US court approves first wave of settlements over real estate commissions

Re/Max Holdings

10/05/2024 17:43

By Mike Scarcella
       May 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Missouri has approved
$208 million in consumer antitrust settlements with Re/Max and
two other leading real estate brokerages, casting aside
objections that the deals could bar others from pursuing their
own claims that the defendants inflated home sales commissions.
    U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough in Kansas City on Thursday
said the “miniscule” number of objections were not enough to
derail the settlements with Anywhere Real Estate  HOUS.N ,
Keller Williams and Re/Max  RMAX.N .
    The three brokerages earlier this year became the first to
settle claims by home sellers that they conspired to inflate the
commission that sellers pay to buyers’ agents as part of a home
sale.
    Longstanding industry rules required home sellers to pay a
commission to buyers' agents in to list their homes on a
“multiple listing service,” the regional databases that brokers
use to sell most homes in the United States.
    Anywhere, Re/Max and Keller Williams in statements said they
welcomed the court’s order, which they said will allow them to
focus on their businesses. The companies have denied any
wrongdoing.
    Bough said nearly 200,000 claims were submitted by May 2
seeking compensation from the settlement. So far, he said, 61
class members have opted out and could pursue individual claims.
    The judge disputed one objection that the settlements did
not go far enough, and he defended the scope of the deals,
saying that the nationwide settlements will minimize “protracted
and costly piecemeal litigation.”
    The settling brokerages would not have resolved claims “on
anything less than a nationwide basis, because doing so would
have left them exposed to potentially crippling liability,” the
court wrote.
    Attorneys for home buyers in related antitrust litigation in
Chicago who had objected to the deals declined to comment. They
had argued that the settlements could unfairly sideline some of
their claims.
    A jury in Bough's court last fall found another group of
brokers liable for conspiring with the National Association of
Realtors to inflate broker commissions. 
    The panel awarded nearly $1.8 billion, but all of the
defendants, including the realtors group and Berkshire Hathaway
 BRKa.N  unit HomeServices, subsequently reached deals for far
lesser amounts.
        The court has not yet given final approval to those
settlements.
    
    The case is Rhonda Burnett et al v. The National Association
of Realtors, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri,
No. No. 4:19-CV-00332-SRB.
    
    Read more:
    Redfin to pay $9 million in real estate antitrust settlement
    Berkshire brokerage HomeServices hit with new lawsuit over
commissions
    US realtor group's $418 million antitrust settlement wins
tentative approval
    Real estate commission antitrust settlements face legal
objections

 (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
 ((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))