In late August, the Realtor associations of Miami and the Palm Beaches were at odds, trading legal blows over a potential merger between MIAMI and the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound Association of Realtors (JTHS). As of Sept. 22, JTHS is officially under the MIAMI umbrella.

Nancy Lubeck is set to head the new JTHS Council of MIAMI, which will continue to “lead and direct the services, issues and needs of their 1,500 members in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, as the JTHS Board of Governors,” the official release read.

“The JTHS family is incredibly enthused about joining the nation’s largest local Realtor association,” Lubeck said.

The new head of the JHTS Council expects the merger to not only save members on local dues and electronic access keys, but also expand educational opportunities, improve international media visibility and provide Realtors with more than 100 additional “premium marketing tools and services.”

John Dohm, MIAMI chairman of the board, called the merger a “historic achievement” and reiterated the new programs and tools that will be available to the association’s newest members.

“Combining the success, services and programs of JTHS and MIAMI will bring new opportunities and resources to all of our members,” he said. “MIAMI is truly a global association and this merger provides us with a larger platform to present all that Southeast Florida has to offer to the rest of the world.”

Before the merger was finalized, the association was at odds with the nearby Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches (RAPB), which alleged MIAMI and JHTS had created “unauthorized administrative level user accounts” to access the RAPB’s proprietary MLS database without a sharing agreement in place.

According to MIAMI Senior Vice President of Public Relations Lynda Fernandez, the issue is no longer an issue.

“The suit filed by RAPB and the subsequent countersuit filed by MIAMI and JTHS were each withdrawn following a successful mediation and (a) resulting cooperation agreement on September 30,” Fernandez explained.

With the merger complete, the combined MIAMI association now includes a “Corporate Board, Miami Residential Board, Realtors Commercial Alliance, Broward Council, JTHS Council, Young Professionals Network (YPN) Council, award-winning International Council and an Educational Foundation.”