West Penn Multi-List, Inc., Reaches Settlement With FTC

(FTC) West Penn Multi-List, Inc., the operator of the real estate multiple listing service (MLS) in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metropolitan area, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that certain restrictions on access to its MLS services were anticompetitive and violated U.S. antitrust laws. West Penn’s MLS rules limited publication and marketing of the listing of sellers’ properties based solely on the terms of the seller’s listing contract with the real estate broker.

The FTC’s consent order settling the charges bars West Penn from imposing restrictions that discouraged brokers who subscribed to the MLS from offering lower-cost, limited brokerage services to home sellers in the Pittsburgh area. Full Story...