In
the
face
of
a
copycat

commission
lawsuit,
the

Real
Estate
Board
of
New
York
has
vowed
to
fight.
In
an
email
blast
sent
to
REBNY
members,
the

New
York
City
real
estate
agent
trade
group
said
it
would
“vigorously
defend
the
litigation.”

Originally
filed
in
early
November,
the
commission
lawsuit
known
as
the

March
suit,
after
its
lead
plaintiff,
takes
aim
at
a
REBNY
Listing
Service
rule
called
the
Buyer
Broker
Commission
Rule,
which
states
that
the
brokers
“shall
each
be
paid
an
equal
share
of
the
commission
as
specified
in
the
Exclusive
Listing.”
The
complaint
alleges
that
due
to
this
rule,
home
sellers
in
Manhattan
paid
inflated
broker
commissions.

In
addition
to
REBNY,
the
lawsuit
names
25
brokerages,
including


Christie’s
International
Real
Estate, Coldwell
Banker, Compass, The
Corcoran
Group , Douglas
Elliman,
Elegran,
Engel
&
Volkers, Homesnap, Keller
Williams
NYC ,
The
Agency,

Nest
Seekers
International, RE/MAX, SERHANT., Sloane
Square,
and Sotheby’s
International
Realty
Affiliates. 

In
its
email,
REBNY
said
that
complaint
is
“laden
with
numerous
inaccuracies
regarding
the
RLS,
the
Universal
Co-Brokerage
Agreement,
and
the
business
of
real
estate.”

The
group
reassured
members
that
the
lawsuit
is
not
currently
impacting
the
agent’s
day-to-day
work.

“You
can
continue
to
use
the
RLS,
rely
on
the
UCBA,
engage
clients,
and
transact
business
as
you
normally
would,”
the
email
read.
“The
work
you
do
as
agents
and
brokers
moves
New
York
City
forward.
REBNY
remains
deeply
committed
to
supporting
and
protecting
your
work.”

In
mid-October,
REBNY announced
changes
to
its
rules,
including
a
rule
preventing
listing
agents
from
paying
or
offering
to
pay
buyers’
agents
compensation.
Instead,
if
a
seller
wishes
to
compensate
the
buyer’s
agent,
they
must
pay
the
agent
themselves.
It
is
not
required
for
a
seller
to
compensate
a
buyer’s
agent.
The
rule
goes
into
effect
on
Jan.
1,
2024.

The
March
suit
is
just
one
of
several
copycat
commission
lawsuits
that
have
been
filed
since
the
jury
verdict
in
the
Sitzer/Burnett
suit
in
late
October,
which
found
the
real
estate
industry
liable
for
colluding
to
artificially
inflate
real
estate
agent
commissions.
In
its
email,
REBNY
claimed
that
the
verdict
in
the
Sitzer/Burnett
suit
and
the
damages
awarded
to
the
plaintiffs
likely
inspired
this
and
some
of
the
other
copycat
lawsuits.

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