The
13
brokerages
and
15
non-Realtor-owned

MLSs
that
have
settled
the

commission
lawsuits
through
the
opt-in
mechanisms
in
the


National
Association
of
Realtors’
(NAR)

settlement
agreement
are
seeking
preliminary
approval
of
their
deals.

In
an
unopposed
motion
filed
on
Monday,
the
plaintiffs
in
the
Sitzer/Burnett
suit
asked
the
court
for
preliminary
approval
of
these
settlements
and
to
allow
for
the
permissive
joinder
of
the
entities
that
opted
in.

The
MLSs
that
chose
to
join
the
NAR
settlement
—
and
the
settlement
amounts
they’ll
pay
—
are
as
follows:

• 
  Alaska
  MLS
  ($238,800)
• 
  Bay
  Area
  Real
  Estate
  Information
  Service
  ($736,800)
• 
  Central
  Virginia
  Regional
  MLS
  ($100,000)
• 
  MetroList
  ($2,280,100)
• 
  Minot
  MLS
  ($26,300)
• 
  MiRealSource
  ($100,000)
• 
  MLS
  Exchange
  ($361,300)
• 
  Real
  Estate
  Information
  Network
  ($934,100)
• 
  Richmond
  MLS
  ($15,700)
• 
  SE
  Alaska
  MLS
  ($19,000)
• 
  Southeast
  Georgia
  MLS
  ($16,800)
• 
  Spanish
  Peaks
  MLS
  ($15,700)
• 
  UNYREIS
  ($250,000)
• 
  West
  Penn
  Multi-List
  ($895,000)
• 
  WNYREIS
  ($250,000)

Each
of
the
following
brokerages
recored
a
sales
volume
of
more
than
$2
billion
in
2022
and
were
therefore
not
protected
by
the
NAR
settlement
unless
they
opted
in,
which
they
have
chosen
to
do.

• 
  
  Fathom
  Holdings
  Inc.
  ($2.95
  million)
• 
  Key
  Realty
  Ltd.
  ($375,000)
• 
  Michael
  Saunders
  &
  Co.
  ($1.2
  million)
• 
  Pinnacle
  Estate
  Properties
  Inc.
  ($725,000)
• 
  Rose
  &
  Womble
  Realty
  Co.
  ($100,000)
• 
  Brown
  Harris
  Stevens
  ($2.9
  million)
• 
  Shorewest
  Realtors
  Inc.
  ($6.923
  million)
• 
  Silvercreek
  Realty
  Group
  ($350,000)
• 
  
  The
  Agency
  ($3.75
  million)
• 
  Vanguard
  ($2
  million)
• 
  Watson
  Realty
  Corp.
  ($1.35
  million)
• 
  McGraw
  Davisson
  Stewart
  LLC
  ($800,000)
• 
  Downing-Frye
  Realty
  Inc.
  ($925,000)

Together,
all
parties
that
have
decided
to
opt
in
are
contributing
an
additional
$30.6
million
to
the
settlement
fund.
The
amount
that
each
party
will
pay
was
determined
either

through
the
formula
in
NAR’s
settlement
agreement
or
through
a
review
of
the
firm’s
“internal
financial
statements
and
arms-length
negotiations.”

The
filing
states
that
while
the
court
has
already

granted
preliminary
approval
of
the
NAR
settlement
and
the
opt-in
procedures
outlined
within,
the
plaintiffs
are
requesting
that
“the
Court
permit
the
opting-in
non-Realtor
MLSs
and
opting-in
brokers
to
join
the
case
for
the
limited
purpose
of
participating
in
the
Settlement
and
approval
process.“
They
also
ask
the
court
to
reaffirm
the
preliminary
approvals
of
these
opt-in
deals.
The
plaintiffs
said
they
are
doing
this
“out
of
an
abundance
of
caution.”

The
plaintiffs
also
argue
that
permissive
joinder,
which
is
a
legal
rule
that
allows
parties
to
be
joined
in
a
lawsuit
as
plaintiffs
or
defendants,
is
appropriate.
This
is
because
the
allegations
made
by
plaintiffs
in
various
actions
against
the
opting-in
firms
share
“numerous
common
questions
of
law
and
fact
with
the
existing
action,”
and
the
settlements
“are
directly
related
to
approval
of
the
NAR
Settlement.”

“In
addition,
permitting
the
opting-in
MLSs
and
brokerages
to
join
will
not
delay
the
proceedings
or
otherwise
prejudice
the
adjudication
of
the
main
case,”
the
filing
states.
“To
the
contrary,
joinder
provides
an
efficient
mechanism
for
opt-in
brokers
and
non-Realtor
MLSs
to
participate
in
the
settlement
(including
by
making
additional
payments
to
the
Settlement
Class)
and,
in
exchange,
obtain
a
release
under
the
NAR
Settlement
on
the
same
timeline
as
the
remainder
of
the
NAR
Settlement.”

Taking
all
of
this
into
account,
the
plaintiffs
are
asking
the
court
to
consider
the
final
approval
of
the
opt-in
settlements
on
Nov.
26,
2024.
This
is
in
conjunction
with
the
final
approval
hearing
for
the
NAR
settlement,
which
is
already
scheduled
for
that
day.

The
plaintiffs
also
noted
that
the
parties
who
have
opt-in
settlements
have
already
seen
the
motion
and
did
not
indicate
any
objections
to
it.

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