While a U.S. district court judge in Pennsylvania may have denied its motion to stay the Moratis copycat commission lawsuit, defendant West Penn MLS is not backing down without a fight.
In addition to filing a motion in June to stay the suit, West Penn MLS also filed a motion for dismissal, as the MLS defendant had opted into the nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement reached by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In a reply filed on Friday, West Penn MLS claims that it “promptly” advised the court about its status as a settling party and sought to stay the same for itself in light of the settlement.
Like the motion to stay the suit, the plaintiffs took issue with West Penn MLS’ motion to dismiss, claiming that West Penn’s removal of its rules from its website was “improper and justifies discovery.”
In its reply, West Penn MLS claimed that the plaintiffs were incorrect in their assertion because NAR’s settlement requires a settling MLS to undertake certain business practice changes within 150 days after the filing for the first motion for preliminary approval, which occurred in mid-April.
“One of the specific changes required is the rescission or modification of any existing rules. See Ex. A Section F.35.xii, Appendix D. Pursuant to Section F, WPML removed the existing WPML Rules to ensure compliance within the 150-day period, which began on April 19, 2024. Any suggestion that WPML’s removal of the WPML Rules was improper is contradicted by the terms of Appendix D,” the reply states.
Additionally, the reply states that even though West Penn MLS removed its rules from its website, the version of these rules has not been altered and “was provided to WPML counsel to ensure that the WPML Rules were preserved consistent with WPML’s preservation obligations.”
As part of this filing, West Penn MLS submitted its rules, which it claims eliminates the need for discovery.
Originally filed in December 2023 in Pennsylvania, the Moratis lawsuit, which was formerly known as the Spring Way suit, accuses real estate industry players of colluding to artificially inflate agent commissions. It takes aim at NAR’s Participation Rule, which requires listing agents to make a blanket offer of compensation to buyer’s agents in order to list a property on a Realtor-affiliated MLS.
