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As the number of commission lawsuits continues to mount in the wake of the Sitzer | Burnett verdict, a Nevada homeseller has thrown her hat into the ring and is suing the National Association of Realtors and several multiple listing services, among others.
Angela Boykin filed her suit Friday in U.S. District Court in Nevada. According to her complaint, Boykin is a Minnesota resident who previously owned a property in Las Vegas. She sold that property in April 2022, paying a 5 percent total commission, amounting to $26,250, which was split between her agent and the agent representing the buyer.
Commission lawsuits are typically known by the name of their lead plaintiff, meaning that going forward this case will be referred to as Boykin. The case seeks class-action status on behalf of all homesellers who used any of the defendants to sell a home in Nevada within the last four years.
The Boykin case is the second post-Sitzer commission lawsuit from a homeseller in the state. The first was filed in January by Las Vegas resident Nathaniel Whaley.
Like many other commission suits, the Boykin case accuses NAR and the other defendants of a conspiracy. The lawsuit specifically takes issue with the practice of requiring sellers’ agents to make offers of compensation to buyers’ agents — something known as the cooperative compensation rule, also known as the Participation Rule.
Boykin and her attorneys go on to argue in the complaint that the rule stifles competition and places an undue burden on homesellers.
Also like other similar lawsuits, Boykin accuses the defendants in the case of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act as well as, in this case, two different Nevada laws related to unfair business practices.
In addition to NAR, the suit names as defendants in the case brokerages Compass, Redfin, eXp World Holdings, as well as the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and its MLS. A full list of defendants is included at the bottom of this story.
The Boykin case is the latest in what some in the real estate industry have dubbed “copycat” lawsuits that have sprung up in the wake of the Sitzer verdict. That verdict ruled that NAR and several major real estate franchisors had engaged in a conspiracy. The case — along with others such as Moehrl — had been gradually winding its way through courts for years, but the verdict proved explosive in the industry and has prompted widespread speculation that real estate’s status quo when it comes to agent pay could end.
Today, and in the wake of the Sitzer verdict — which NAR has vowed to appeal — consumers have sued over commission in Utah, Texas, California, Illinois, Arizona, New York, Maryland and other states.
In addition to the sprawling number of commission suits, the Department of Justice has been watching the cases and last week revealed that it favors “decoupling” — which is a concept that would see buyers negotiate with agents on their own rather than having sellers pay those agents.
It remains to be seen how any of these cases might ultimately play out, but with each new lawsuit, the pressure on and speculation about the fate of real estate’s status quo mounts.
The Boykin case ultimately demands a jury trial, unspecified damages and an order preventing the defendants from forcing sellers to pay buyers’ agents.
Here are the defendants in the case:
The National Association of Realtors
The Agency
Chase International Real Estate
Dickson Realty
Compass
eXp World Holdings
The Real Estate Guy
BHH Affiliates
Douglas Elliman
HomeSmart International
Craig Tann
Huntington and Ellis | A Real Estate Agency
Realty One Group
Redfin
Urban West Realty
Nevada Realtors
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service
Elko County Realtors
Incline Village Realtors
Sierra Nevada Realtors
Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service
Mesquite Real Estate Association
Real the Boykin complaint here:
