NAR notches another legal win with dismissal from Muhammad suit

By BrokerOwner.net August 1, 2025 Housing News

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.