Brokers NYC Files Anti-Trust Lawsuit Against The Real Estate Board of New York

New York (PRWEB) October 14, 2004 -- Klickads, Inc. (DBA BrokersNYC), today announced that it has sued the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), REBNY’s Board Members and Brown Harris Stevens, among other defendants, for violation of Federal and State antitrust laws. The complaint was filed in the Southern District Court of New York, New York and alleges that the defendants have engaged in collusive conduct to engage in illegal tying and monopolization of the market for exclusive property listings in Manhattan.



The complaint alleges that the defendants have pursued a broad course of predatory conduct over a period of years by promulgating a series of restrictive policies. For example, the complaint alleges that REBNY is using its monopolistic power to regulate access to REBNY’s exclusive listings – which is critical information for brokers to effectively compete in the Manhattan real estate market. Access to REBNY exclusive listings is contingent upon its members purchasing its database services – ROLEX and RealPlus. By tying its listing services to trade association services and by refusing to approve BrokersNYC as an integrator to this database service, REBNY has sought to block BrokersNYC from being able to provide competitive services to its customers. REBNY’s operating method in this regard negatively impacts New Yorkers, limiting their ability to do “comparison shopping,” thereby driving up costs while reducing choice of service providers. In the case of BrokersNYC specifically, this action has resulted in lost revenue and business for the company.



“We believe in a cooperative and open New York Real Estate market for both agents and consumers,” said LaLa Wang, Founder and CEO, BrokersNYC. Wang added, “Despite the restrictive environment engendered by REBNY, BrokersNYC is committed to providing the most comprehensive real estate listings. We have invested resources into a Web portal that has helped thousands of Manhattan agents work effectively with their customers. Because we want to continue to move forward, we have brought suit against REBNY and the other defendants on the basis that their discretionary and protectionist policies for the exclusive listings’ market prevents fair competition. We hope that this suit will promote new business paradigms to ultimately give consumers more cost-effective choices in finding their home.”



BrokersNYC has retained the law firm of McCallion and Associates, LLC for representation in this lawsuit. “A vigorously competitive real estate industry is vital to our economy, and effective antitrust enforcement is essential to preserving competition,” stated Robert Goodman, BrokersNYC’s Counsel. Mr. Goodman continued, “When access to exclusive property listing is contingent upon trade association membership, such regulatory measures constrain trade and have been found by numerous courts in other jurisdictions to be anticompetitive and in violation of State and Federal antitrust laws.”



About BrokersNYC

Established in 1991, BrokersNYC is New York’s premier internet-enabled marketing and Multiple Listing Service. The company is the trusted, integrated listing and advertising service of choice for more than 140 New York brokerage companies and over 2000 agents. For more information, please contact 212.220.5469 or www.brokersnyc.com.



About REBNY

As the oldest and most influential real estate trade association in New York City, The Real Estate Board of New York represents major commercial and residential property owners and builders, brokers and managers, banks, financial service companies, utilities, attorneys, architects, contractors and other individuals and institutions professionally interested in the city’s real estate. REBNY is involved in crucial municipal matters including tax policy, city planning and zoning, rental conditions, land use policy, building codes and legislation. In addition, REBNY publishes reports providing indicators of market prices for both the residential and commercial sectors.



About Brown Harris Stevens

After 125 years, Brown Harris Stevens remains the leader in sales, rentals, management, appraisals and corporate relocation services at the top end of the New York residential market. Their corporate office at the Brown Harris Stevens Building is also the headquarters of their commercial Services division. This office provides commercial leasing and management services in New York City, through its locations in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, and through BHS Whitney Cressman in the San Francisco area.



Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the cost, potential damages, success and duration of the REBNY antitrust litigation, the ability to demonstrate or recover damages relating to the litigation, continued innovation and diversification and other factors that may affect future earnings or financial results of Klickads. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results relating to the litigation to differ from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include the following: the risk that litigation is an inherently complex and uncertain process, so it cannot be predicted with accuracy whether Klickads will ultimately prevail on its claims, nor the amount of time and monetary and other resources that it will take to resolve the claims; the possibility that REBNY may make counterclaims against Klickads or take other actions in reaction to Klickads’ claims that could prove damaging to Klickads; even if Klickads does prevail on its claims, the remedy that is awarded cannot be predicted with certainty. Factors that could cause actual results relating to Klickads’ operations to differ from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include the following: whether the costs of litigation may be greater than anticipated; and whether the litigation might adversely impact Kliackads’ reputation and relationships with current and potential customers and business partners.



BrokersNYC is registered trademarks of Klickads, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.



For More Information:

Media contact: Pia Chon, 212-220-3530, e-mail protected from spam bots

Legal contact: Robert Goodman, cCallion and Associates, LLC, 646-366-0880



Also see http://www.inman.com/inmannews.aspx?ID=43250