By Skip Oliva, Citizens for Voluntary Trade

Lala Wang, founder and CEO of MLX, an online real estate listings service, this week announced her decision to make a final appeal to the United States Supreme Court to resurrect her business of enabling renters, buyers, sellers, landlords, and brokers the access and exchange of property listings, resources, and information on-demand via www.mlx.com.

Wang has spent the last eight years battling New York State regulators over a disputed Apartment Information Vendors (AIV) license required by law for individuals selling apartment rental listings. The AIV statute is an antiquated 1975 law intended to prevent potential fraud in the real estate market, but in its current form, the law penalizes innovative businesses like Wang’s MLX, which offers consumers access to property listings previously available exclusively to brokers.

Wang’s online service provides consumers with more choice through access to a wider spectrum of property listings, lower costs in the form of no-fee apartments, the ability to access property info and tools around-the-clock, instant email updates of new listings, and myriad other benefits for consumers seeking new apartments. “We’re essentially a matching service, so apartment seekers can both search for apartments and also place ‘apartment wanted’ ads allowing brokers and owners to contact them directly,�? Wang said.

In a recent interview with host Tai Aguirre of the New York-based investigative radio program “Scams-n-Scandals,�? Wang contended that the AIV does not apply to MLX, and that compliance with such a law would force her to conduct business illegally, subjecting MLX to millions of dollars in fines each month.

Wang’s refusal to get an AIV license on grounds that it would make her business illegal or unprofitable has resulted in the suspension of her real estate broker’s license. This, even after former New York Secretary of State Sandy Treadwell observed in 1995 that the AIV law was “onerous and should be amended.�? Four years later, Treadwell changed his mind and selectively prosecuted Wang for violating the AIV statute, ignoring the thousands of daily violations committed by licensed AIV vendors.

“The problem with the AIV law is not in trying to provide consumer protection, but in its failure to allow businesses the ability to comply with it,�? noted Moshe Tal, an Oklahoma entrepreneur and advisor who supports Wang’s cause. “This conflicting application of the law hampers entrepreneurs’ ability to conduct business by undermining their competitiveness, and is a serious violation of Ms. Wang’s constitutional rights.�?

Citizens for Voluntary Trade President Skip Oliva said his organization actively supports Wang’s decision to appeal her case to the Supreme Court: “Far from protecting consumers, the AIV law serves as an unconstitutional barrier to interstate commerce, hampering newer technology-based services that look to compete with established real estate brokers, or even traditional First Amendment forums like newspapers.�?

In addition to CVT, Wang has received the support of numerous other public policy groups, including the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and the Institute for Justice. CEI’s Braden Cox has written about Wang’s plight: “Ironically, in trying to enforce a consumer protection statute, New York’s state government is hurting consumers by enforcing a law that hinders innovation.�?

During the “Scams and Scandals�? segment, Tai Aguirre queried NYS Chief Council for the Division of Licensing, Bruce Stewart on why Ms. Wang’s real estate broker’s license was revoked without having received any customer complaints. “It looks to me like a clear cut case of selective enforcement and the railroading of an innovator to protect the profits of entrenched special interests�? says Aguirre.

Wang’s Supreme Court appeal will argue the AIV law imposes unconstitutional restrictions on her freedom of speech and her freedom to conduct business. Wang will specifically challenge the refusal of the New York courts to address these constitutional issues. Wang expects to file her petition in early December, and a decision from the Court on whether to take the case will be made early next year.

Later this month, Wang and her supporters will launch a grassroots Website (www.officialmisconduct.com) dedicated to exposing corrupt government behavior and practices, in an effort to institute greater accountability of elected officials.

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