Judges deny plaintiffs’ request to consolidate commission lawsuits
The
Multidistrict
Litigation
panel
has
denied
a
motion
for
nine
of
the
commission
lawsuits
to
consolidate.
In
a
decision
filed
on
Friday,
Judge
Karen
Caldwell,
who
is
the
chair
of
the
MDL
panel,
wrote
that
after
hearing
arguments
from
all
parties
involved,
the
panel
concluded
that
“centralization
is
not
necessary
at
this
time
for
the
convenience
of
the
parties
and
witnesses
or
to
further
the
just
and
efficient
conduct
of
the
litigation.”
Caldwell
also
noted
the
National
Association
of
Realtors’
settlement
agreement,
writing
that
“given
the
broad
contours
of
this
new
settlement
agreement
and
the
changing
landscape
of
the
parties’
positions
on
centralization,
we
think
it
wise
to
deny
centralization
at
this
time.
“The
settlement
may
well
resolve
at
least
some
claims
in
this
litigation,
if
not
many,”
she
added.
“We
cannot
speculate
on
the
number
of
parties
and
claims
that
will
remain
once
this
and
any
other
settlements
are
approved.”
Caldwell
was
one
of
six
judges
who
helped
reach
this
decision.
The
other
judges
on
the
panel
included
Matthew
Kennelly,
Roger
Benitez,
Madeline
Cox
Arleo,
David
Norton,
and
Dale
Kimball.
Despite
their
denial
of
the
motion
to
consolidate,
the
judges
did
not
rule
out
the
possibility
of
future
consolidation.
“After
settlement
proceedings
conclude,
and
it
becomes
evident
how
many
claims
and
parties
still
remain
and
the
extent
to
which
they
overlap,
if
at
all,
it
may
be
that
formal
centralization
is
needed
or,
perhaps,
informal
coordination
efforts
can
adequately
address
any
duplicative
pretrial
proceedings,”
the
filing
states.
In
late
December
2023,
the
plaintiffs
in
the
Gibson and Umpa suits,
which
were
both
filed
in
Mississippi,
asked
the
court
if
their
suits,
along
with
Grace (filed
in
California), Burton,
(filed
in
South
Carolina), March (filed
in
New
York), Spring
Way (filed
in
Pennsylvania), Phillips (filed
in
Georgia), QJ
Team (filed
in
Texas),
and Martin (filed
in
Texas)
could
consolidate
under
the
jurisdiction
of
Judge
Stephen
Bough,
who
oversaw
the
Sitzer/Burnett
commission
lawsuit
trial.
In
their
motion,
the
plaintiffs
argued
that
the
nine
suits
are
ripe
for
consolidation
and
transfer
because
they
most
of
their
defendants
overlap,
involve
many
of
the
same
questions
of
fact
and
that
the
suits
are
all
in
their
“infancy,”
as
all
were
filed
between
Oct.
31,
2023,
and
Dec.
31,
2023.
All
nine
of
the
lawsuits
alleged
that
real
estate
industry
players
(namely
NAR, RE/MAX, Anywhere, Keller
Williams, HomeServices
of
America, Compass, eXp
Realty, Redfin, Douglas
Elliman, Howard
Hanna, United
Real
Estate, and Weichert)
have
colluded
via
NAR’s
Participation
Rule
to
artificially
inflate
real
estate
agent
commissions.
However,
since
the
motion
for
consolidation
was
filed
NAR,
Keller
Williams
and
Compass
have
reached
nationwide
settlement
agreements,
in
addition
to
the
settlements
already
reached
by
Anywhere
and
RE/MAX
in
2023.
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