Canadian COMPETITION LAW

January 29, 2014

Jarod Bona over at The Antitrust Attorney Blog has written a very good new note on competition law compliance and real estate services, and in particular some commonsense steps that real estate salespeople can take to avoid competition law risk.  Given that many of the points discussed, including the importance of independently setting commissions, determining where to work (and for whom), the submission of bids (e.g., in the real estate foreclosure auction context) and dealing with competitors, apply equally in Canada, I thought I would reprint his note here (with permission).

Given that I also work with real estate professionals in Canada (competition law compliance courses for Canadian real estate boards), I thought some of the real estate folks in Canada might also find this article interesting.

Introduction:

“Last week, I had the honor to speak on ‘Antitrust and Real Estate’ to the Legal Affairs Forum of the California Association of Realtors at their meeting in downtown San Diego.

Putting aside the substance of the talk for a moment, I enjoyed the experience immensely because (1) the Realtors’ association was both welcoming and accommodating; (2) the audience was engaged, and asked questions such that we could delve into a little bit of advanced antitrust; and (3) (as you might recall) my wife and I invest in real estate, so the subject matter interested me greatly. Thank you to the California Association of Realtors for the invitation.

As we discussed, antitrust is especially relevant to real-estate professionals because (1) competitor brokers both compete and cooperate on a daily basis; (2) prices, and commission splits, are often announced and well-known; (3) there is a history of tension and battles between a traditional business model and new business models (this can create antitrust litigation in any market); (4) associations and cooperative Multiple-Listing Services (MLS) play large roles in the industry; (5) US antitrust enforcers, like the Department of Justice, have seriously scrutinized the real-estate industry.

Here are five antitrust issues that real-estate professionals should understand …”

For the complete note see: Five Antitrust Concerns for Real-Estate Professionals.

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SERVICES AND CONTACT

I am a Toronto competition and advertising lawyer offering business and individual clients efficient and strategic advice in relation to competition/antitrust, advertising, Internet and new media law and contest law.  I also offer competition and regulatory law compliance, education and policy services to companies, trade and professional associations and government agencies.

My experience includes advising clients in Toronto, Canada and the US on the application of Canadian competition and regulatory laws and I have worked on hundreds of domestic and cross-border competition, advertising and marketing, promotional contest (sweepstakes), conspiracy (cartel), abuse of dominance, compliance, refusal to deal, pricing and distribution, Investment Canada Act and merger matters. For more information about my competition and advertising law services see: competition law services.

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