Fifth Circuit upholds dismissal of NAR three-way agreement suit

A three‑judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Luz de Amor Eytalis’s antitrust lawsuit, leaving the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and its affiliated Texas and Wichita Falls Realtor groups free from the claim that their three‑way membership requirement for MLS access violates competition law. Eytalis, a real‑estate broker who is representing herself, filed the suit in December 2024 alleging that NAR, the Texas Association of Realtors, the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors and Paragon MLS Connect conspired to force brokers to join local, state and national Realtor associations in order to obtain MLS listings, thereby restricting competition. The appellate court upheld the lower court’s finding that the complaint did not plausibly demonstrate an antitrust injury or a conspiratorial agreement among the defendants, preserving the district court’s 2025 dismissal.

The dismissal rests on a magistrate judge’s earlier recommendation that Eytalis’s allegations lacked sufficient factual support to show that the three‑way membership structure caused consumer harm or constituted an unlawful restraint of trade. After the district court dismissed the case in July 2025, Eytalis appealed, arguing in an October 2025 brief that Judge Reed O’Connor had erred and that the dismissal harmed the public interest by perpetuating monopolistic practices that raise commission rates and limit access to affordable agents. The Fifth Circuit, however, concluded that the plaintiff’s assertions did not meet the pleading standards required to survive a motion to dismiss, effectively removing the antitrust issue from NAR’s docket.

NAR responded to the appellate ruling with a brief emailed statement to HousingWire, expressing satisfaction that the court rejected the allegation that its three‑way agreement violates antitrust law. The association emphasized that membership in NAR and its affiliated bodies is voluntary and that the integrated structure linking local, state and national Realtor organizations is lawful and essential to the value it provides members. With the appeal resolved, the case is closed for now, leaving the existing membership model intact and signaling that, at least for the time being, federal courts are unlikely to intervene in NAR’s longstanding MLS access requirements.

⚡ Effects Interpreter