Judge recuses herself from Moehrl, Batton cases
The commissions cases will be reassigned after Judge Andrea Wood was made aware of a possible conflict of interest.
The judge in the Moehrl and the two Batton buyer agent commission cases in Illinois has recused herself after learning that the spouse of a relative is a partner in a law firm representing the defendant.
Details: In a document filed Sept. 4, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood said she is recusing herself after the potential conflict of interest came to her attention. Following the code of conduct for U.S. judges, Wood said she is required to recuse herself from the cases.
The Clerk of the Court is responsible for randomly reassigning the cases to new judges. On Sept. 5, all three cases were assigned to Judge LaShonda Hunt, who asked the parties in each case to file status updates later this month.
Case statuses: All of the defendants in Moehrl — who were also named in Sitzer/Burnett — have reached settlement agreements, so the next step is for those agreements to be finalized. That's expected to happen later this year.
One potential hiccup could be a decision on appeals. Plaintiffs in a copycat case in South Carolina have objected to the settlement, and briefs from those who wish to appeal are due on September 25.
The two Batton cases, which involve home buyers rather than home sellers, are still moving ahead, but the defendants have filed motions to have the case dismissed, citing a lack of jurisdiction. In early August, however, the plaintiffs pushed back.
In the Batton 1 case, there are also pending motions to stay proceedings pending the results of the appeal in the settlement for RE/MAX, Anywhere and Keller Williams.
If the two Batton cases do move forward, the discovery phase is not scheduled to be completed until the spring of 2026.