SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Settlements announced in federal 8K filings on the eve of impending October trial dates for two of the major broker commission lawsuits in Sitzer/Burnett (Missouri) and Moehrl (Illinois).
In the first settlement, subject to court approval, Anywhere (Realogy) agreed to pay a total of $85 million.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/anywhere-real-estate-settles-buyer-175304121.html
In the most recent settlement, also subject to court approval, RE/MAX agreed to pay a total of $55 million. Re/Max said the settlement isn’t an admission of liability or a concession of the validity of any claims in the litigation, and that it continues to deny the suits’ allegations.
While the settled amounts were large, they are well short of the Billions anticipated by many.
The remaining defendants in the lawsuits are Keller Williams, HomeServices of America, and the National Association of Realtors.
The National Association of REALTORS® says it will continue arguing its case against two class-action lawsuits challenging real estate compensation structures, even after one of NAR’s co-defendants reportedly agreed to a proposed settlement.
We’ll follow up with more insight once the court filings are available.
Some key questions remain:
- Does the RE/MAX decision really apply nationwide?
- What about the likelihood of copycat lawsuits
by John Reilly
