Second Shoe Drops.
Remax settles for $55 Million.
The case is centered around the NAR Model MLS rules requiring an offer of compensation to be paid to agents who bring buyers to the Listing Broker and the Listing Broker’s Seller. The “Unilateral Offer of Compensation” replaced the Unilateral Offer of Subagency” as the Model Rules compensation vehicle in 1996, as Agency Disclosure laws were sweeping the nation.
The case is being brought on behalf of home sellers who paid a broker commission in the last four years in connection with the sale of residential real estate listed on one of twenty Multiple Listing Services (“MLSs”), covering several major metropolitan areas in the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, South-West, Mountain-West, and Southeast regions.
Plaintiffs who listed their homes on one of twenty MLSs bring this action against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the four largest national real estate broker franchisors, Realogy Holdings Corp., HomeServices of America, Inc., RE/MAX Holdings, Inc., and Keller Williams Realty, Inc., for conspiring to require home sellers to pay the broker representing the buyer of their homes, and to pay at an “inflated amount,” in violation of federal antitrust law.
Plaintiffs allege that Defendants’ conspiracy has centered around NAR’s adoption and implementation of a mandatory rule that requires all brokers to make a blanket, non-negotiable offer of buyer broker compensation (the “Buyer Broker Commission Rule”) when listing a property on an MLS operating under the NAR Model Rules.
Settlements So far:
Anywhere: $ 83.5 Million
Remax: $ 55 Million
Keller Williams???
Home Services of America???
NAR???
MLSs???
MLSs covered in this action:
The Bright MLS (including the metropolitan areas of Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C.);
My Florida Regional MLS (including the metropolitan areas of Tampa, Orlando, and Sarasota);
The five MLSs in the Mid-West that cover the following metropolitan areas: Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota;
The six MLSs in the Southwest that cover the following metropolitan areas: Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix, Arizona; San Antonio Texas;
The three MLSs in the Mountain West that cover the following metropolitan areas: Colorado Springs, Colorado; Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah;
The four MLSs in the Southeast that cover the following metropolitan areas: Fort Myers, Florida; Miami, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Moehrl v. National Association of Realtors, et al.
cohenmilstein.com • 3 min read
On October 2, 2020, the Honorable Andrea R. Wood of the United States District Court for the Nor
