Wyoming is rife with boards and commissions run by un-elected bureaucrats. Appointees are tasked with creating policies and procedures which greatly impact residents across Wyoming. Many workers are trapped into paying dues to an association or trade group so they can simply do their jobs. Real estate salespeoplemust join and pay dues to the Wyoming REALTORS (“WYR”) association to access the statewide MLS, which is managed by the woke National Association of Realtors.
Officially, the mission and purpose of the Wyoming REALTORS group is to empower members, promote professionalism, and protect private property rights. Or so they say. They have also formed the “RPAC” to endorse candidates statewide. Thankfully, many of their 2024 candidates didn’t make it! Of those that did, all but two need to be run out of office.
After you read my personal story involving the Wyoming REALTORS group, you might come to the same conclusion I have: these boards, commissions and trade associations can block your Constitutional rights, including the right to free speech and due process, and it can cost a lot of money to fight the very group that is supposedly “empowering” you. Our legislators need to start reining in these rogue agencies, similar to what’s been done with the Wyoming Business Council.
Full disclosure: the attorney who represented the Wyoming REALTORS throughout this nightmare is Mike Lansing. I am aware of a fundraiser he held for Senate President Bo Biteman.
In 2024, I listed one of the most affordable free market homes near Jackson. Despite generating a lot of interest due to its price and location, the property fell out of contract on multiple occasions due to high interest rates. Each time it came back on the market, a particular hard-working young man would be outbid. He was represented by another local realtor named Brian Siegfried with Sotheby’s International.
During this time, a friend asked if I would show her a cute A-frame house. The listing on this home had expired, but it was in the same price range and within close proximity to my other listing. After repeated attempts to contact the former realtor, I reached out to the homeowner directly through Facebook.
“Kathy” agreed to let us view her house, but she made it clear that she had just leased it out for 6 months, and she had promised the tenants that she was not selling the house for the duration of the lease. In the course of our discussions, she admitted that she needed to sell the house and would consider an offer if one presented itself. After viewing it, my friend decided the house was not a good fit.
When Brian called again to check on my other listing, I mentioned that I might know of another home his client could afford. “Kathy” agreed to let me show her house one more time, and I offered to buy the tenants dinner to clear them out. BrianSiegfried watched me hand the renters $100 at 7pm on a Wednesday night to go eat.
Imagine my surprise a few days later when Kathy called to report that Brian contacted her through her former employer. They did not know each other previously. Brian suggested they work out a deal without me since it would save his client money. She allegedly told Brian she was not comfortable with this arrangement, and she also added that she did not think his client could afford her house.
I informed Brian that I would be letting other realtors know how he operates, and I filed a complaint with the WYR citing the Code of Ethics, which states:
“This obligation to the client is primary, but it does not relieve REALTORS® of their obligation to treat all parties honestly.”
The zoom hearing was scheduled for September 4, 2024, at 10am. As the hearing proceeded, I could not understand why the defendant was talking so much. That is when I first learned that Brian was presenting his counterclaims against me. I stated repeatedly that I was not aware of any counterclaims, but the CEO of the WYR, Nicole Novotny Smith, insisted that I had signed for the complaint two weeks ago. I continued to say that there was no way that happened, but she was adamant that I had signed for the complaint. Eventually I decided that my husband must have signed for it without telling me, and since this was our mistake, I agreed to move forward with the hearing. The Chief Membership Officer, Kylie Kassman, emailed me a copy of the complaint 30 minutes into the hearing, but obviously I did not have time to read all 39 pages.
At some point I was asked if I thought the hearing went fairly, and I said yes. However, I had no idea, at that time, that I was defending myself against Brian’s claim that I had “threatened” him. I also later learned that part of Brian’s complaint stated that I showed the house without the owner or tenant’s permission! Talk about false and misleading statements, but we will get to that part later!
When the hearing was over, I went to the post office and signed for the counter-complaint. I discovered the certified letter had arrived at the post office over the weekend. Monday was a federal holiday, and the hearing fell on a Tuesday morning, so this is why I had not received it. Of note is that Brian’s counterclaim was dated August 15, 2024, and I received it at the post office on September 4th. It took more than 3 weeks to get to me. The USPS tracking number is 70192970000012085379.
The counterclaim paperwork stated,
“You have been requested to reply to the attached Ethics Complaint via mail by using the Form E-3 attached by August 30th, 2024 and will have ample opportunity to present your case and reply at any subsequent hearing.”
However, this was not possible, as I received the counterclaim after the hearing on September 4th.
Then for two months I heard nothing.
Eventually, on November 23, 2024, I received a notice that informed me that my time to appeal the ruling had expired. The problem with this was that the letter in the envelope was dated October 10, 2024. In other words, I received it five weeks after they supposedly mailed it, so there was no way I could have appealed. USPS Tracking # 9589 0710 5270 0456 1871 61.
In the decision notice, I learned that I had been found guilty of “threatening” Brian, and I needed to pay a $1,000 fine.
I also learned that I was found guilty of not having a contract in place and was ordered to attend a Code of Ethics class.
The part about the contract was true, but I maintained that I could not have had a contract to sell a house when the house was not currently for sale.
Brian was not found guilty of treating me dishonestly.
Immediately, I wrote to the Wyoming REALTORS and said that I never received the decision from the hearing, and the letter informing me that my time for appeal had expired arrived 5 weeks after it was mailed. I also mentioned that I was unable to defend myself properly in a hearing without knowing what I was accused of.
Amazingly, Mike Lansing, the attorney for the Wyoming REALTORS, sent a reply accusing me of making “false and misleading statements” for claiming I did not receive the counterclaim before the hearing. He went on to say if I continued my assertions, I would now be facing defamation charges. I hope you've noticed the pile-on and intimidation tactics used here!
I later learned that Mr. Lansing never bothered to investigate my assertions. Eventually he must have tracked the letter himself, because this claim magically went away.
I began demanding another hearing to no avail. I asked to address the board that I paid dues to, but I was denied.
I began questioning how I was guilty of “threatening” Brian. I had only told Brian that I was telling others what he did so they could protect themselves from his backhanded ways.
Either I was defaming Brian by saying he did something he did not, or I was simply telling others what truthfully happened to me. This was my First Amendment right.
The only win for me came in the form of an “investigation” into my case, and the findings would be presented on December 27th.
A couple of days before the meeting , I asked if anyone else was attending, other than myself and the Wyoming REALTORS then-President Annie Wedgewood. Yes, they said. Their attorney, Mike Lansing, and CEO, Nicole Novotny Smith would also be on the call. Since I did not have time to find an attorney, I asked if I could have someone attend with me. They agreed.
As my guest and I were let into the zoom hearing, all hell broke loose when it was realized that my guest was none other than David Iverson. Panic ensued.
As I tried to go through the facts, President Wedgewood continually repeated that the more I kept stating everything, “the more I put my confidentiality at risk” because “nobody would have known anything about this.” David was kicked out of the meeting, and the rest of us got nowhere. On a side note, I later learned that the meeting was not even required to be confidential!
By the way, at that hearing on December 27th, I was told by Mr. Lansing that the realtor’s Code of Ethics says that I cannot engage in hate or harassment speech towards another
member. Since the panel "thought" that my speech was "hate or harassment speech," I was informed it is not protected by the First Amendment. Really think about this one. If a panel of people deem something "hate speech," all of a sudden you are unable to say it despite the Bill of Rights.
After this, I had no choice but to lawyer up, as my livelihood was at stake. Eventually the Wyoming REALTORS charge of “making threats” morphed into making “misleading or false statements.” To this day, I have no idea what they made up on that one. Even Mr. Lansing admitted they never told him what I said that was “misleading”. This charge was also dropped.
So, for $3,500 in legal bills, I was successful in getting the $1,000 fine for “misleading/ false statements” allegation dropped , as well as “threatening Brian.” What did stick was the ruling for not having a written contract for a house that was not for sale, presumably to protect myself against realtors like Brian, who did nothing wrong. You cannot make this stuff up!
With all the “misleading statements” being thrown around, please take a look at a portion of Brian’s counterclaims:
Really try to wrap your head around Brian’s side of the story. He claimed I showed a house without the owner or tenant knowing I was doing so. Why didn’t someone call the cops? What about the evidence I had about the showing scheduled for 7pm?
If the Wyoming REALTORS really wanted to penalize someone for misleading statements, why did they not go after Brian? He signed a sworn statement saying I had no permission from the homeowner to show the house! I do not even think the panel believed that one!
However, Brian was never charged with making misleading or false statements. I have a feeling Brian is not smart enough to be politically active, and that probably worked in his favor. I also bet he votes for all the RPAC candidates without much thought! Poor fellow.
Do we really want to place Wyomingites’ ability to earn a living in the hands of unelected bureaucrats and senseless associations?
By the way, you know that ranch your family has struggled to hold onto for 100 years?
According the woke National Association of Realtors’ Preamble:
REALTORS® should recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership.
This is directly against Wyoming’s values.
I never got my $500 bond back during my appeal. I hear it was a complete oversight on their part, and the check is on its way!
I’ll just keep stewing until we can figure out a way to fix all this.