CRMLS and Compass antitrust litigation

A legal dispute has emerged between the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) and Compass, Inc. regarding real estate cooperation and marketing rules. On October 6, CRMLS filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Seeking a declaratory judgment, CRMLS asked 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 filing alleged that Compass was attempting to use a corporate strategy to control property inventory as a competitive weapon, claiming the company sought to “free-ride on the comprehensive listing contributions of thousands of cooperating brokerages while hoarding its own inventory for its exclusive financial benefit.” On October 16, Compass responded by filing a federal antitrust lawsuit against CRMLS in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Compass challenged regulations that require agents to submit property listings to the shared database within one business day of public marketing. Compass argued these rules interfere with its “See It First” program, which allows sellers to promote properties within the Compass network before they are available through traditional MLS platforms. As part of its litigation strategy, Compass announced it would reimburse qualifying agents at its company-owned brokerages for fines imposed by CRMLS for marketing homes outside the MLS at a seller’s direction, provided the agents assign their right to sue CRMLS to Compass. On October 22, the legal conflict expanded as six additional multiple listing services—Arizona Regional MLS, Bridge MLS, Canopy MLS, REcolorado, Hive MLS, and Doorify MLS—filed a federal lawsuit against Compass International Holdings in the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs seek a court declaration that their cooperation rules are lawful and aim to prevent Compass from pursuing antitrust litigation against them.