Judge approves brokerage settlements totaling $110 million
Defendants including Compass, Redfin and seven other large firms can now move on from litigation in the sell-side commissions cases.
U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Bough has approved the final settlements of nine defendants in the Gibson/Umpa commissions case.
The lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Michael Ketchmark, confirmed the approval by text on Thursday, Oct. 31.
"Today's approval is great news for the class members. This has been hard-fought litigation every step of the way," Ketchmark said. "Today, we took a big step towards resolving these cases. We remain confident that the end is in sight."
The nine brokerages will pay just over $110 million into a settlement fund that's crossed the $1 billion mark. The nine defendants are Compass ($57.5 million), The Real Brokerage ($9.25 million), Realty ONE Group ($5 million), Douglas Elliman ($7.75 million plus up to $10 million more in contingent payments), @properties ($6.5 million), Redfin ($9.25 million), Engel & Völkers ($6.9 million), HomeSmart ($4.7 million) and United Real Estate ($3.75 million).
Redfin was drawn into the lawsuits despite cutting ties with the National Association of Realtors in October 2023 and offering lower commission rates than some of its peers. The company issued a statement after the settlement hearing, saying, "As the only U.S. brokerage that has saved consumers more than $1.6 billion in fees, Redfin never belonged in this case, and we're glad to resolve it and move forward."
A milestone for the industry: The hearing took place in the U.S. District Court's Western District of Missouri on a notable day — it was exactly one year ago that the jury reached its landmark verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett case, followed by the immediate filing of the Gibson case, which was later combined with Umpa.
While settlement hearings are largely procedural, several interested parties were hoping to delay final approval. At least three objections were filed from plaintiffs in other cases, and several more came in from individual home sellers. At issue were the monetary damages, which some objectors argued were too low, and the possible impact of the settlements on lawsuits brought by buyers, such as the Batton cases.
What's next: With these settlements approved, up next are the final settlement hearings for the National Association of Realtors and HomeServices of America, which are scheduled for Nov. 26 in the same Kansas City courtroom. Those two proposed settlements total $668 million; adding in the MLSs and brokerages that are known to have opted into the agreement, that amount approaches $700 million.