Judge Tosses Ex-NAR Employee’s Discrimination Lawsuit

A federal judge dismissed a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by a former National Association of Realtors employee, delivering a legal win for the Chicago and Washington, D.C.-based trade group as it continues to work through years of controversy.

Roshani Sheth, who worked for NAR’s Realtors Information Group subsidiary for five years ending in 2019, failed to provide “plausible” evidence supporting her claims of gender and national-origin discrimination, U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis wrote in a Jan. 13 ruling, according to Crain’s.

Alexakis dismissed three of Sheth’s claims with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. The judge declined to rule on a fourth claim alleging breach of contract, saying it belongs in state court and could not stand on its own after the dismissal of the federal claims.

Sheth filed her lawsuit in September 2024, alleging NAR retaliated against her after she raised sexual harassment concerns in 2019. Among other claims, she said the organization refused to provide job references after her termination and condoned anonymous text messages from former colleagues that urged her to kill herself.

The court found those allegations legally insufficient. On the reference issue, Alexakis wrote that Sheth failed to show NAR’s lack of response to prospective employers was a “deliberate act of retaliation,” rather than a breakdown in office procedures. On the texts, the judge rejected Sheth’s attempt to link the anonymous messages to NAR officials, writing that the court “does not share Sheth’s belief” that the association had any agency in the conduct.

Alexakis also pointed to a settlement agreement Sheth signed when she was fired in 2019, which released NAR from claims related to its actions at the time. That agreement, the judge wrote, undercut Sheth’s attempt to frame later events as retaliation tied to her termination.

Sheth’s complaint painted a picture of a toxic workplace, including allegations that a senior executive denied her a promotion after she complained about an outside partner’s alleged sexual advances, and that another leader repeatedly referred to her as an immigrant despite her being born in the Chicago area. Several of the executives named in the suit have since left or retired from NAR.

The trade group welcomed the ruling and said it is pleased with the decision in a statement to the outlet, declining further comment. Sheth’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment made by Crain’s.

The case landed amid a turbulent period for NAR, which has faced leadership shakeups, sexual harassment allegations, scrutiny over spending, and most significantly, a 2023 jury verdict finding it conspired to keep real estate commissions artificially high. The association has been in turnaround mode under CEO Nykia Wright, who joined after Sheth’s tenure.

With the lawsuit’s dismissal, NAR becomes the latest Chicago-based real estate institution to put retaliation claims behind it, following the Appraisal Institute’s settlement last year with its former CEO.

— Eric Weilbacher