More than 491,000 home sellers have filed claims for a portion of the $700 million raised in the Sitzer real estate settlement, with more expected before the May 2025 deadline. .
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As of last week, 491,450 people in the Sitzer lawsuit had claimed a portion of the settlement, according to a Wednesday filing by the plaintiffs who asked a judge to give final approval to the lawsuit. There are 6 months left. It completely changed the real estate industry.
The National Association of Realtors, HomeServices of America, and some of the biggest names in the real estate industry have agreed to pay just under $700 million to settle a lawsuit alleging an illegal conspiracy to raise fees. This amount is in addition to more than $300 million from other companies such as RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and Anywhere.
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Plaintiffs’ attorneys plan to collect one-third of NAR and HomeServices’ settlement, or about $233 million, plus $16.5 million in costs. This leaves about $450 million for class participants.
If divided equally among all members of the class who filed claims as of last week, this would leave approximately $913 per home seller; It is likely that the price will continue to decline as the May 9 deadline approaches. Claim.
“This settlement provides a significant financial recovery for the Settled Class, considering the merits and weaknesses of the litigation, the risks and costs of continuing the litigation, including the possibility of appeal, and considering the financial resources of the Settlement Defendants.” is writing. filing.
“This settlement also includes meaningful changes to the settling defendants’ policies that are likely to benefit consumers for years to come through reduced fees,” they added.
If approved, the settlement amount will remain unchanged and will be distributed to class participants who filed claims, regardless of opt-outs or number of claims.
The majority of the settlement was between the National Association of Realtors ($418 million) and HomeServices of America ($250 million), with other brokered settlements totaling $30,587,754. It has become.
The case is separate from other so-called copycat lawsuits and is scheduled for a final hearing next week. Many opponents of the settlement have indicated they intend to attend public hearings to prevent the settlement from being approved.
A call to reject objections
The plaintiffs asked the judge to overrule the objections of opponents, including a law professor named Tanya Monestier, who wrote that the judge’s previous rulings put the case at risk of being overturned on appeal.
Monestier said Judge Stephen Baugh’s order forcing challengers to appeal directly at the final hearing was “unconstitutional” and a “clear appellate issue.”
In a Wednesday filing by the plaintiffs, lawyers said Monestier’s objections were based “solely on anecdote and speculation.”
“Despite his extensive criticism, Professor Monestier has failed to offer a realistic and constructive alternative to changing NAR settlement practices that would create a better and more competitive market,” the lawyers said. is writing.
“Instead, she is advocating a return to the “old” system, even if a jury decides that the system is anticompetitive and the brokers who enforce and operate it are This was despite the fact that the company was found to have overcharged individuals by more than $1 billion.
They did not address Monestier’s argument that Beau’s order was unconstitutional.
They wrote that the NAR settlement addresses a specific set of problems in the real estate industry, acknowledging that it “cannot and will not cure all the ills of the real estate industry as a whole.”
They rejected Mr. Monestier’s argument that there was no enforcement mechanism for the changes in practice brought about by the settlement agreement. They said there was evidence that fees were already falling and it would take time for the full impact of the changes to be felt.
“Professor Monestier’s opposition is based on unrealistic expectations that a sweeping change in practice will be immediately felt against the anti-competitive regime that has been in place for decades,” the lawyers said. I’m writing.
They said the other challengers either didn’t have standing, didn’t like the outcome of the case, or were lawyers who filed similar cases after Sitzer.
Notify class
Final approval would end the lawsuit between the National Association of Realtors, realtor-owned multiple listing services, and brokerages with transactions under $2 billion in value in 2022. Large intermediaries can use the route to negotiate their own settlements.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote that 15 million postcards and 24 million emails were sent to class participants, in addition to other digital campaigns. They write that between notices, campaigns, and news articles written about the settlements, the content reached 99 percent of class members.
So far, 39 class members have withdrawn from the settlement, plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote. A small number of appeals have been filed.
The plaintiffs wrote that “every significant real estate agent MLS in the country, a total of 547 real estate agent MLSs,” participated in the settlement, along with an additional 15 MLSs not owned by real estate agent organizations.
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