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Credit: Michael Mattes/Alamy
Mauricio Umansky has refiled an antitrust lawsuit he initiated in 2020 against the National Association of Realtors (NAR)’s trade body in federal court.
After the original case, which was paused in 2024, was released at 12 a.m. on Tuesday, the 55-year-old realtor and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member refiled the lawsuit, which pertained to his now-defunct platform The Pocket Listing Service, at 12:30 a.m.
As reported by the New York Times, via The Independent, Mauricio’s battle against NAR’s trade body began after they blocked The Pocket Listing Service from operating.
In his first filing, Mauricio accused the organization of enforcing anti-competitive policies on real estate listings and said its rules were damaging to his database of off-market listings. As noted, the policies required listings to be shared on NAR’s many services within one business day of being marketed to the public, which makes private listings virtually impossible.
“This lawsuit is about defending innovation and consumer choice in a market long dominated by entrenched gatekeepers,” a spokesperson for The Pocket Listing Service told Housing Wire. “We created a platform that responded to growing demand for privacy, flexibility, and discretion — particularly in highly-competitive and high-profile markets — and were met with coordinated resistance from an organization with a vested interest in preserving the status quo.”
Mauricio offered a statement as well during an event in June.
“There should be flavors for everybody, and everybody should have the choice as to what they want to pick,” he stated. “Restricting what we can and cannot do stops creativity, and it stops innovation.”
Meanwhile, in response to the lawsuit, the NAR’s trade body told The Independent that The Pocket Listing had ceased communications with them after previous discussions.
“NAR will respond directly to the plaintiff’s claims in court,” its statement said. “The Clear Cooperation Policy promotes transparency and competition in the real estate marketplace while still providing home sellers and their agents the option to list their property as an office exclusive.”
Additionally, it was shared that the NAR had gotten rid of some of its rules, making way for certain listings to be kept off-market for more than 24 hours.
According to Mauricio’s lawsuit, he believes his database was a “much-needed” solution for clients, especially celebrities and high-profile persons who didn’t want to list on a public platform.
“NAR and its affiliated multiple listing services colluded to eliminate competition from PLS through the adoption and enforcement of the Clear Cooperation Policy,” his case, via Housing Wired, explained.
Mauricio’s revived case comes on the heels of another antitrust suit in which the organization targeted was forced to pay out $418 million.
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