CREA & Industry face class-action suit : Allegations anti-competitive practice echo ‘Sunderland’You can claim your claim by clicking here.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), which represents the industry, sent information to the industry boards and associations last week regarding the recent class action suit. McFall v. CREA et al., filed on 18 January.

The suit names CREA, along with several boards, associations, and corporate defendants. (Including specific brokerages and franchises).

You can also find out more about the A-Team here. ‘Canada-wide version of the Sunderland claim’

CREA continues to describe the claim. “essentially a Canada-wide version of the ongoing class action in Sunderland v. CREA et. al. and was filed by the same legal counsel. The only association defendants named in the Sunderland claim are CREA and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), while the new McFall claim names a number of boards and associations across Canada but does not include TRREB.”

Like Sunderland, the McFall claim was filed on behalf of anyone who sold property on any of the named defendant board and association’s MLS systems since March 11, 2010.

Allegation: Cooperating commission rules & defendants’ actions result in anti-competitive, price-fixing conspiracy

The communication states both claims allege that “rules requiring home sellers to offer a cooperating commission to prospective buyer brokerages when listing a property on an MLS system are anti-competitive and have harmed home sellers in the form of higher commissions, even though the cooperating commission is the subject of negotiation and the amount offered can be any amount except zero.

The allegation is these rules, along with actions taken by corporate defendants to implement and enforcement those rules, amounting to a conspiracy, to fix and control buyer broker commissions, and insulate them against competition, contrary to law. Competition Act.”

“We consider the allegations to be without merit and will continue to vigorously defend against them”

CREA explains what “MLS systems, including the Cooperation Pillar, are efficient and effective cooperative marketplaces that bring together realtors acting on behalf of Canadian home sellers and buyers, and are both pro-competitive and pro-consumer.”

Pierre Leduc is the spokesperson for CREA. He provided a statement to REM. This article “covered a number of important points in these lawsuits. Given that the courts haven’t heard any arguments, there isn’t much more we can add at this time. 

We consider that the rules governing cooperation between members, as well as MLS system, result in a cooperative marketplace that is both efficient and effective and that is also pro-consumer. We consider the allegations to be without merit and will continue to vigorously defend against them.”

Defendants: CREA and several Canadian boards and association, but not the TRREB

The defendants in the lawsuit include CREA and the defendants listed below. McFall suit are:

Regional real estate board defendants

1. Newfoundland and Labrador Association of REALTORS® 
2. Prince Edward Island Real Estate Association 
3. Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® 
4. Greater Moncton REALTORS® 
5. Real Estate Board of the Fredericton Area, Inc.
6. Saint John Real Estate Board 
7. Québec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers
8. Bancroft and Area Association of REALTORS®
9. Barrie and District Association of REALTORS®
10. Brampton Real Estate Board 
11. Brantford Regional Real Estate Association
12. Cambridge Association of REALTORS®
13. Central Lakes Association of REALTORS® 
14. Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® 
15. Cornwall and District Real Estate Board 
16. Durham Region Association of REALTORS® 
17. Guelph and District Association of REALTORS® 
18. Huron Perth Association of REALTORS® 
19. Kawartha Lakes Real Estate Association 
20. Kingston and Area Real Estate Association 
21. Kitchener-Waterloo Association of REALTORS® 
22. Lakelands Association of REALTORS® 
23. London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® 
24. Mississauga Real Estate Board 
25. Niagara Association of REALTORS® 
26. North Bay Real Estate Board 
27. The Northumberland Hills Association of REALTORS® 
28. Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board 
29. Ottawa Real Estate Board 
30. Parry Sound and Area Association of Realtors® 
31. Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of REALTORS® 
32. Quinte & District Association of REALTORS® Inc.
33. REALTORS® Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound
34. REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington
35. Renfrew County Real Estate Board 
36. Rideau-St. Lawrence Real Estate Board
37. Sarnia-Lambton Real Estate Board
38. Sault Ste. Marie Real Estate Board
39. Simcoe and District Real Estate Board
40. Southern Georgian Bay Association of REALTORS®
41. Sudbury Real Estate Board
42. Thunder Bay Real Estate Board
43. Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board
44. Timmins, Cochrane & Timiskaming Districts Association of REALTORS®
45. Waterloo Regional Association of REALTORS®
46. Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS®
47. Woodstock-Ingersoll & District Real Estate Board
48. Brandon Area REALTORS®
49. Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board
50. Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association
51. Alberta West REALTORS® Association
52. Calgary Real Estate Board
53. Central Alberta REALTORS® Association
54. Fort McMurray REALTORS®
55. Grande Prairie & Area Association of REALTORS®
56. Lethbridge & District Association of REALTORS®
57. Medicine Hat Real Estate Board Co-operative Ltd.
58. REALTORS® Association of Edmonton
59. REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District
60. REALTORS® Association of South-Central Alberta
61. Association of Interior Realtors
62. BC Northern Real Estate Board
63. Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board
64. Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
65. Kamloops & District Real Estate Association
66. Kootenay Association of REALTORS®
67. Powell River Sunshine Coast Real Estate Board
68. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
69. Vancouver Island Real Estate Board
70. Victoria Real Estate Board
71. Yellowknife Real Estate Board
72. Yukon Real Estate Association

Brokerage defendants

73. CIR Realty
eXp Property
75. MacDonald Real Estate Group Inc.
76. Maxwell Capital Realty
77. Oakwyn Realty Ltd.
78. Real Estate Professionals Inc.
79. Royal Pacific Realty Corp.
80. Team 3000 Realty Ltd.

Franchisor defendants

81. Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership
82. Coldwell Banker Canada
83. Exit Realty Corp. International Canada
84. HomeLife Realty Services Inc.
85. Keller Williams Realty Canada
86. MacDonald Real Estate Group Inc.
87. Max Wright Real Estate Corporation (Sotheby’s)
88. RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada, Inc. o/a RE/MAX Integra
89. Residential Income Fund L.P.
90. Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd.