By Mike Scarcella
Oct 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday said he will approve $110 million in settlements with Compass, Redfin, At World Properties and six other brokerages accused of conspiring to keep residential home sale commission rates artificially high.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough in Missouri overruled a wave of objections to the settlements at a court hearing.
Some challenges to the deals, which resolved claims by home sellers, said they were too sweeping and could harm cases pending in other federal courts.
A wave of lawsuits accused major U.S. brokers of violating antitrust law by requiring sellers to pay a commission to a buyer's agent in order to list their homes for sale. The plaintiffs contend brokerages schemed to keep commissions high.
Compass, At World and Douglas Elliman on Thursday either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to comment requests.
Redfin has boasted saving consumers more than $1.6 billion in fees by charging sellers a low listing fee and giving buyers a commission refund when they purchase with a Redfin agent. In a statement on Thursday, Redfin said the company "never belonged in this case" and was "glad to resolve it and move forward."
Lawyers for the plaintiffs have defended the settlements as fair and reasonable. They had no immediate comment.
The settlements came after a jury in October awarded a $1.8 billion verdict against the realtors association and other defendants. Many brokerages have agreed since to settle claims, and the plaintiffs have said the total value of the accords is more than $1 billion.
Bough’s order marked the second group of settlements to win court approval. Bough in May approved $208 million in consumer antitrust settlements with RE/MAX, Anywhere Real Estate and Keller Williams. They all denied any wrongdoing.
In November, Bough will weigh a pair of larger settlements by the National Association of Realtors and brokerage HomeServices of America, part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
The realtors' group agreed in March to pay $418 million and reform the industry's commission practices. HomeServices of America said it would pay $250 million. Neither admitted any wrongdoing.
The case is Gibson et al v. National Association of Realtors et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri. No. 4:23-cv-00788-SRB.
Read more:
Judge weighs objections to US real estate commissions settlement
Realtors’ group asks US Supreme Court to block Justice Dept probe
US court approves first wave of settlements over real estate commissions
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))
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