eXp paying $34 million to settle commissions case
The deal, which is not yet final, came in a Georgia case but covers similar lawsuits over agent compensation.
eXp has become the latest brokerage to settle the buyer agent commissions lawsuits — a $34 million deal that pushes the settlement fund total even further over $1 billion.
The agreement, revealed in an Oct. 1 filing with the SEC, "resolves all claims in the Lawsuits and similar claims on a nationwide basis against the Company." It also covers eXp's subsidiaries, affiliates and agents.
However, it will not be final until it receives a judge's approval. The company will pay half of the settlement within 30 business days of preliminary court approval, and the other half on or before the one-year anniversary of the first payment.
What eXp had to say: The company said in the filing that it "continues to deny the material allegations of the complaints in the Lawsuits." The settlement is not an "admission or concession of liability, or of the validity of any claim," eXp said.
eXp has been a leader in its response to the NAR settlement, creating new buyer agreement forms and seller resources, and changing its practices. Last month, CEO Leo Pareja said on the Unfiltered podcast that if broker-to-broker compensation was no longer allowed on the MLS, "let's just not do it at all, right?" That doesn't mean sellers who work with eXp agents can't compensate buyer agents, but the company will no longer facilitate that exchange. "We're just saying we want the seller to have a seat at the table and to be part of the decision-making process," Pareja said.
The bigger picture: Brokerages that brought in more than $2 billion in sales volume were left out of NAR's settlement deal and could choose to opt in or reach their own agreements with plaintiffs.
The eXp settlement came in a Georgia buyer commission lawsuit known as Hooper, but it resolves pending litigation in similar cases, most notably Gibson/Umpa. That case, which targets other major players including Compass, The Real Brokerage, Realty ONE Group, Douglas Elliman, @properties, Redfin, Engel & Volkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate, has attracted multiple objections to deals.
More than two dozen non-Realtor multiple listing services and brokerages opted into the NAR settlement at the end of September, and earlier this month, John L. Scott and Real Estate One reached agreements with the home sellers in the Gibson/Umpa case in Missouri.