Top Agent Network, Inc. v. National Association of Realtors
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
TOP AGENT NETWORK, INC., Case No. 20-cv-03198-VC
Plaintiff,
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’
v. MOTION TO DISMISS WITH
PREJUDICE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
REALTORS, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 81 Defendants.
The National Association of Realtors (“NAR”) and its local chapters operate listing services through which people can buy and sell homes. The listings can be accessed by any licensed real estate agent who pays the subscription fee. NAR has adopted a rule to prevent its subscribers from withholding available properties from the listing service—if you are marketing a property in any way, you need to include it on the local listing service so that all other agents can see it. If you don’t, you will lose access to the listing service. A relatively new company called Top Agent Network (“TAN”) offers a competing listing service. But it only makes the service available to a small minority of agents—ones that the company has deemed “top agents.” These TAN members are also subscribers to NAR’s listing service. TAN wants its members to be able to list properties on its own service…