Multiple filings were submitted last week related to the NAR settlement, eXp deal and a homebuyer case, while three new appeals were filed on Monday.
Dave Gallagher4 minutes
While most of us were preoccupied with Thanksgiving preparations last week, the courts remained busy with cases involving the real estate industry — and the activity hasn't let up, with more filings submitted on Monday.
In addition to the Baird & Warner settlement announced on Nov. 26, other pre-holiday courts activity included an appeal of the NAR settlement, an amended complaint in one of the Batton cases and a response from eXp regarding "questionable behavior" allegations in the Gibson case. Then on Dec. 2, three more appeals were filed challenging the NAR deal and approved Gibson settlements.
Here are the details:
NAR settlement appealed: Just one day after U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Bough approved the $418 settlement between home sellers and the National Association of Realtors in the Sitzer/Burnett case, an appeal was filed.
Spring Way LLC and a group of objectors announced the appeal in a Nov. 27 filing, bumping the case up to the U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit. That court is also overseeing an appeal to the RE/MAX, Keller Williams and Anywhere settlements, which were approved by Judge Bough in May.
Spring Way was originally the lead plaintiff in the Pennsylvania case now known as Moratis; the objectors are also involved in that case, a copycat commissions class action lawsuit filed in December 2023.
On Dec. 2, three more appeals were filed. Monty March — a plaintiff in an early copycat lawsuit targeting the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and a host of brokerage companies — appealed both the NAR settlement and the settlements approved Oct. 31 in the Gibson case that include Compass and Redfin. March had filed objections to the settlements prior to their approval.
The other appeal came from James Mullis, the plaintiff in the Batton homebuyer cases who appealed the May settlements with RE/MAX, KW and Anywhere, and an objector to the Gibson deals.
All three of the newly filed appeals will go to the Eighth Circuit.
eXp responds to ruling in Gibson: Calling the decision "premature," brokerage giant eXp has asked Judge Stephen Bough to reconsider his ruling to not pause litigation against eXp in the Gibson case.
In October, eXp reached a $34 million settlement agreement with plaintiffs in a Georgia case known as Hooper — prompting an objection from plaintiffs in the Gibson/Umpa case, which names eXp as a defendant. In responding to the objection, Bough said the deal may have involved a reverse auction strategy to get the lowest possible settlement, and he refused to pause the case citing "questionable behavior" on the part of eXp.
eXp argued in a Nov. 26 filing that if further investigation is needed, that decision should be made by the judge overseeing the Hooper case. The brokerage also said it will be providing further information about the settlement in the Georgia court.
"If, after the terms of the settlement are made public, Plaintiffs believe there are grounds to seek additional information about the settlement process, then it may be appropriate for them to seek discovery in the Hooper action, but not here and now," the Nov. 26 filing stated.
Bough will hear arguments regarding eXp's motion for reconsideration on Jan. 8.
More plaintiffs join Batton case: In an amended complaint filed Nov. 26, the list of plaintiffs in the Chicago-based class action lawsuit known as Batton 2 has grown to more than 30 individual homebuyers. Defendants in the case include Redfin, eXp, Compass, Weichert Real Estate and United Real Estate.
The amended complaint mirrors arguments made in previous filings — that "home buyers across America have been unwittingly paying too much for, and receiving too little from, services offered to them by real estate agent members of National Association of Realtors."
