Roger Alford’s time at the Department of Justice (DOJ) may have been brief — much to the relief of the real estate industry — but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have thoughts on his time there. Alford, a law professor at Notre Dame who served as an expert witness testifying against the real estate industry […]
Former DOJ official blames lobbyist for weaker antitrust scrutiny Read More »
Nearly a year has passed since the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement business practice changes went into effect and the doomsday predictions have yet to pan out. Homebuyers and sellers are still hiring real estate agents to help them with their real estate transactions and real estate agents are still getting
Agents are still being compensated, but how they are is evolving Read More »
UBS Group said on Monday that it will pay $300 million to settle lingering obligations tied to a Credit Suisse deal with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the sales of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). UBS inherited the obligations when it acquired Credit Suisse in a 2023 rescue arranged by Swiss regulators. The bank
UBS will pay $300M to settle Credit Suisse case Read More »
If you are familiar with ThePLS.com’s original antitrust suit filed in 2020 against the National Association of Realtors over NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), reading the new suit filed Tuesday might give you déjà vu. In its 31-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the PLS notes that “Paragraphs 1-121 of this
Do you get déjà vu? The PLS sues NAR — again Read More »
The appraisal industry shed no tears when the Trump administration sought to undo the Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Interagency Taskforce, the federal effort to investigate racial bias in appraisals implemented by former President Joe Biden. But that doesn’t mean appraisers have seen the end of federal regulation and litigation around appraisals, or the
Trump’s assault on DEI hasn’t ended federal efforts to stop appraisal bias Read More »
The settlement agreement between MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) and the Nosalek commission lawsuit plaintiffs has been granted preliminary approval for a second time. Judge Patti B. Saris of U.S. District Court in Boston granted preliminary approval to the fourth amended settlement agreement between the MLS defendant and the home seller plaintiffs at a
MLS PIN settlement gains preliminary approval … again Read More »
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has withdrawn its objection to MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN)’s preliminary settlement of the Nosalek commission lawsuit after the two sides negotiated amended terms. In a court filing on Thursday, MLS PIN and the plaintiffs disclosed that the former will prohibit offers of cooperative compensation on its platform, which
DOJ withdraws objection to MLS PIN settlement, clearing the way for preliminary approval Read More »
In compliance with a 1978 law that requires government agency watchdogs to provide semi-annual reports on their activities, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published its report on Tuesday. While there were no new indications of scrutiny for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, the
HUD OIG reveals ongoing reverse mortgage oversight priority Read More »
Following a late Wednesday night decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade to halt President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on trade partners, a second federal court issued a similar decision in which it ruled that the invocation of a 1977 law does not give the president unilateral authority to impose such levies. But a
Whiplash: As second court orders halt to tariffs, appeals court keeps them in place Read More »
A former attorney in Washington state this week pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding a disabled client out of an estimated $800,000 — in part through the misuse of a reverse mortgage, according to an announcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. The
DOJ: Former attorney pleads guilty to wire fraud tied to reverse mortgage misuse Read More »