Trial Date Set In Compass Vs. Nwmls Lawsuit

When it comes to legal actions, it looks like the next year is going to be a busy one for Compass. Last week, Judge Jamal N. Whitehead of the U.S. District Court for Western Washington scheduled the trial date for Compass’s lawsuit against Northwest MLS (NWMLS). 

The trial is set to begin roughly a year from now on June 8, 2026. 

Compass filed the suit against NWMLS in April 2025. As a non-Realtor-affiliated MLS, NWMLS does not have to follow the MLS policies set forth by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

As such, while NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) allows brokers to have office exclusives, NWMLS’s listing policy does not. This has led Compass to claim that NWMLS has the “most restrictive homeowner marketing rules in the country.”

“In every other state, and with every other MLS, homeowners have the freedom to choose to pre-market their home before it goes public,” a Compass press release states. “Outside of Washington, homeowners can choose to list their home as a Compass Private Exclusive or Compass Coming Soon and receive the benefits of pre-marketing.”

In the complaint, Compass claims that NWMLS “is a monopolist and a combination of competing real estate brokers.”

Earlier this month, in a joint status report, NWMLS claimed that choosing a trial date was “premature at this time.” Although Compass disagreed on this point, the parties agreed that it was too early to “determine the number of trial days necessary.”

Although NWMLS has yet to file a motion to dismiss the suit, the MLS defendant claimed in its response to the complaint that Compass’s private exclusives are “fundamentally unfair and perpetuate inequities that have long plagued the housing system.” Furthermore, it argued that private exclusives “will lead to the dismantling of the real estate marketplace for the exclusive benefit of those brokerage firms that choose to exploit them.”

NWMLS has until Monday, June 30, to file its motion to dismiss.

Earlier this week, Compass filed another antitrust suit against Zillow in U.S. District Court in New York. Similar to the NWMLS case, Compass claims that Zillow is a monopoly and accuses Zillow of using its new listing standards policy to protect its power.