Hekker v. Sarasota Assn. of Realtors (Sarasota, FL)
This Open MLS case was filed Nov. 30, 2004, and is scheduled for trial March 6, 2006. The case challenges the evasion common in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama of offering MLS services to realty agents without requiring realtor association membership, but requiring realtor association membership to obtain lockboxes or comparable data. The case seeks triple damages of about $5,000 per lockbox/comparable data user on a class action basis against the realtor association and directors. Based on about 3,000 MLS users and an estimated 30% non-join rate, a judgment for plaintiffs would amount to about $4.5 million.
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