s controversial commission and pocket listing rules.
NAR remains committed to fighting for its members and consumers, despite the Supreme Court’s decision not to review the lower court’s ruling.
Following the loss of its appeal, NAR’s case will return to the district court where its petition to pause or modify the DOJ’s investigation was originally filed.
The DOJ’s probe into the Participation Rule may signal a potential lawsuit against NAR, as the agency believes the association’s previous settlement did not go far enough in addressing antitrust concerns.
The Clear Cooperation Policy is also under scrutiny, with the DOJ showing interest in challenging the rule.
NAR’s efforts to combat the investigation include attempting to limit the scope of the administrative subpoena issued by the DOJ in July 2021.
The DOJ’s CID requested a wide range of documents related to NAR’s commission and pocket listing rules, as well as other industry practices.
Despite NAR’s objections to the broad requests for documents, the association’s legal battle with the DOJ continues as the investigation unfolds.
Several months later, it was disclosed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had resumed its investigation into the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) commission and pocket listing rules shortly after backing out of the settlement and dismissing its initial complaint.
In response, NAR took swift action to urge the DOJ to honor the original agreement. NAR brought the case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in December 2023. When this approach proved unsuccessful, NAR filed a petition in October to escalate the case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the DOJ must honor its “contractual promises just like other parties.”
In the October filing, NAR’s attorneys emphasized, “If left unchallenged, the ruling below will jeopardize the interests of various private parties who regularly engage in contracts with the government, ranging from prominent firms crucial to the nation’s economy to criminal defendants facing the government’s substantial prosecutorial advantages.”
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Email Andrea V. Brambila.