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Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Antitrust Suit Against NAR

By  |  September 10, 2026
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A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit challenging the National Association of Realtors’ system linking membership in local, state and national Realtor groups, handing the trade organization another legal victory over its membership practices.

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    A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower-court ruling dismissing the case, according to HousingWire. The dispute centered on allegations that requirements tied to Realtor-association membership and access to a multiple listing service unlawfully restrained competition.

    The lawsuit was brought in December 2024 by Luz de Amor Eytalis, a real estate broker who represented herself in the litigation, HousingWire reported. Eytalis sued the National Association of Realtors, the Texas Association of Realtors, the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors and Paragon MLS Connect, alleging that brokers were effectively required to belong to Realtor organizations at the local, state and national levels to obtain MLS access.

    The case challenged what is commonly described as NAR’s three-way membership structure, under which members of participating local Realtor associations also belong to their state association and the national organization.

    A federal district court dismissed Eytalis’s lawsuit in July 2025 after a magistrate judge concluded that her complaint failed to adequately establish an antitrust injury or a conspiracy involving the defendants, according to HousingWire. Eytalis appealed the decision the following month.

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    In a brief filed in October 2025, Eytalis argued that US District Judge Reed O’Connor in Wichita Falls, Texas, had wrongly dismissed her claims and asked the appeals court to reverse the ruling and send the dispute back to the trial court, HousingWire reported. She contended that allowing the dismissal to stand would preserve allegedly monopolistic practices that, in her view, limit consumers’ access to lower-cost real estate representation and contribute to higher commissions.

    The Fifth Circuit rejected the effort to revive the case, leaving the district court’s dismissal intact.

    NAR welcomed the appellate ruling. In a statement provided to HousingWire, a spokesperson said the organization was pleased that the Fifth Circuit had upheld the lower court’s rejection of the claim that its three-way agreement violates antitrust law.

    The association also defended the structure of its membership system, telling HousingWire that participation in NAR is voluntary and that the relationship among local, state and national associations is lawful and remains an important component of the services provided to members.

    The decision closes off, at least at the Fifth Circuit level, Eytalis’s attempt to use federal antitrust law to challenge the membership arrangement. It also leaves undisturbed the trial court’s conclusion that the allegations presented in the complaint were insufficient to establish the claimed competitive harm or conspiracy.

    Source: Housing Wire