Suburban Fair Housing, Inc. v. Delaware County Board of Realtors
Suburban Fair Housing, Inc. v. Delaware County Board of Realtors
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT
The appellants, Suburban Fair Housing, Inc., and Margaret Hill Collins, real estate brokers licensed in Pennsylvania, filed a complaint against the appellee, Delaware County Board of Realtors. The complaint alleged that the appellee “maintains a multiple listing service for the exclusive use of its members,” and that appellants, who were engaged in the real estate brokerage business with
On facts almost identical to those alleged in the present complaint, Collins, supra, held that multiple listing practices of an organization of real estate brokers which operated to exclude a licensed broker from participation in the multiple listing are, per se, unreasonable, and an unlawful restraint of trade. Appellants contend that Collins controls this case, and that the trial court improperly entered judgment against them. Appellee contends that there is one essential difference between the facts in Collins and the facts alleged in this case. The difference, which is significant according to the appellee, is that the appellants in this case have not alleged that they operate in the geographical area covered by the appellee board. Appellee contends that since appellants alleged that their offices were in Montgomery County, they have no right to complain about membership or multiple listing practices of the appellee board, whose membership does not include any brokers outside of Delaware County.
It may be that a real estate broker licensed in Pennsylvania, who does no business, and does not intend to do business, in a particular area would be doing nothing more than asking a court for an advisory opinion by complaining about an unreasonable restraint of trade caused by an organization which does not affect the complaining broker in any way. That, however, is not the case before us. Appellants have alleged that they maintain offices in Montgomery County which, we can judicially notice, is located adjacent to Delaware County. They have also alleged that they have sustained, and will continue to sustain, great loss of sales and profits. Appellants therefore are not strangers, geographically or otherwise, to the multiple listing practices of the appellee board.
While it may be true that a broker who is unaffected by business practices in a particular competitive area may have no complaint, it does not follow that those persons maintaining an office in one county have no reason to complain of business practices in an adjoining county. County lines have not been laid out on any rational basis derived from a study of natural real estate buying or real estate selling habits of people. Indeed, the county lines of Delaware County and Montgomery County were determined years ago, no doubt based on factors totally foreign to the economic realities of the
Although judgment on the pleadings was improperly entered on behalf of the appellees, we cannot direct the entry of a judgment on the pleadings in favor of the appellants. The complaint alleges that the appellee board “maintains a multiple listing service for the exclusive use of its members, a service which is an essential part of the real estate business and provides the major source of income in the real estate business and is of great • value to those participating members.” Until evidence is received, there is nothing to indicate exactly what these multiple listing practices are. We cannot assume, without a record, that the practices are identical to those in Collins, or if they are not, that the practices constitute an unreasonable restraint of trade. We therefore vacate judgment on the pleadings issued by the trial court. The appellants are entitled to an opportunity to prove their allegations.
Judgment vacated and the matter remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion. Each party to pay own costs.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).
I adhere to the view expressed by the Chief Justice in the dissenting opinion in Collins v. Main Line Board of
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SUBURBAN FAIR HOUSING, INC., and Margaret Hill Collins, Appellants, v. DELAWARE COUNTY BOARD OF REALTORS, Appellee
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published