Miami Association of Realtors Sued for False and Deceptive Advertising

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) December 20, 2011 -- CONTACT:
Richard W. Barkett, CEO
(954) 563-7261 ext. 5055
rbarkett@r-world.com
Kim Sailer, BARD Marketing/PR
ksailer@bardmarketing.com

Miami Association of Realtors Sued for False and Deceptive Advertising

Fort Lauderdale, FL – The REALTOR® Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Inc. (RAGFL) has filed a federal suit against the Miami Association of REALTORS®, Inc (MAR) for false and deceptive advertising under the Lanham Act and Florida law.

The complaint states that under the leadership of MAR CEO, Teresa King Kinney, MAR has embarked on a gradually escalating campaign of false and deceptive advertising not only touting its own real-estate business offerings, but also drawing direct false comparisons of MAR and RAGFL to the detriment of RAGFL. This campaign escalated markedly in the weeks preceding the filing of this Complaint and continues.

As alleged in the Complaint, MAR’s false ad campaign has been targeted and brazen. Their campaign has injured and continues to injure the goodwill and reputation of RAGFL: MAR has expressly and blatantly made false statements in hundreds if not thousands of ads regarding (among many other things) association membership and size; product pricing; and purported member savings for joining MAR versus RAGFL. MAR communicated its false statements in email, newspapers, trade association materials and via websites. RAGFL alleges MAR ran the ads to get REALTOR® members to switch their membership from RAGFL to MAR and to divert new members from joining RAGFL.

“We regret having to take legal action, but based on the damage caused by MAR’s false and deceptive advertising campaign, our leadership team had no alternative but to file suit, which they believe is in the best interest of their membership,” said RAGFL General Counsel Stephen Simmons of Murray & Simmons, LLP.

“We filed suit because our profession follows a Code of Ethics and Standard Practice to zealously maintain and improve the standards of our calling and share with our fellow Realtors® a common responsibility for its integrity and honor,” said Richard W. Barkett Chief Executive officer of RAGFL. “MAR’s commercial advertising and promotion contained false statements and representations of fact, statements and representations which implicitly convey a false impression, are misleading in context, and are likely to deceive association members and potential new members.”

The suit was filed today in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida in Palm Beach County.

The REALTOR® Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Inc. (RAGFL), established in 1922, is one of the largest REALTOR® Associations in the State of Florida. The mission of RAGFL is to secure the interests of its members and their ability to conduct a thriving business, to promote the highest standards of professional practice in the real estate community, and to support members in maximizing their individual potential for success. To learn more about RAGFL visit: http://www.r-world.com.

Deceptive Advertising     false advertising     florida law     fort lauderdale     Lanham Act     Miami Association of Realtors     RAGFL     real estate