Nosalek parties make final pitch to move settlement forward 

The back-and-forth in a Massachusetts commissions case continued this week, with MLS PIN and the plaintiffs in the Nosalek lawsuit pushing back on recent arguments from the Department of Justice. 

The parties reached a settlement agreement nearly two years ago, but approval of the deal — now scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday — was delayed following the DOJ's involvement in the case. The agency has repeatedly expressed concerns about the terms of the settlement, which it reiterated in a supplemental statement of interest filed earlier this month.

The parties respond: In a March 26 court filing, the plaintiffs in the five-year-old case said the DOJ still hasn't specified what settlement terms are acceptable. They also pushed back on the DOJ's assertion in its Mar. 17 filing that the settlement "maintains the status quo," arguing that the deal has already led to significant changes.

For example, MLS PIN changed its system in July 2024, giving sellers the option to forgo an offer of compensation to a buyer broker. According to the filing, around 75% of sellers have chosen not to offer compensation since the policy went into effect.

"The Department (DOJ) does not dispute or address this fact. Rather, the Department simply ignores it," the filing states. 

$4 million is enough: The plaintiffs also argued that the monetary compensation — originally set at $3 million but later increased to $3.95 million — is adequate, noting that it's exactly what MLS PIN would have paid according to NAR's settlement opt-in formula for multiple listing services. The DOJ had argued that the damages amount was too low.

"Notably, the Department raised no concern before Judge (Stephen) Bough about the size of the NAR settlement," according to the filing.

MLS PIN was also critical of the DOJ's position. In a separate March 26 filing, it said the DOJ's supplemental statement "is nothing more than a policy argument that is unmoored from the legal standards governing this antitrust dispute."

"It would seem that not even the DOJ buys the argument it is selling the Court," the MLS PIN filing stated.

This week's filings in Nosalek are expected to be the final written arguments submitted to U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris ahead of a hearing on Tuesday, April 1, to consider preliminary approval of the settlement.

Attorneys seek additional fees in Keel, Gibson: Also this week, plaintiff attorneys in Missouri filed a motion asking for fees totaling one-third of the $11.5 million recovered from defendants in the Keel case and the $8.6 million from the six most recent Gibson settlements.

The attorneys are also requesting reimbursement of new expenses in the amount of $17.2 million.

The "one-third" standard is consistent with the legal fees requested — and approved by Judge Stephen Bough — in previous commissions settlements. The total settlement fund is now at nearly $1.04 billion, according to the filing.