The
remaining
brokerage
defendants
in
the
Batton
2
homebuyer

commission
lawsuit
filed
a
joint
motion
to
dismiss
the
suit
last
week.
This
is
the
second
time
the
remaining
defendants
have

looked
to
get
the
case
dismissed.

In
the
motion
filed
by

 Compass, eXp
World
Holdings, Redfin, Weichert
Realtors and

United
Real
Estate,
the
defendants
claim
that
the
homebuyer
plaintiffs
are
simply
trying
“to
parrot
the
allegations
they
made
in
an
amended
complaint,”
filed
in
the
Batton
1

commission
lawsuit
that
consists
of
the
same
plaintiffs
but
a
different
group
of
brokerage
defendants.

The
brokerage
defendants
outlined
several
reasons
in
their
filing
why
the
suit
should
be
dismissed,
including
that
the
plaintiffs
lack
the
antitrust
standing
they
need
to
sue
this
group
of
defendants
under
state
and
federal
antitrust
law
because
the
home
seller
plaintiffs
in
other
lawsuits
are
seeking
the
same
injunctive
relief
and
are
the
more
directly
injured
party.

In
support
of
this
argument,
the
motion
states
that
the
amended
complaint
fails
to
show
“that
homebuyers
faced
‘a
significant
threat
of
injury
from
an
impending
violation
of
the
antitrust
laws
or
from
a
contemporary
violation
likely
to
continue
or
recur.’”

The
motion
also
argues
that
the
court
“lacks
personal
jurisdiction
of
any
kind
over
the
eight
Named
Plaintiffs,”
as
the
suit
was
filed
in
Illinois
and
only
one
of
the
plaintiffs
is
a
resident
of
Illinois.

“Each
of
these
out-of-state
Named
Plaintiffs
allegedly
enlisted
a
buyer-agent
in
the
period
from
2018
to
2021
to
purchase
a
home
in
these
other
states.
The
eighth
Named
Plaintiff
purchased
a
home
in
Illinois
in
2022
using
a
buyer-agent
from
Berkshire
Hathaway
HomeServices,”
the
filing
states.

Additionally,
the
defendants
noted
that
none
of
them
are
headquartered
or
incorporated
in
Illinois,
making
it
impossible
for
the
plaintiffs
to
invoke
general
jurisdiction.

The
motion
also
argues
that
the
plaintiffs’
complaint
“fails
to
allege
facts
to
plausibly
suggest
that
the
Defendants
entered
into
any
agreement
—
with
non-party


National
Association
of
Realtors
(NAR)
or
amongst
each
other.”
The
filing
states
that
the
plaintiffs’
antitrust
claims
are
based
on
allegations
about
the
defendants’
“unilateral
conduct,
not
what
they
agreed
to
do,”
that
they
fail
to
allege
that
the
“defendants
entered
into
any
agreement
with
each
other
or
any
other
horizontal
competitor,”
and
that
they
fail
to
allege
“facts
showing
that
each
Defendant
individually
entered
into
the
purported
conspiracy.”

Finally,
the
defendants
also
claim
that
plaintiffs’
complaint
is
“untimely”
as
NAR’s
rules
have
been
public
since
1996,
yet
the
plaintiffs
did
not
file
the
Batton
2
suit
until
2023.

In
addition
to
the
joint
motion
to
dismiss,
United
Real
Estate
and
Weichert
Realtors
filed
motions
to
dismiss
due
to
lack
of
jurisdiction.

Howard
Hanna and Douglas
Elliman
were
named
as
defendants
when
the
suit
was
filed,
but
each
have
been

dismissed.

HomeServices
of
America,
which
was
a
defendant
in
the
Batton
1
suit,
was

also
dismissed
from
that
case
earlier
this
year.

The
discovery
process
for
each
of
the
Batton
suits
is
not
scheduled
to
be
completed
until
May
2026.

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