A U.S. District Court judge in Texas dismissed an antitrust case that alleged the National Association of REALTORS‘® policy of mandatory involvement in local, state and national Realtor associations violates federal antitrust laws.

The lawsuit was brought by Lou Eytalis, broker and owner of Strategic Realty in Wichita Falls, in November 2024 and alleged that NAR’s membership policies are monopolistic and discriminatory.

In his dismissal, Judge Reed O’Connor referenced a prior ruling in which U.S. Magistrate Judge Hal Ray Jr. wrote that antitrust laws didn’t apply to Eytalis’s claim — and that she hadn’t demonstrated that NAR had caused any injury to her or her business.

NAR’s response, meanwhile, is that its three-way agreement has always been about efficiency and unity.

“MLSs are operated at the local level, and each MLS determines individual participation requirements,” the association said. “Similar to other national membership organizations, NAR’s integrated structure is fundamental to the value we deliver to members.”