HousingWireHousingWire
The antitrust lawsuit filed by W. Preston Moore, an agent with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services and a former president of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR), now has one less defendant.
Late last week, Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan dismissed the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission from the suit without prejudice.
While the commission is currently no longer a party in the suit, Ranjan gave Moore, who is representing himself pro se, the opportunity to amend his complaint and cure the “pleading deficiencies.”
The deadline for Moore to file an amended complaint, if he chooses, is April 25.
In his ruling, Ranjan wrote that he was granting the motion to dismiss as Moore’s complaint “fails to allege sufficient facts to state a claim against the Commission.”
“The complaint only mentions the Commission for its ‘role in the regulatory and political context of this matter[,] but contains no allegations as to how the Commission is personally involved in the alleged misconduct,” the ruling states.
Moore’s suit was filed in November 2024 in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. The defendants include PAR, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the New York Realtor Association, New Jersey Realtors and the Black Caucus of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,
Also named are several PAR officials and members, as well as Katheryn L. Simpson, an attorney at Mette, Evans & Woodside, which represents the state Realtor associations in New York and New Jersey.
Moore alleges that the defendants have engaged in a conspiracy via NAR’s three-way membership agreement and have violated civil rights statutes by discriminating against Moore, among other things.
In February, Pennsylvania Attorney General David W. Sunday filed a motion to dismiss the suit on behalf of the state’s real estate commission.
Although 90 days have passed since the complaint was filed — and there is no indication on the docket that a service of the summons and complaint has been made to the defendants — Ranjan is extending the time for service by 30 days.
“Mr. Moore must file executed proofs of service or executed waivers of service as to the other defendants in the next 30 days [by May 12, 2025]; otherwise, the claims against the remaining defendants will be dismissed without prejudice,” the ruling states.
Moore’s suit is one of five antitrust lawsuits filed against NAR that involve similar allegations.
