Consent Judgment to End L. A. Case
A proposed consent judgment prohibiting the Los Angeles Realty Board, four of its divisions, and their 3,800 active members from fixing commission rates in connection with the sale, lease, or management of real estate, has been filed by the Department of Justice in U . S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The proposed judgment will become final in 30 days upon approval of the court, according to Attorney General Richard G. Kliendienst, and will terminate the Department's civil antitrust suit filed Dec. 18, 1970, alleging that the board and its Southwest Branch, Hollywood-Wilshire, Pacific Palisades, and Westwood Divisions and their active members combined to fix commission rates in violation of the Sherman Act.
The judgment prohibits the defendants from fixing, establishing or maintaining any rote of amounts of commissions or fees in connection with the sale, lease, or management of real estate. The defendants also would be forbidden under terms of the judgment from recommending that their members adhere to any suggested fee schedule and from taking any action against a member who refuses to adhere to any such fees, according to Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Kouper, head of the Antitrust Division.
In addition, the proposed judgment prohibits each defendant from:
--fixing, maintaining, suggesting, or enforcing any percentage division of commissions between the selling and listing broker;
--adopting, adhering to, maintaining, or enforcing any by-low, rule, regulation, plan or program which would prohibit any member from doing business with any person;
--establishing, maintaining, or enforcing any fees for membership in the Board of Multiple Listing Services which are not related to the approximate cost, including reasonable reserves, of maintaining the organization as a going concern.
The judgment also directs each defendant to insert in its rules, by-laws, regulations, contracts, and other forms which contain a set commission rate, or division thereof, a provision that commission rates are negotiable between the broker and his client and that commission divisions shall not be influenced by the Los Angeles Realty Board.
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