So far in 2024, several hearings have been held for alleged Article 15 violations resulting in the determination by a Hearing Panel that Article 15 was violated.

Article 15 states:

Realtors® shall not knowingly or recklessly make false or misleading statements about other real estate professionals, their businesses, or their business practices.

The most common reason a complaint is filed alleging an Article 15 violation is due to a REALTOR® making a statement about another REALTOR® or their business practices on social media that is believed to be false or misleading and results in harm to another REALTOR®’s reputation or business. A hearing panel will determine an Article 15 violation occurred if it is proven with clear, strong, and convincing evidence that the statement was false or misleading and the REALTOR® that made the statement knew the statement was false or misleading.

While a REALTOR® can only be found in violation of an Article of the Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice are used to support, interpret, and amplify an Article, and a Standard of Practice can be cited to support actions related to an Article.

 Standard of Practice 15-2 states:

The obligation to refrain from making false or misleading statements about other real estate professionals, their businesses, and their business practices includes the duty to not knowingly or recklessly publish, repeat, retransmit, or republish false or misleading statements made by others. This duty applies whether false or misleading statements are repeated in person, in writing, by technological means (e.g., the Internet), or by any other means.

• Standard of Practice 15-3 states:

The obligation to refrain from making false or misleading statements about other real estate professionals, their businesses, and their business practices includes the duty to publish a clarification about or to remove statements made by others on electronic media the Realtor® controls once the Realtor® knows the statement is false or misleading.

Therefore, an Article 15 violation can also be determined when false statements made by other individuals are shared on social media, spread verbally, or a false statement is made about a REALTOR® by another individual on a social media site you control, and the statement is not removed after you become aware it is false.

A common argument made during a hearing relating to Article 15 is that the statement made was only an opinion. While you may feel the statement was only your opinion about another REALTOR® or their business, your opinion can be misleading and can damage the reputation of another REALTOR® and negatively impact their business. So please keep in mind, a misleading “opinion” may result in a violation of Article 15.

To avoid finding yourself as the respondent in an Article 15 complaint, before making statements about another REALTOR® or their business, verbally or on social media, consider several things first: 1) am I being reckless; 2) is the statement misleading; 3) is the statement false; and 4) is the statement I am sharing false or misleading.

And when you are tempted to make a statement about another REALTOR® or their business out of anger or frustration, remember your professional courtesy, as stated in the National Association of REALTORS® Pathways to Professionalism, follow the “Golden Rule”: Do unto other as you would have them do unto you.