The company denied any wrongdoing and said it agreed to settle with the plaintiffs in order to continue moving forward and growing its business.
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The settlement is still being paid.
Fathom Realty will pay $2.95 million and agree to changes outlined in a settlement agreement with the National Association of Realtors to resolve its own legal matters, the company announced this week.
Fathom, a subsidiary of publicly traded Fathom Holdings Inc., is one of dozens of brokerages and franchises that generated more than $2 billion in sales in 2022 and, as such, have had to reach their own settlement with home seller plaintiffs targeting the real estate industry in a class action lawsuit.
“Fathom Realty was founded on the principle of providing unparalleled support to our agents,” CEO Marco Fregenal said in a statement. “We believe this settlement is the most prudent way forward and will allow our agents to focus on their clients rather than being distracted by protracted litigation.”
Fathom Holdings, a publicly listed company, said it was not required to disclose the terms of the settlement but decided to do so in the interest of transparency.
The company plans to pay the $500,000 within five days of the settlement being approved.
Another $500,000 is to be deposited by Oct. 1, 2025, and $1.95 million by Oct. 1, 2026.
“We have, and believe we can continue to generate, sufficient funds to make these payments without disruption to our operations,” the company said.
The company said it was not admitting liability or guilt in connection with claims made against it and dozens of other real estate companies in a sprawling class-action lawsuit targeting the way real estate agents are paid.
“Fathom continues to maintain that it was not involved in any conspiracy to inflate fees and continues to believe that our flat-fee model gave us no incentive to participate in such a conspiracy,” Fregenal said.
Instead, he said the settlement decision will help the company move forward.
“Settling now has the benefit of avoiding ongoing litigation costs and reducing the time burden on management, allowing us to focus on growing our business and ensuring our agents continue to have the opportunity to excel in serving their customers,” Fregenal said.
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