Keller Williams Settles Batton Commission Case

Brokerages that have battened down the hatches amid the antitrust storm of recent years are still battling — and occasionally settling — prominent lawsuits.

Keller Williams settled its participation in the Batton buyer-broker commission litigation, Inman reported. The Texas-based company agreed to pay $20 million to settle the suit, which accused Keller Williams and others of participating in an “antitrust conspiracy” that inflated prices for homebuyers.

The franchisor noted in a statement that the settlement releases all of the company’s franchisees, affiliated agents and teams.

“We are the first defendant to resolve this litigation with the goal of eliminating uncertainty for our franchisees and agents,” Keller Williams chief executive officer Chris Czarnecki told regional directors and division leaders.

Batton’s been winding through the judicial system for more than five years, becoming one of the more protracted pieces of litigation in the wave of antitrust lawsuits directed at the residential brokerage industry.

A New Jersey homebuyer filed the lawsuit against Keller Williams in January 2021. A subsequent lawsuit was filed against several other parties in November 2023, immediately after a guilty verdict came down from the jury in Sitzer/Burnett, a historic defeat for the National Association of Realtors, Keller Williams and HomeServices of America.

The plaintiffs allege they were overcharged in purchasing their homes, claiming they couldn’t negotiate the compensation paid to their agent.

The plaintiff in the first lawsuit stepped down and the case was dismissed, refiled and three months ago, stripped of class-action certification.

In March 2024, plaintiffs in Batton II dismissed the claims against Howard Hanna Real Estate Services voluntarily and without prejudice, meaning claims can be refiled.

Keller Williams has shown an appetite to get out of litigation in the name of certainty for its franchisees and agents. In February 2024, it agreed to pay $70 million to settle its position in Sitzer, one of the defendants deemed to be liable in the case; at the time, the $1.8 billion damages verdict was still awaiting judge approval.

Meanwhile, one defendant sticking in the Batton fight is NAR, which said it respected Keller WIlliams’ decision to settle, but said it will continue to “pursue all potential resolutions, both non-litigation and litigation, to reach a result that is in the best interest of our members, the industry and consumer.”

— Holden Walter-Warner