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Judge clears Anywhere, REMAX and KW from homeseller lawsuits
Final approval to brokerage settlements sets off payment deadlines for firms
From left: Erik Carlson, Mark Willis and Ryan Schneider (Getty, Anywhere Real Estate, REMAX, Keller Williams)
Most of the brokerages targeted by the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit are officially out of the fight over agent commissions.
A judge granted final approval to settlement agreements proposed by Anywhere Real Estate, REMAX and Keller Williams — all named as defendants in the first of the antitrust cases to head to trial, according to documents filed with the Western District of Missouri’s federal court on Thursday.
The decision releases the three firms from all claims brought by home sellers, who accused the trio of conspiring with HomeServices of America and the National Association of Realtors to hike agents’ pay.
Anywhere, REMAX and Keller Williams were the first brokerages to agree to settle antitrust litigation for a combined $209 million.
NAR and several other firms such as Compass, HomeServices of America and Douglas Elliman have since opted to resolve the lawsuits, bringing the total settlements close to $1 billion.
The sum is still less than the $1.8 billion jury verdict issued in the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit, which the judge could have trebled to more than $5 billion.
Settlement deals proposed by HomeServices and NAR are still awaiting final approval. The two groups agreed to pay the largest sums — $250 million and $418 million, respectively — of all the defendants named in the lawsuits.
Under the terms of NAR’s deal, the 1.4 million-member trade group agreed to sweeping rule changes that could upend the way agents earn commissions. The policies include barring listing brokers from including offers of compensation for buyer’s agents on multiple listing services and requiring agents working with buyers to obtain signed agreements before touring a home.
The new rules are slated to take effect in August.
“I like our assets relative to others to go through [these changes],” Anywhere CEO Ryan Schneider said on the company’s first quarter earnings call. “We all have a lot of work to do in terms of bringing things to life, especially in markets where they’re going to be a shock to the system.”
The judge preliminarily approved Anywhere’s $83.5 million settlement in November, and the company deposited its first installment, $10 million, in the court-controlled settlement fund the following month, according to its first quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The firm’s next payment, $20 million, is due in two weeks, and it must pay the remainder of the balance within 21 days after final approval.
REMAX deposited half of its $55 million settlement agreement into the court fund last year and will add the remainder within 10 days of final approval, according to the company’s first quarter SEC filing.
“In our settlement announcement, many have asked us how the proposed NAR changes might impact the industry. Only time will really tell,” REMAX CEO Erik Carlson said during its first quarter earnings call.
Four parties — including plaintiffs in similar lawsuits in South Carolina and Pennsylvania, a residential home builder and a Nevada home seller — objected to the terms of the three settlements at the final approval hearing on May 9, according to court documents.
The judge preliminarily approved NAR’s settlement last month, just a few days after the plaintiffs in the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit filed a motion triggering a 60-day deadline for large brokerages to decide whether they would opt-in to the deal’s coverage, included in the terms.