LVR statement on copycat lawsuits in Nevada

LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas REALTORS® President Merri Perry issued the following statement in response to media inquiries related to copycat lawsuits filed in Nevada related to real estate commissions and compensation:

“As emphasized numerous times for many years by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and others, the compensation and commissions involved in a residential real estate transaction are negotiable between real estate agents and their clients. NAR, local associations like LVR and Multiple Listing Services don’t set real estate commissions, and they never will. In fact, NAR policies strictly prohibit Multiple Listing Services and REALTOR® associations from setting real estate commissions or fees. We believe that NAR will continue to aggressively oppose any lawsuits or allegations to the contrary. Las Vegas REALTORS® and its Board of Directors are committed to opposing these copycat lawsuits. We have engaged legal counsel with extensive background and knowledge in antitrust litigation to fight this litigation.”

Legal Update

The two lawsuits against LVR and our MLS, similar to other lawsuits filed throughout the nation, make a number of allegations pertaining to the offer of cooperative compensation by the listing broker to the other participants in the MLS. As we defend the lawsuits that have recently been filed against us, we would like to remind our members that litigation is a long process that may take several years to resolve. We will continue to provide as much information as we are able to our membership, in addition to providing information and resources to help our REALTOR® family illustrate the importance of using a REALTOR® in helping our community achieve the dream of homeownership – and serving the best interests of both buyers and sellers.

Remember that competition.realtor has a number of resources for each of you, and LVR, along with NAR and our state association, are working hard to continue to provide more information and content to support this effort. Additionally, LVR has put together a landing page that will be continuously updated for our membership throughout the process.

Link: https://lasvegasrealtor.com/info/nar-lawsuit/.

Below is an update from our legal counsel on the latest developments. Be sure to check back to our landing page for more updates.

As you may know, LVR and our MLS were sued last month in federal court in Nevada in a class action case captioned Whaley v. National Association of REALTORS® et al. Subsequently, on February 16, LVR and our MLS were sued in the same court in a very similar class action case captioned Boykin v. NAR. In addition to NAR, LVR and the Greater Las Vegas MLS, the defendants include the North Nevada Regional MLS, Nevada REALTORS®, and several local REALTOR® associations in our state. Numerous real estate brokerage firms are also named as defendants.

The complaint in Whaley contains 200 separate paragraphs and is 42 pages long. The complaint in Boykin contains a mere 134 paragraphs and is 29 pages long. The plaintiff in that case, however, is represented by five different law firms, including law firms in Las Vegas, Oakland, Dallas, and New York.

In essence, plaintiffs in both cases claim to be bringing the case on behalf of a class of all sellers of residential real estate listed on MLSs in Nevada. In essence, they allege that the defendants have conspired to require home sellers to pay the buyer’s broker –and to pay an inflated commission amount. The complaints assert that this result was accomplished largely by enforcement of, and adherence to, the NAR cooperative compensation rule, which required listing brokers to offer some amount of compensation to the MLS participant who produces the buyer for the listed property. The complaints claim that the challenged practices violate the federal antitrust law, the Nevada antitrust law, and Nevada statutes prohibiting unfair or deceptive trade practices. Each of the complaints seeks treble damages on behalf of all home sellers whose property was listed on an MLS in Nevada going back for four years from the date that the complaint was filed (January 15, 2024 in Whaley and February 16 in Boykin). They also seek injunctive relief and payment of all of plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees.

Both of these lawsuits are copycats of approximately 20 similar cases that have previously been filed against NAR, state and local REALTOR® associations, MLSs, and brokerage firms across the country. The plaintiffs in the copycat cases have moved to consolidate all of the cases before a judge in Kansas City, Missouri who presided in the litigation in which the jury rendered a verdict of $1.87 billion against NAR and the brokerage firm defendants. NAR has requested that all of the cases be consolidated in federal court in Chicago – where the first of the antitrust cases was filed. The local defendants in many of the copycat cases have opposed consolidation. They have instead requested that the local cases remain in the courts in which they were filed – in our case, federal court in Nevada. The issue of consolidation is currently before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. We expect a decision on this issue sometime in the spring.

Until a ruling on consolidation is made, we will not know whether the Whaley and Boykin cases will proceed in Nevada – or whether they will be consolidated with the other copycat cases and transferred either to Kansas City or to Chicago. What we do know, however, is that we regard the cases against LVR and the GLVAR MLS to be entirely without merit. All that we have done is to require that some specific offer of compensation be made by the listing broker to the MLS participant who produces the buyer for the listed property. Previously that offer could be as little as one cent. Recently, we changed our rule to permit the listing broker to offer zero to the successful buyer broker. We have never attempted to dictate, or even to suggest, how much should be offered in cooperative compensation beyond a single cent. We believe that our conduct has been, and continues to be, entirely lawful – and that it promotes efficiency in real estate transactions for the benefit of sellers and buyers alike. For that reason, we will vigorously defend the lawsuit.

We will do whatever we can to produce a victory for LVR and the MLS in both cases. If they remain in Nevada, we will move to have them consolidated. We have retained antitrust counsel who are very experienced in the legal and factual issues raised by the cases. We will work closely with them to achieve a successful result. We will keep you posted as significant developments occur.

About LVR

Las Vegas REALTORS® (formerly known as GLVAR) was founded in 1947 and provides its nearly 17,000 local members with education, training and political representation. The local representative of the National Association of REALTORS®, LVR is the largest professional organization in Southern Nevada. Each member receives the highest level of professional training and must abide by a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit www.LasVegasRealtor.com.