Oct 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday said he will
approve $110 million in settlements with Compass, Redfin, At
World Properties and six other brokerages accused of conspiring
to keep residential home sale commission rates artificially
high.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough in Missouri overruled a
wave of objections to the settlements at a court hearing.
Some challenges to the deals, which resolved claims by home
sellers, said they were too sweeping and could harm cases
pending in other federal courts.
A wave of lawsuits accused major U.S. brokers of violating
antitrust law by requiring sellers to pay a commission to a
buyer's agent in order to list their homes for sale. The
plaintiffs contend brokerages schemed to keep commissions high.
Compass, At World and Douglas Elliman ( DOUG ) on Thursday either
declined to comment or did not immediately respond to comment
requests.
Redfin has boasted saving consumers more than $1.6 billion
in fees by charging sellers a low listing fee and giving buyers
a commission refund when they purchase with a Redfin agent. In a
statement on Thursday, Redfin said the company "never belonged
in this case" and was "glad to resolve it and move forward."
Lawyers for the plaintiffs have defended the settlements as
fair and reasonable. They had no immediate comment.
The settlements came after a jury in October awarded a $1.8
billion verdict against the realtors association and other
defendants. Many brokerages have agreed since to settle claims,
and the plaintiffs have said the total value of the accords is
more than $1 billion.
Bough's order marked the second group of settlements to win
court approval. Bough in May approved $208 million in consumer
antitrust settlements with RE/MAX, Anywhere Real Estate and
Keller Williams. They all denied any wrongdoing.
In November, Bough will weigh a pair of larger settlements
by the National Association of Realtors and brokerage
HomeServices of America, part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire
Hathaway ( BRK/A ).
The realtors' group agreed in March to pay $418 million and
reform the industry's commission practices. HomeServices of
America said it would pay $250 million. Neither admitted any
wrongdoing.
The case is Gibson et al v. National Association of Realtors
et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri. No.
4:23-cv-00788-SRB.
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