Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE), the parent company of the real estate firm HomeServices of Americaasked Judge Stephen R. Bough to review a previous ruling and order to compel arbitration in the Gibson copycat commission case.
In a document filed last week, BHE asked Bough to reconsider his order denying BHE’s motion to strike the class action and dismiss for failure to state a claim. The company is also asking the court to issue an order to enforce the settlement of the dispute.
BHE was named as a defendant in the case in March 2024.
In the filing, BHE said in its previous filing, the court found that the company “could not enforce arbitration and arbitration agreements and class action waivers that non-class members may have signed because those agreements did not expressly identify BHE.”
The court issued this decision despite the fact that none of the plaintiffs are said to have sold the property through a subsidiary of HomeServices of America. The decision came as US District Court for the Western District of Missouri as well as Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals previously found that similar agreements at issue in the Sitzer/Burnett suit were unenforceable.
The new agreement issued after the district court and appellate court rulings “identified HomeServices as the ‘custodial parent’ and thus prevented BHE from enforcing it, although the New Agreements also expressly included ‘affiliates.'”
BHE says the order “contains significant and obvious errors of both fact and law,” and that the court failed to rule on BHE’s grounds for dismissal, such as “plaintiff’s lack of ability to state just one truth.” about BHE’s conduct.”
BHE is also asking for a court order that compels a decision. Defendant asserts that some of the plaintiffs may have entered into contracts with HomeServices’ subsidiaries or franchises that include mandatory arbitration provisions, meaning that their contracts expressly require that disputes be resolved through arbitration rather than in court.
Additionally, BHE states that under the Federal Arbitration Act, arbitration agreements are legally binding. BHE said it is asking the law to require that any claims brought in the lawsuit be resolved through arbitration. The company also said it believed it would not be fair to litigate a case related to contracts containing arbitration clauses without being allowed to enforce these clauses.
In the Sitzer/Burnett suit, HomeServices ultimately filed for writ of certiorari and Supreme Court over the Eighth Circuit’s ruling on its arbitration agreements. The Supreme Court eventually rejected the company’s request.
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