The National Association of Realtors has been dueling with the do-it-yourself real-estate listing service ForSaleByOwner.com in recent weeks over the impact of a six-month-old U.S. Department of Justice settlement.

Its weapon of choice: news releases.

ForSaleByOwner.com claims in one news release that the May 29 ruling against the Realtors association forces the group's online affiliate Realtor .com to accept the other Web-based company's customer listings even though they lack representation by a broker.

Not true, says a National Association of Realtors news release. Yes, true, says a ForSale ByOwner.com news release. "The DOJ-NAR settlement benefited consumers by giving them access to Realtor.com without the expensive cost of a commission fee," ForSale ByOwner.com Vice President Greg Healy is quoted as saying in a Nov. 12 news release. The Realtors followed up with a release containing a list of corrections to "inaccuracies and misleading statements" it said the online-listing site made.

"ForSaleByOwner.com does not in any way enable home sellers to advertise their home on Realtor.com without broker representation," a Nov. 14 release says.

ForSaleByOwner.com fired back on Nov. 25 with a statement that it "stands by the accuracy of our news release." The company has a Web page explaining how its customers can have their listings posted on Realtor.com for a $200 fee.

The Justice Department settlement with the National Association of Realtors stems from an investigation into unequal treatment of online real-estate brokers on the part of the association and its affiliated multiple-listing services.

The association agreed to treat Web-only brokers the same way it treats brokers with brick-and-mortar offices. The settlement doesn't mention ForSaleByOwner.com or anything about whether Realtor .com must list owner-represented properties.