The US Department of Justice (DOJ) told the US Supreme Court that it never committed not to reopen its investigation into the National Association of Realtors (NAR) despite its 2020 consent decree that settled a probe of the organization.
According to a Law360 report, the DOJ made its case in a filing following NAR’s October petition to the high court over DOJ’s renewal of the investigation of NAR’s Participation Rule and Clear Cooperation Policy. In April, the US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the DOJ could reopen its investigation NAR, reversing a January 2023 appeals court decision that said the terms of the earlier settlement were still valid and allowing the investigation to resume would take away the benefits NAR had negotiated in the original settlement.
“The disputed question is whether, in addition to agreeing to close the investigation, the division agreed not to reopen it,” the DOJ said its new filing. “As the court explained, no such commitment appears in ‘the plain language’ of the parties’ agreement … Although the division agreed to close its investigation, the words ‘close’ and ‘reopen’ are not mutually exclusive.”
The 2020 settlement was agreed upon during the tail end of the first Trump administration and then jettisoned with the Biden administration. It is unclear if the second Trump administration that begins next month drop the renewed investigation or if it will continue to pursue the matter.
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