MLS PIN, after being the first entity to strike a settlement deal in the commission lawsuits, has now changed its agreement to align with the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) deal, removing commission offers from its platform—at least in part to appease the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In a court filing today, lawyers for the Massachusetts-based MLS told Judge Patti Saris that the DOJ dropped its objections to the agreement—first proposed in mid-2023—after the parties consented to banning cooperative compensation on the platform.
“The parties understand that the (DOJ) intends to file a brief statement with the Court withdrawing its previous objection while otherwise retaining all rights to bring a separate enforcement action,” the lawyers wrote.
This represents a significant reversal from only a few months ago, when parties to the MLS PIN case said the DOJ explicitly rejected their offer to align their policy changes with NAR’s agreement. It was not clear what precipitated this shift, though those initial conversations happened under former President Joe Biden.
The DOJ has also shifted two new lawyers onto the case since President Donald Trump won reelection in November.
The DOJ had not filed the aforementioned “brief statement” at press time. Notably, the DOJ was careful to say it was not commenting on the fairness of NAR settlement when it objected to that agreement, but raised other antitrust and procedural concerns, including the use of mandatory buyer agreements (which do not appear to be a part of the latest MLS PIN deal).
The new MLS PIN settlement, which still needs Saris’ approval, appeared to mostly mirror NAR’s deal, with some interesting new language. For instance, a new clause voids the ban on sharing commissions on the MLS if within three years, the state passes a law or a court rules that it is “not unlawful” to do so.
It also allows concessions to be negotiated off the MLS, as long as “as such concessions are not limited to or conditioned on the retention of or payment to a Buyer-Broker or other buyer representative.”
Other MLSs shied away from allowing concessions to be offered on their platforms after the NAR settlement was announced, after initially touting the practice.
Saris has scheduled a hearing to consider preliminary approval of the settlement on June 10.
