2 brokerages seek settlement approval; Nosalek hearing scheduled
Baird & Warner and Real Estate One will add another $3.7 million to the fund, while the MLS PIN case moves forward after an extended pause.
While many of the biggest commissions settlements are now in the rearview mirror, smaller deals continue to work their way through the courts.
On Jan. 27, court filings indicated that settlements reached by two brokerages and an MLS are now moving closer to resolution.
Seeking preliminary approval: Michigan-based Real Estate One reached an agreement in October, and Baird & Warner, founded in 1855, agreed to settle in November, but damages were not disclosed in the original filings.
Both firms have now entered the preliminary approval stage in the Gibson/Umpa commissions case, overseen by Judge Stephen Bough in U.S. District Court in Missouri. In court documents submitted today, plaintiffs provided more details: Real Estate One will pay $1.5 million into the settlement fund, while Baird & Warner will pay $2.2 million.
The fund, which includes settlements from the National Association of Realtors and numerous brokerages and MLSs, already exceeded $1 billion.
On Oct. 31, Bough approved settlements reached by nine other brokerage defendants in Gibson/Umpa, and in early November, four other preliminary agreements were filed in the case.
Nosalek gets back on track: U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris has set a date of April 1 to consider preliminary approval of the MLS PIN settlement, a four-year-old case that has been relatively dormant for the past seven months.
In June 2024, Saris issued a stay after it became clear that the settling parties and the U.S. Department of Justice still didn't see eye-to-eye. The DOJ had been unhappy with the deal since it was announced in June 2023, and earlier last year, filed a highly critical statement of interest in the case.
The agency pushed for a delay in finalizing the deal, arguing that the amended settlement raised "serious antitrust concerns," and the judge agreed to pause the case until after the NAR settlement was approved.
In the original settlement, MLS PIN agreed to pay $3 million in damages and change rules related to buyer-broker compensation. In revised statements, the settling parties have replaced specific rule changes with a broader proposal prohibiting sellers from being compelled to offer compensation.