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US judge approves settlements with Compass, Redfin over real estate commissions
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US judge approves settlements with Compass, Redfin over real estate commissions
Nov 4, 2024 11:43 AM

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.

Read more:

Judge weighs objections to US real estate commissions

settlement

Realtors' group asks US Supreme Court to block Justice Dept

probe

US court approves first wave of settlements over real estate

commissions

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