Berkshire’s HomeServices asks US Supreme Court to hear antitrust case

Angi

05/02/2024 16:59

By Mike Scarcella
       Feb 5 (Reuters) - Real estate brokerage units of Warren
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway  BRKa.N  have asked the U.S.
Supreme Court to unwind a consumer class action lawsuit that
culminated in a $1.8 billion trial verdict against them and
other real estate defendants last year.
    HomeServices of America and two other Berkshire subsidiaries
on Friday asked the justices to reject a ruling that let
Missouri-area home sellers join together as a class in the case,
which accused brokerages of artificially inflating commissions
for home sales.
    In its filing, HomeServices said it never should have faced
a trial, arguing that the sellers had agreed to arbitrate
disputes out of court. Separate legal battles are underway to
overturn the Oct. 31 verdict, which has spurred new lawsuits
across the country.
    “Our appeal is rooted in the principles of the Federal
Arbitration Act, which clearly mandates that arbitration
agreements be honored as they are written,” a spokesperson for
HomeServices said in a statement.
    Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
    The lawsuit hinged on a real estate industry rule that
required sellers to pay a commission to a buyer’s agent. It said
the practice encouraged buyers’ agents to steer clients to homes
with higher commissions, sometimes 5% to 6%. Commissions are
split between agents for sellers and buyers.
    HomeServices has argued that home sellers agreed to
arbitrate claims arising over the listing of residential real
estate for sale.
    The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in September,
before the trial, that it was correct for the judge hearing the
Missouri case and not an arbitrator to decide whether the
contract dispute was subject to arbitration.
    HomeServices said the appeals court's "erroneous decision to
usurp the arbitrator’s authority subjected HomeServices to an
unwarranted class trial" and that federal courts are in
“disarray” on the issue of who decides which claims are subject
to arbitration.
    The company asked the court to take up its challenge now and
not after an appeal of the $1.8 billion verdict. HomeServices
and other defendants have denied any wrongdoing.

    The case is HomeServices of America Inc et al v. Scott
Burnett, U.S. Supreme Court, unassigned.
    For petitioners: Theodore Boutrous Jr of Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher
    For respondent: No appearance yet
    
    Read more:
    Home brokerage Keller Williams to pay $70 mln in antitrust
settlement
    Realtors group, home sellers clash over venue for antitrust
lawsuits
    US jury finds realtors liable for inflating commissions,
awards $1.78 bln damages

 (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)