collusion

Justice Department Sues Tech Firm Over Allegations of Rent Collusion Among Landlords

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice, along with eight state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against RealPage, a prominent provider of property management software. This legal move challenges the company’s practices which, according to the DOJ, enabled landlords across the nation to coordinate on setting higher rents, affecting millions of tenants in the process. RealPage, based in Richardson, Texas, offers software that manages approximately 16 million rental units, primarily in the Sun Belt and Southern United States. The federal lawsuit, which was lodged in a North Carolina federal court, claims that RealPage holds a … Read more

Landmark Lawsuit Claims Tech Software Sparked Nationwide Rent Collusion Scandal

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Washington — In a landmark case, federal regulators have filed a lawsuit against a leading technology company, alleging its software tools facilitated unlawful rent collusion among large U.S. property management firms. The case highlights growing concerns around the use of automated technology in setting rental prices across the nation. According to documents filed in court this week, the software in question purportedly allowed companies to share sensitive rental pricing information with each other. This process allegedly enabled a pattern of price-fixing, artificially inflating costs for renters and violating antitrust laws aimed at protecting free market … Read more

Real Estate Professionals in California Hit with New Lawsuit Alleging Collusion and Inflated Commissions

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SACRAMENTO, California – Real estate professionals in California are facing yet another commission lawsuit. On Thursday, Willsim Latham, LLC. filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, alleging collusion among real estate industry players to artificially inflate real estate agent commissions. The lawsuit targets MetroList Services, the area’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS), as well as various local Realtor associations and brokerages including RE/MAX, Anywhere, Keller Williams, eXp World Holdings, NorCal Gold, Williams L. Lyon & Associates, Guide Real Estate, Paul M. Zagaris Real Estate, and Century 21 Select Real Estate franchise. MetroList, unlike other … Read more

National Association of Realtors Found Guilty in $1.785 Billion Collusion Lawsuit

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Kansas City, Missouri – The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and other industry players have been found guilty by a Missouri jury of colluding to maintain high brokerage commissions. The jury awarded $1.785 billion in damages in this case, which is one of two lawsuits concerning brokerage commission practices. The Justice Department is also investigating a commission-sharing system that typically requires home sellers to pay a 5% to 6% cut of the sale to both their agent and the buyer’s agent. The lawsuit, filed in Kansas City, Missouri, targeted the Realtors association along with Keller … Read more