EXp and Weichert will pay a total of $42.5 million into the fee settlement fund. The other two defendants will pay an additional $1.5 million.
EXp Realty and Weichert leaders are relieved today after a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia approved the terms of the brokerage’s Hooper Buyer Broker Commission settlement.
Mr. EXp will contribute $34 million and Mr. Weichert will contribute $8.5 million to a fee fund that includes judgments in other cases totaling more than $1 billion. Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage will pay $800,000 and Mark Spain Real Estate will pay $750,000.
“This milestone represents a significant step forward in resolving industry-wide legal challenges and providing certainty for our agents, their customers and shareholders,” an eXp Realty spokesperson told Real Estate News, which first reported the news on Wednesday. “As the court noted, this agreement was reached through rigorous arm’s length negotiations and provides substantial value to the class while avoiding the risks and costs of protracted litigation.”
“eXp remains committed to transparency and the evolution of the real estate industry,” they added.
The settlement process took nearly two years, with eXp and Weichert submitting their proposals in October 2024. But home sellers in the Gibson buyer-broker fee lawsuit criticized the broker’s offer, calling it a “sweet deal.”
The Gibson plaintiffs also accused eXp and Weichert of attempting a “reverse auction.” In this auction, defendants try to find the best deal among similar class actions. But Judge Mark Cohen said the Gibson plaintiffs could not prove that a reverse auction took place.
“The position of the objectors’ attorneys appears to be that if a defendant offers a certain amount to settle a case and a group of plaintiffs rejects that offer, then later agreeing to settle with another group of plaintiffs for a lower amount constitutes a type of reverse auction, even though the record reflects that the defendant did not disclose the nature of its subsequent prior settlement negotiations with plaintiffs,” he said in a court filing.
Mr. Cohen refused to have the case transferred from Georgia to Missouri and granted preliminary approval of the settlement in May 2025.
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