Texas broker Luz de Amor Eytalis, in a pro se filing submitted September 5, seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) to prevent the enforcement of mandatory dues policies pending appeal of a previous court order from July 22.
Eytalis, in the filing, claims that NAR’s policies are causing “irreparable harm by threatening (Eytalis’) membership and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) access.”
According to the court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Wichita Falls Division, Eytalis was issued a premature termination threat, risking their MLS access by September 8.
“As the broker, Plaintiff’s termination would remove all office listings from MLS, preventing sales and forcing agents to join other firms, causing further listing losses. This cascade of harm is immeasurable,” read the filing. “Loss of MLS access would result in immediate removal of 70 listings, causing estimated monthly revenue loss of $30,000 from commissions, plus relocation delays for clients and agents to other agencies or to fail to reenter market.”
As the operator of Strategic Realtors® in Wichita Falls, Texas, Eytalis is required to pay dues for NAR, the Texas Association of Realtors® (TAR) and Wichita Falls Association of Realtors® (WFAR) in order to access the MLS.
Just a couple of weeks ago, on August 26, WFAR issued an invoice for non-member dues for a broker in another state, who paid NAR dues in their state and was charged duplicated fees for Texas fees, according to the filing.
On June 5, 2024, Eytalis was issued an invoice from WFAR for $1,754.26 for one agent with inactive status.
In August 2023, WFAR issued an invoice for $3,496.53 for dues related to inactive agents, which she paid to avoid termination, according to the filing.
Eytalis, in the court documents, claims she has paid over $8,000 in disputed fees and legal costs, including a $4,552.50 attorney fee award in a related state court case she is appealing.
