financetom
Business
financetom
/
Business
/
US judge approves settlements with Compass, Redfin over real estate commissions
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
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

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Boeing books 303 new orders, hits 737 MAX production target in blockbuster May
Boeing books 303 new orders, hits 737 MAX production target in blockbuster May
Jun 10, 2025
* Qatar Airways in deal for most widebody jets in Boeing ( BA ) history * Boeing ( BA ) delivers 45 aircraft in May, nearly double from last year * Paris Air Show due to start next Monday (Adds details about Qatar order, paragraph 4) By Dan Catchpole SEATTLE, June 10 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) heads into...
Shell's decision on Phase 2 of LNG Canada will depend on other opportunities, exec says
Shell's decision on Phase 2 of LNG Canada will depend on other opportunities, exec says
Jun 10, 2025
CALGARY (Reuters) -Shell Canada's decision on whether to pursue Phase 2 of LNG Canada will depend on other opportunities that are available, President Stastia West said on Tuesday at a conference. LNG Canada, the country's first LNG export facility, is a joint venture between Shell, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation ( MSBHF ) and Kogas. It is expected to ship its...
Google agrees $36 million fine for anti-competitive deals with Australia telcos
Google agrees $36 million fine for anti-competitive deals with Australia telcos
Aug 17, 2025
SYDNEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country's two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines. The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia,...
Meta Platforms' Threads Reportedly Testing Private Messaging Feature
Meta Platforms' Threads Reportedly Testing Private Messaging Feature
Jun 10, 2025
01:34 PM EDT, 06/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Meta Platforms' ( META ) Threads is testing a new feature that will allow users to send direct messages within the app, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday, citing Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. Threads will reportedly start testing the private messaging feature this week, with users in Hong Kong, Thailand and Argentina getting a...
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved