Much to the relief of some of the nation’s largest brokerage firms, Judge Stephen R. Bough granted final approval on Thursday to eight settlements in the combined Gibson and Umpa commission lawsuits.
Bough’s ruling comes on the one-year anniversary of the jury verdict in the Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit, in which a Missouri jury found the National Association of Realtors (NAR), HomeServices of America and Keller Williams liable for colluding to artificially inflate agent commissions. The ruling also comes a year after the Gibson suit was filed by plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Ketchmark on the heels of his clients’ victory in the Sitzer/Burnett suit.
The Gibson defendants that now have final approval of their settlements are Compass ($57.5 million), The Real Brokerage ($9.25 million), At World Properties ($6.5 million), Douglas Elliman ($7.75 million, but may pay up to an additional $10 million), Redfin ($9.25 million), Engel & Völkers ($6.9 million), Realty ONE Group ($5 million), HomeSmart Holdings ($4.7 million) and United Real Estate ($3.75 million).
The settlement amounts total about $110.6 million, of which roughly one-third — or $36.8 million — is going to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, according to Bough’s ruling.
Compass was the first to negotiate its settlement, announcing a deal in March. This settlement was negotiated prior to the consolidation of the Gibson and Umpa suits and was only negotiated with the Gibson plaintiffs. Similarly, The Real Brokerage settled with the Umpa plaintiffs in early April, prior to the consolidation.
All of the other settlements were announced post-consolidation, with At World Properties and Douglas Elliman settling in late April. Redfin followed in May, Engel & Völkers in June, and HomeSmart and United Real Estate in July.
Shortly after the Gibson suit was filed — which included original defendants NAR, Compass, eXp World Holdings, Redfin, Weichert Realtors, United Real Estate, Howard Hanna and Douglas Elliman — Ketchmark said he anticipated that damages in the suit could exceed $200 billion before automatic trebling.
While this is good news for the real estate industry, things continue to remain up in the air as the industry awaits the final approval hearing for NAR’s settlement, which is slated to take place on Nov. 26.
