Judge Stephen Baugh approved the settlement involving Compass, Douglas Elliman, @properties and other companies. The companies will pay a total of $110 million to settle the lawsuit.
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The judge overseeing the Gibson Commission litigation gave final approval Thursday to nine settlements involving companies such as Compass and Douglas Elliman.
Judge Stephen Baugh gave final approval. In addition to Compass and Douglas Elliman, the settlement also involves The Real Brokerage, @properties, Redfin, Realty ONE Group, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart, and United Real Estate. The companies will pay a total of $110 million.
News of the final approval was first reported by real estate news. Michael Ketchmark, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, confirmed to Inman on Thursday that the settlement had received final approval.
“Today’s recognition is great news for the members of our class,” he told Ms. Inman in a text message. “This litigation has been fiercely fought every step of the way. Today, we take a major step toward resolving these cases. We are confident that the end is in sight.”
A breakdown of costs by company shows that of the nine companies, Compass pays the most, while United Real Estate pays the least.
- Compass: $57.5 million
- The Real Brokerage: $9.25 million
- Realty ONE Group: $5 million
- World Properties: $6.5 million
- Douglas Elliman: $7.75 million
- Redfin: $9.25 million
- Engel & Völkers: $6.9 million
- HomeSmart Holdings: $4.7 million
- United Real Estate: $3.75 million
The settlement received preliminary approval at the end of April. A judge at the time found them to be “fair, reasonable and appropriate,” according to court filings.
“As the only U.S. brokerage firm that has saved consumers more than $1.6 billion in fees, Redfin was not involved in this litigation and is committed to resolving it and moving forward,” Redfin said in a statement to Inman on Thursday. I’m happy,” he said.
Real Brokerage announced the approval in a statement Thursday afternoon, saying the settlement “finally addresses all claims asserted against Real.”
“This is a welcome decision for us as we continue to focus on growth,” Realty ONE Group CEO Kuba Jewginiew said in an email to Inman.
“We love the real estate business, are always aggressive and will never be sidelined by anything, because we fully embrace change for the better. Especially Realty ONE Group It’s easy when it’s a proven model for the future,” Giugenew added.
Compass declined to comment.
Inman has reached out to the other companies involved in these settlements and will update this article if we hear back from them.
Ketchmark filed the Gibson suit in Missouri court minutes after the jury in the famous Sitzer | trial. In Barnett, judgment was entered against real estate defendants including the National Association of Realtors.
In April, Gibson was merged with another case known as Ampa.
As in many similar cases, the plaintiffs allege that the defendant companies violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by enforcing rules that required listing brokers to provide compensation to buyer brokers for listing on multiple listing services. he claimed. Plaintiffs argued that this practice artificially inflates brokerage fees.
In August, plaintiffs’ lawyers announced they were seeking $36.87 million, or one-third of the $110.6 million the nine companies had agreed to pay. These lawyers argued that they had spent 105,000 hours over five years fighting high-profile defense attorneys and were now entitled to their payments back.
The new final approval and $110.6 million is separate from other Antitrust Commission cases, including Sitzer. Burnett. The National Association of Realtors announced a settlement in the case in March. A judge subsequently gave preliminary approval to the settlement in April, with final approval expected in November, but the settlement has faced some opposition.
In total, the real estate defendants are proposing at least $987.1 million in financial relief to resolve the antitrust lawsuit over fees.
Update: This article has been updated since publication with additional details, comments, and context about the incident.
Email Jim Dalrymple II