Last year, the Federal Trade Commission overruled its own administrative law judge and decided to seize a privately-owned multiple listing service operated by Realtor group Realcomp II, Ltd. The FTC claims universal authority to dictate the terms, conditions, and even content of an MLS database (because the FTC knows what’s best for consumers). While a number of real estate brokerage groups immediately capitulated in the face of FTC pressure, Michigan-based Realcomp not only challenged the FTC in its own courtroom, but won.
Of course, it was a short-lived victory. The FTC has never upheld a decision adverse to its own prosecutors, and Realcomp was no exception. The FTC reversed the administrative law judge’s decision as if it never existed. Now Realcomp is appealing to a nominally impartial tribunal, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Realcomp filed its opening brief with the court last month. You can read the brief here.