CRMLS sues Compass over MLS cooperation rules

The California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) has filed a lawsuit against Compass, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Seeking a declaratory judgment, CRMLS is asking a federal judge to rule that its cooperation rules are “fair, procompetitive, and legally sound” under the Sherman Act and California’s Cartwright Act.

The legal dispute follows a demand letter from Compass, which threatened litigation alleging that CRMLS rules violate antitrust laws. The conflict centers on how properties that are publicly marketed but not entered into the MLS are handled. CRMLS contends that once a home is advertised to the public, cooperating brokers should have equal access to that listing information through the MLS.

CRMLS alleges that Compass is attempting to dismantle these rules to pursue a corporate strategy of controlling property inventory as a competitive weapon. The filing claims Compass seeks to “free-ride on the comprehensive listing contributions of thousands of cooperating brokerages while hoarding its own inventory for its exclusive financial benefit.”

In response to Compass's demands, CRMLS filed the complaint ahead of a deadline set by the brokerage. CRMLS maintains that its policies ensure an open and transparent marketplace and that Compass's antitrust claims are “unjust.”