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NAR may call Realogy, RE/MAX officials as witnesses in DOJ case

The National Association of Realtors has plans to call nine witnesses to testify in court if an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department proceeds to trial, and may call upon an additional list of 14 witnesses.

A preliminary live trial witness list, produced by the National Association of Realtors in a Feb. 14 court document, includes a list of "will call" witnesses and a separate category of "may call" witnesses.

The trial is expected to begin in June or July, NAR has reported, unless the case settles before trial. Justice Department officials have charged in the lawsuit that policies approved by the National Association of Realtors placed illegal restrictions on the dissemination and sharing of online property listings.

NAR officials have argued that its policies are not anticompetitive and that the association has withdrawn some of the policies in question.

The trade group's preliminary "will call" list of witnesses includes: Ann Bailey, co-founder of real estate consulting company Pranix; Patricia Bybee, president and CEO at Metrolist Inc., a Colorado multiple listing service; Carl DeMusz, CEO for the Northern Ohio Regional MLS; Frederick Flyer, an economics expert; and Robert "Bob" Hale, president and CEO for the Houston Association of Realtors.

Other listed "will call" witnesses include: Laurie Janik, general counsel for NAR; Mark Lesswing, NAR chief technology officer; Robert Most, vice chairman of the Metrolist MLS board of directors; and Ron Phipps, who served as chairman of NAR's President's Advisory Group for the Virtual Office Web sites work group and chairman of the NAR MLS Policies Committee.

And among the list of potential witnesses: Dave Liniger, co-founder of the RE/MAX international franchise network; Richard Smith, president and CEO for brokerage and franchise company Realogy; Alex Perriello, president and CEO for the Realogy Franchise Group; Point2's marketing director Carey Tufts; Stephen H. Murray, editor for research and publishing company REAL Trends; and Ralph Holmen, associate general counsel for the National Association of Realtors.

That list also includes Gar Anderson, NAR vice president of association executive and leadership development; and Stephen Byrd, Chris Eigel, Harold Fogel, Clifford Niersbach, Brad Tertell and John Veneris.

The Justice Department earlier disclosed some of the potential witnesses that it planned to call as trial witnesses, including: Gary Beasley, former ZipRealty president; Russell Capper, former president and CEO of eRealty; Steve Polston, CEO for Home Buyers Marketing II, and NAR's Janik.

Point2 Technologies Chief Executive Officer Delivers Web 2.0 Address at 2008 National Association of Realtors®

Saskatoon, SK and Vancouver, BC – March 27, 2008 – Point2 Technologies Inc. “Point2”:

Who:    Saul Klein, Chief Executive Officer, Point2 Technologies Inc.

What:    ‘Identifying and Fulfilling Member Expectations in the Age of Wikinomics and the Long Tail.’

Point2 Chief Executive Officer Saul Klein will discuss the latest trends and Internet technologies affecting the real estate industry, real estate associations, MLS organizations and their members. The session will cover the present and will speculate on the future, in Klein’s fast, informative and entertaining style. The discussion will cover community content, social networks, Web 2.0, video and security.

Session attendees will gain deeper understanding of the Web 2.0 concept and what it means to them…from what Web 2.0 is, to what it is not, what its building blocks are, related concepts, liabilities and what the concept means to Realtors®, the Association Executive and their organization.

When:    Sunday March 30, 2008, 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM.

Where:    National Association of Realtors® (NAR)
                2008 Association Executives Institute,
                Sheraton Boston Hotel,
                39 Dalton Street
                Boston, MA 02116
                Meeting Room: Back Bay Ballroom AB - Second Floor

Addendum:    Klein will also discuss the impact different technologies have on real estate and real estate associations as part of the ‘Friend or Foe? How Technology Companies Are Reinventing the Real Estate Industry’ panel session. The panel will be held on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM in the Back Bay Ballroom CD - Second Floor.

Real Trends Editor, Steve Murray will moderate the session. Industry experts Marty Frame, SVP/General manager, Fidelity National Real Estate Solution, Ash Munshi, Founder and CEO, Terabitz.com and, Errol Samuelson, President, Realtor.com complete the speaker panel.

About National Association of Realtors®
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

More information about NAR or the 2008 Association Executives Institute can be obtained at www.realtor.org.

About Point2 Technologies Inc.
Point2 Technologies develops and markets web-based software solutions for the real estate and heavy equipment industries. In real estate, Point2 is the largest independent provider of website and listing syndication software for real estate professionals, with over 180,000 brokers and agents subscribing to the Point2 platform, in 85 countries. Point2’s real estate user base continues to grow by over 1000 additional members each week. Point2 also owns and operates the consumer real estate search portal, www.Point2Homes.com.

In the heavy equipment industry, Point2 is a leading provider of e-commerce solutions, powers Caterpillar Inc.’s global heavy equipment dealer network and owns and operates www.UsedIron.com, one of the largest used equipment venues online.

Founded in 1996, Point2 Technologies is privately held and employs a staff of 100 at its Saskatoon, SK headquarters and its Vancouver, BC offices. More information can be obtained at www.Point2.com.

Point2® is a trademark of Point2 Technologies Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Media contact:
Roger Noujeim
Vice President of Public Relations
Point2 Technologies Inc.
Toll Free: 1-888-955-7900 (U.S. and Canada)
Tel. 1-604-675-9393 Ext. 224
rnoujeim@point2.com

Inman Connect NYC 2008 with Saul Klein, Mr. Internet Crusade Says...BE FOUND

Saul Klein, otherwise know as Mr. Internet on Google or yahoo, is now in charge of Point2 NLS and Point2 Technologies. We saw him at Inman Connect NYC 2008 and he talked about the E-pro designation and internet crusade which got him set up with NAR, National Association of Realtors.

Watch the video