Judge denies dismissal motions from Gibson/Umpa defendants
Hanna Holdings, eXp and Weichert are among the brokerages yet to resolve litigation in the buyer agent commissions lawsuit.
For the remaining defendants in the Gibson/Umpa case, litigation will continue after a U.S. District Court judge denied multiple motions to dismiss the case.
In a document filed December 16, Judge Stephen Bough denied requests including a motion to dismiss based on the merits of the claims and several motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and/or improper venue. The case is being held in the Western District of Missouri.
Who filed the motions? Dismissals were sought largely by the defendants who have not settled or whose settlements have not been approved.
Hanna Holdings, eXp, Weichert, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, William Raveis, Real Estate One, Crye-Leike, Illustrated Properties and Windermere were denied motions related to the claims, jurisdiction or venue. Hanna Holdings was also denied its request to have the case moved to Pennsylvania.
What the judge had to say: In discussing his denials of the many motions, Bough provided more than 30 pages of reasons in two filings.
Regarding jurisdiction, Bough said the plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that the defendants have some stake in Western Missouri. Berkshire Hathaway Energy, for example, has a wholly owned subsidiary in the district, and Hanna Holdings controls and receives yearly referral program income from affiliates in the area.
The judge also ruled that the plaintiffs presented enough factual allegations to survive dismissal motions, including antitrust injury and demonstration of anticompetitive conduct.
"Plaintiffs' assertion that Defendants agreed to carry out NAR's allegedly anticompetitive policies is adequately supported by factual allegations regarding both the substance and nature of their purported agreement," Bough wrote in the filing.
Bough also denied motions from defendants who wanted to enforce arbitration or class action waiver provisions on class members.
Case history: The Gibson case was filed in October 2023 immediately after a verdict was announced in Sitzer/Burnett, then consolidated with Umpa in April 2024. Several defendants have settled, with nine brokerages, including Compass and Redfin, receiving final approval in October. Those settlements are currently being appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.
Settlements reached by eXp and Weichert in a separate case in Georgia have raised questions following an objection by the Gibson plaintiffs, with the judge ruling that litigation against the two firms could continue in Gibson/Umpa pending further discovery.