Sitzer/Burnett Plaintiffs Seek MLS Data Access in NAR Settlement

Plaintiffs in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit, along with those in the copycat Gibson lawsuit, filed motions on Wednesday seeking court enforcement of a provision within the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) settlement. This provision mandates that Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) which opted into the settlement must grant plaintiffs access to their real estate listing and commission data. The legal action follows a refusal by Financial Business Systems (FBS), a third-party data provider supporting the Flexmls software platform, to release data without explicit permission from each individual MLS.

The plaintiffs contend that FBS has not disclosed which specific MLSs are withholding consent. To address this, they are requesting the court to implement a new procedure. Under this proposed rule, plaintiffs would notify all MLSs that joined the settlement, reminding them of their agreement to share data. MLSs wishing to object to data sharing would have seven days to inform the court. Following an objection, both parties would present arguments to the judge for a decision on whether the MLS must comply. If an MLS fails to object within the seven-day period, this inaction would be considered automatic written consent for FBS and other data providers to share the requested information.

The Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit, which began nearly three years ago, resulted in a Missouri jury finding the real estate industry liable for artificially inflating agent commissions. The ongoing legal challenges highlight the complexities of enforcing settlement terms and accessing crucial data for further analysis and potential litigation. Judge Stephen Bough, who is presiding over both the Sitzer/Burnett and Gibson lawsuits, has not yet indicated when he will rule on the plaintiffs' motion. FBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment from HousingWire.