1 day ago
11
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially withdrawn its objections to MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN)’s settlement in the Nosalek commission lawsuit. The DOJ notified the court of the formal withdrawal in a document filed on Tuesday.
Despite withdrawing its objections, the DOJ made it clear that it still has issues with upfront offers of buyer broker compensation.
“To be clear, the United States maintains that blanket, upfront offers of buyer broker compensation by sellers or their listing agents constitute an anticompetitive practice that inflates costs for home buyers and sellers,” the agency wrote in its filing.
While blanket offers of buyer broker compensation are still an issue for the DOJ, the agency wrote that this differs from the question of whether a private settlement is satisfactory. But due to the settlement being part of a private class-action suit, the DOJ said it does not “preclude any future enforcement actions by the United States.”
“Nor would compliance with the proposed settlement or new MLS PIN rules implementing that settlement afford a defense to any such enforcement actions,” the filing continued.
News of the DOJ withdrawing its objections surfaced last week when MLS PIN and the Nosalek plaintiffs notified the court that they had reached a fourth amended proposed settlement.
In the amended agreement, MLS PIN has agreed to pay $3.95 million, the same amount it would have paid had it bought into the National Association of Realtors‘ settlement. Additionally, MLS agreed to remove offers of buyer broker compensation from its platform.
MLS PIN was the first commission lawsuit defendant to settle, but it is now one of the few left without even a preliminarily approved settlement.
Just weeks after Judge Patti B. Saris granted preliminary approval to MLS PIN’s settlement in September 2023, the DOJ intervened and claimed it had “significant concerns” about the proposed settlement.
Over the past 18 months, the DOJ has gone back and forth with MLS PIN and the plaintiffs to come up with a settlement the agency approves of.
In a reply to the DOJ filed in March 2025, MLS PIN and the Nosalek plaintiffs expressed their frustration over the length of time it has taken for the settlement to be approved.
“This case has been effectively paused for over a year for no other reason than to allow DOJ to speak its piece on the fair-and-reasonable compromise achieved between Plaintiffs and MLS PIN,” MLS PIN’s brief states.
The MLS defendant argued that the DOJ’s objections to its proposed settlement agreement are policy-based and not legally sound.
At a hearing in early April, Saris said she was “sympathetic” to the DOJ’s views, but she still wanted evidence of an antitrust violation.
“What I haven’t seen yet is whether it has an anti-competitive effect,” she said. “I haven’t seen that evidence.”
In order to gain a better understanding of whether this practice has harmed consumers, Saris asked the DOJ to consult with economists and real estate experts to provide data on how this practice has artificially inflated agent commissions, and to file an amicus brief before the final approval hearing for the settlement.
Since the DOJ withdrew its objection, it will no longer need to file an amicus brief. A preliminary approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for June 10.
English (US) ·