The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is three for three when it comes to antitrust lawsuit dismissals this summer. On Thursday, Judge Joseph F. Leeson of U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania granted NAR, Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, and Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors’ motion to dismiss the Muhammad antitrust suit, dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice. 

Filed by Maurice Muhammad, a broker at Progressive Realty, in October 2024, the suit claims that NAR, along with other Realtor associations and executives, have violated federal civil rights statutes, engaged in unlawful discriminatory practices, breached their contracts, created a monopolistic system and broken federal antitrust laws. Muhammad was representing himself pro se in the lawsuit. 

In his opinion, Judge Leeson wrote that Muhammad has only made “bare and conclusory allegations” that the defendants had engaged in price fixing or steering. 

Additionally, Judge Leeson did not find that Muhammad had “sufficiently” alleged that restricting MLS access to Realtor members “imposed an unreasonable restraint on trade.”

In an emailed statement, NAR spokesperson wrote that the trade group was pleased with the court’s ruling, stating that the decision “reinforces NAR’s position that its policies foster competition and are not discriminatory.”

“Like other national membership organizations, NAR’s integrated structure is essential to the value we provide our members, including a unified voice on policy issues, a uniform Code of Ethics, and valuable tools and professional development opportunities that help members get to, and execute, their next transaction,” the spokesperson wrote.

Last week, Judge Reed C. O’Connor of U.S. District Court in Wichita Falls, Texas, dismissed the Eytalis antitrust lawsuit, which like the Muhammad suit, dealt with the three-way Realtor association membership structure and MLS access. 

Earlier in July, NAR was dismissed from yet another antitrust lawsuit filed by discount brokerage firm Homie Technology. 

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