Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) has indicated its intent to assert counterclaims against Compass, according to a stipulated motion filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
The development comes as both parties jointly requested an extension to the case schedule, pushing the jury trial date from June 8, 2026 to October 7, 2026.
According to the motion, NWMLS stated that it will answer Compass’s complaint and “intends to assert counterclaims” if the judge allows Compass’s lawsuit to move forward.
It was not immediately clear what issues, allegations or requests NWMLS intended to make in its countersuit. Counterclaims essentially serve as a way for defendants to assert their own legal complaints within the same lawsuit, and can request everything from monetary damages to court orders for alleged wrongdoing by plaintiffs.
When contacted by RISMedia, a spokesperson for NWMLS said they did not have any comments to share at this time.
A Compass spokesperson said that this filing was a routine procedural matter related to the schedule and “doesn’t reflect any change in the substance of the case.”
“The court has not yet ruled on (a) pending motion to dismiss, and it would be premature to comment or speculate on what (if) any position NWMLS may or may not take in the future,” the spokesperson continued. “Our position remains that we believe our case has merit and we look forward to presenting our case in court.”
Back in the summer, Compass sued NWMLS, accusing it of antitrust violations related to how Compass private listings were treated by the platform. NWMLS had briefly shut off Compass’s IDX feed in April due to the brokerage allegedly violating NWMLS rules, though Compass has claimed NWMLS bent or modified its policies specifically to stymie Compass private listings in the region.
Compass also publicly solicited homeowners to sue NWMLS over the private exclusive issue, before filing its own lawsuit.
NWMLS is not affiliated with NAR, and does not enforce the Clear Cooperation policy, but has enacted similar rules around “mandatory submission” of listings by participants and publicly lobbied against “MLS rules that facilitate hiding property listings from consumers.”
Compass is also currently suing Zillow over rules the portal enacted restricting listings that appear on its platform, similarly claiming antitrust violations.
In their joint motion, the parties cited “good cause” for the schedule extension, noting that the pending motion to dismiss has consumed most of the discovery period.
