Judge largely dismissive of objections to settlements 

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Bough was fairly blunt about his reasons for giving final approval to the nine settlements reached by brokerages in the commissions cases last week, dismissing the few objections filed in favor of the thousands of home sellers who have already opted in and submitted claims.

In a 59-page document filed Nov. 4, Bough also dealt a blow to the plaintiffs in the Batton cases, which involve homebuyers. Similar to his ruling in the settlements involving Anywhere, RE/MAX and Keller Williams last May, he kept in place wording that buyers who were also home sellers are to be included in the nationwide settlements with the nine defendants, preventing them from pursuing separate claims. 

Per the settlement, the brokerage defendants — Compass, Real, Realty ONE Group, Douglas Elliman, @properties, Redfin, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate — will pay just over $110 million into a settlement fund that's crossed the $1 billion mark and make changes to their commissions practices. 

Writing that the home seller plaintiffs "have conducted extensive discovery into the alleged nationwide conspiracy and have thoroughly litigated the claims," he viewed this settlement as a necessary condition to provide a nationwide recovery.

'The best deal possible'

Several objectors said the defendants should have paid more, but Bough set that aside, noting that the plaintiffs tried to get the largest recovery they could, weighing the risks of further litigation and the defendants' ability to pay.

"There is no suggestion here, nor could there be, that Class Counsel were uninformed, lacked experience and expertise, or were somehow prevented from negotiating the best deal possible for the Class," Bough wrote.

Be there or be square

Bough also addressed his previous ruling ordering those who objected to personally appear in the Kansas City court Oct. 31. 

That order drew several requests from objectors to be excused from appearing, citing a variety of hardships. Bough gave an example of one objector who said it would cost them about $1,000 to appear in person, but he dismissed the sum, saying it "pales in comparison" to the more than $13 million the plaintiffs' counsel paid to put together the settlement.

Eleven objectors were called out for not having shown up to the hearing, and their objections were waived, although Bough did discuss some of their arguments in his filing.

Buyers could have opted out

The Batton objectors had argued that lumping buyers in with the sellers would provide them with "inadequate representation." 

In addressing their arguments, Bough said adding buyers who also sold homes to the class was part of the negotiation strategy and allowed the plaintiffs to secure the biggest award possible. He also pointed out that buyers who fell into that category did have the ability to opt out.

"The Batton objectors have offered no evidence to enable the Court to second-guess Plaintiffs' determination, and the Court declines to do so," Bough wrote succinctly.

Other cases not that unique

In responding to objections from plaintiffs in the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and Burton cases — parties who have filed objections in multiple commissions settlements — Bough's general response appeared to be that the cases were not different enough to warrant overturning a nationwide settlement.

With the New York objectors, Bough was dismissive of the purported differences between the New York case and the nationwide cases.

"As the New York Objectors' own complaints reflect, the changed NAR and REBNY rules are functionally identical," Bough wrote.

The judge also rejected arguments from the South Carolina-based Burton objectors, who said giving notice to the class was inadequate and that the damages were insufficient. Bough pointed out in his filing that the vast majority of class members from South Carolina favor approval.

"Although the claims deadline is still months away, over 6,600 South Carolina residents have already submitted claims; and none have objected (aside from the clients of class counsel with competing class litigation)," Bough said. "If the Settlements are not approved, these class members risk receiving no compensation for their injuries."

What's next

The final settlement hearings for the National Association of Realtors and HomeServices of America are scheduled for Nov. 26 and will also be overseen by Judge Bough. 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.