Judge Stephen Bough granted the settlement involving Compass, Douglas Elliman, @properties and other companies. Collectively, the companies will pay $110 million to settle the lawsuit.
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The judge presiding over the Gibson commission case on Thursday gave final approval to nine settlements involving companies including Compass and Douglas Elliman.
Judge Stephen Bough gave the final approval. In addition to Compass and Douglas Elliman, these properties include The Real Brokerage, @properties, Redfin, Realty ONE Group, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate. Together, the companies will pay $110 million.
News of the final approval was first reported by Property News. Michael Ketchmark, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, confirmed to Inman on Thursday that the agreements have received final approval.
“Today’s approval is great news for the class members,” Inman said in a statement. “This has been a difficult trial in every way. Today, we have taken a big step towards solving these cases. We are convinced that the end is near.”
The company’s cost breakdown shows that of the nine companies, Compass will pay the most, while United Real Estate will pay the least:
- Campus: $57.5 million
- Real Brokerage: $9.25 million
- Realty ONE Group: $5 million
- In Real Estate: $6.5 million
- Douglas Elliman: $7.75 million
- Redfin: $9.25 million
- Engel & Volkers: $6.9 million
- HomeSmart Holdings: $4.7 million
- United Real Estate: $3.75 million
These settlements received the first approval on the last day of April. At the time, the judge found that they were “just, reasonable and sufficient,” according to the court’s request.
In a statement sent to Inman on Thursday, Redfin said that “as the only business in America that has saved consumers more than $1.6 billion, Redfin was never involved in this case, and we are happy to resolve it and move forward.”
Real Brokerage issued a statement Thursday afternoon announcing the approval and said the agreement “conclusively addresses all claims filed against Real.”
Compass declined to comment.
Inman has reached out to other companies involved in these settlements and will update this story with any responses they provide.
Ketchmark filed Gibson’s lawsuit in a Missouri court just minutes after the judge in the notorious Sitzer | The Burnett case ruled against real estate defendants, including the National Association of Realtors.
In April, Gibson was linked to another crime known as Umpa.
Like many similar cases, the plaintiffs allege that the defendant companies violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by enforcing rules that require listing sellers to provide compensation to buyer sellers for submitting listings to a multiple listing service. This practice, the plaintiffs argued, illegally included the broker’s commissions.
In Ncwabakazi, lawyers representing the plaintiffs revealed that they wanted a third of the $110.6 million – or $36.87 million – that the nine companies had agreed to pay. Those attorneys argue that they spent 105,000 hours over five years fighting high-profile defense attorneys and are now entitled to back pay.
The new final approvals, along with $110.6 million, are separate from other antitrust commission cases such as Sitzer | Burnett. The National Association of Realtors announced the proposed settlement in the case in March. A judge then granted that initial approval in April, with a final approval expected in November – despite a reversal of the decision.
In total, the real estate defendants proposed at least $987.1 million in financial aid to settle antitrust lawsuits against the commissions.
Update: This story was updated after publication with additional details and context of the case.
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