A magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, is recommending that the court dismiss the Zea antitrust lawsuit filed against the Национальная ассоциация риэлторов (NAR) and several local Realtor associations and MLSs.
Filed in August, the lawsuit claims that the defendants engaged in a “coordinated scheme” to restrict consumer choice and maintain elevated prices, harming his брокерская деятельность модель.
Plaintiff Jorge Zea runs www.snapflatfee.com, a brokerage that charges sellers a listing fee in exchange for limited services. Zea’s firm syndicates listings data to the МЛС data feeds and forwards all buyer leads “regardless of their origin” directly to the seller.
According to Zea, buyer’s agents associated with the defendants направлять клиентов away from properties that offer a reduced or nonexistent buyer’s agent commission. In his complaint, he argues that this steering is the result of the NAR and the other defendants not enforcing their own rules.
The rules in question relate to the mandatory display of a listing broker’s contact information on the listing page in an IDX display; the commission lawsuit mandate for соглашения с покупателем; and the prohibition of MLS platforms from allowing users to search or filter results by the name of the listing broker or agent, or by the amount of compensation offered.
By allegedly refusing to enforce these rules, Zea claims that the defendants have competitively disadvantaged his discount-brokerage business.
Complaint is “deficiently pled”
In a report filed on Tuesday, Magistrate Judge William Matthewman calls the complaint “deficiently pled” and recommends that the court grant the defendants’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, which would allow Zea to refile his complaint against these defendants in the future. However, Magistrate Judge Matthewman said that the lawsuit should be dismissed without prejudice because the plaintiff is representing himself and as a result that is would “not necessarily be futile” for Zea to file an amended complaint.
The judge also notes that Zea must proceed in “good faith” if he wishes to do so, as the report recommends that the court admonish Zea for using fake legal arguments and citations in his filings.
“Should this conduct continue in any manner, the Court will consider the imposition of much more serious sanctions upon Plaintiff,” the magistrate judge writes.
The Judge’s report notes that many of the cases Zea cites in his filings do not exist and are the results of AI hallucinated law. While Zea has apologized to the court for this, he only acknowledged one citation.
“The hallucination issue is more prevalent than Plaintiff admits. Therefore, while Plaintiff has conceded that he made a mistake, and sanctions are likely not appropriate, the Court simply cannot trust the legal arguments of Plaintiff,” Magistrate Judge Matthewman wrote. “And, Plaintiff is doing himself a great disfavor by relying on fake legal arguments, which further weaken his position.”
Additionally, the judge also notes that in his filings Zea has also “attempted to rewrite the law regarding Sherman Act claims in arguing that he is not required to plead a conspiracy, or even an agreement, and has supported his argument with law invented by AI.”
Objections to the report are due by April 7. Zea did not previously object to other recommendations the judge made in this lawsuit.
Earlier this month Judge William Dimitrouleas, who is overseeing the lawsuit, уволен Ассоциация риэлторов Коннектикута (CT Realtors) and Connecticut-based Смарт MLS, as well as Arizona-based Риэлторы на западе и юго-востоке долины (WeSERV) upon the recommendation of Magistrate Judge Matthewman.
If Judge Dimitrouleas again accepts the magistrate judge’s recommendation, NAR, as well as Пляжи MLS; Риэлторы в Броварде, Палм-Бичес и Сент-Люси; Риэлторы в Майами; Региональная ассоциация риэлторов Орландо; MLS побережья Мексиканского залива Флориды; Звездный MLS; Космическое побережье MLS и Ассоциация риелторов Космического побережья; RealMLS; Ассоциация риэлторов северо-восточной Флориды и Ассоциация риэлторов Центрального Пэнхэндла would be dismissed from the lawsuit.
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