The Baton lawsuit is one of the lawsuits brought by home buyers, and the lawsuit continues even now that the home sellers’ lawsuit has concluded.
Keller Williams has decided to terminate its role in the Baton Buyer Broker Commission litigation, according to court documents and an announcement late Monday.
The Texas-based franchisor has agreed to pay $20 million to settle the lawsuit, newly filed court documents reveal. The lawsuit alleges that the National Association of Realtors, Anywhere Real Estate (now Compass International Holdings), REMAX, and Keller Williams Realty participated in a “decade-long, nationwide antitrust conspiracy” that resulted in homebuyers paying “billions of dollars in excess fees.”
“Keller Williams is pleased to have reached a nationwide settlement that relieves us and all of our franchisees and affiliated agents and teams from antitrust lawsuits brought by homebuyers who purchased our residential properties. [multiple listing service] “Keller Williams has always been focused on building a place where entrepreneurs can succeed,” a KW spokesperson told Inman in an email.
“As we move beyond this settled litigation, all of us at Keller Williams are focused on what we do best: supporting entrepreneurs to continue to deliver superior value in this rapidly evolving market,” they added.
Baton is struggling with the court process, and the case is divided into Baton 1 and Baton 2.
Baton 1, which involves Keller Williams, was originally filed in January 2021 by New Jersey homebuyer Judah Reeder. Baton 2 involves Compass Inc., eXp World Holdings, Redfin Corporation, Weichert Realtors, United Real Estate Group, and Douglas Elliman, Inc., and was filed by Illinois homebuyer Maia Baton in November 2023.
The original lawsuit was renamed Baton 1 after Leader resigned as lead plaintiff and Baton became class representative.
Baton 1 was rejected and refiled in 2022 and lost class action status in November. NAR and other defendants questioned class action status, saying the class that the Batton plaintiffs wanted recognized included many individuals who were also class members in another lawsuit known as Sitzer. Burnett.
“The court’s order on Plaintiffs’ class certification motion validly acknowledges that Plaintiffs wrongly sought to certify a class that, in Plaintiffs’ estimation, includes nearly four out of five individuals barred from participating in this case under the Sitzer-Barnett settlement,” a NAR spokesperson told Inman in November.
Plaintiffs can reapply with the new proposed class, but that’s no longer a concern for Keller Williams.
“We are the first defendant to resolve this case with the goal of eliminating uncertainty for our franchisees and agents,” Keller Williams CEO Chris Czarnecki said in an email to regional directors and division leaders. “We reached our decision to settle after careful consideration of the immediate and long-term well-being of our franchisees and agents, and the business models on which they depend.”
“This was a decision to bring certainty and allow everyone at KW to focus on our mission without distractions,” he added. “This allows all of us to refocus our attention on what we do best: delivering unparalleled value in an ever-evolving real estate market.”
A NAR spokesperson said the KW settlement “does not directly affect NAR’s position in the Baton litigation” and that the association “continues to pursue all options, both non-litigation and litigation, to achieve an outcome that is in the best interest of our members, industry and consumers.”
“We respect Keller Williams’ right to resolve these claims and anticipated that they might do so,” they said in an emailed statement. “NAR continues to actively engage with the Button Common Counsel and continues to follow the rules when in doubt.”
Previous commission settlements (including the 2024 settlement brought by Keller Williams) focused on lawsuits brought by home sellers. These lawsuits dominated real estate news in 2023 and 2024, ultimately leading to large payouts from industry players and changes to rules that affect how agents do business.
Lawsuits brought by homebuyers have gotten less attention, but they continue to be fought in court.
Read more about the settlement below.
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