REMAX Inks Settlement For Batton Antitrust Case

REMAX is the second brokerage to find an off-ramp from the Batton buyer-broker commission litigation.

The Denver-based company agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle its role in the Batton lawsuit this week, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission reported by Inman.

The settlement resolves all claims against the brokerage in the case. The firm said in its filing that it “continues to deny the material allegations of the complaints in the lawsuit.”

REMAX did not comment on the settlement decision to the publication.

The lawsuit accused REMAX and others of participating in an “antitrust conspiracy” that inflated prices for homebuyers. The plaintiffs allege they were overcharged under the National Association of Realtors’ Clear Cooperation Policy, and argued that the rule pressures sellers to offer a high commission to entice buyer’s agents.

The case has been winding through the judicial system for years, and the deal follows a wave of antitrust lawsuits that solicited pricey settlements and rule changes from some of the country’s largest residential brokerage players.

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.

Last month, Texas-based Keller Williams agreed to pay $20 million to settle the suit, releasing all of the company’s franchisees, affiliated agents and teams from the litigation. It was the first defendant to resolve its role in Batton.

REMAX previously agreed to pay $55 million to settle a pair of homeseller lawsuits filed in Kansas City and Chicago. The agreement required REMAX to make changes to its business practices, including eliminating a requirement for sellers to pay buyer’s agents’ commissions.

— Holden Walter-Warner