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A judge overseeing the Gibson commission case on Thursday granted final approval for nine settlements involving companies including Compass and Douglas Elliman.
Judge Stephen Bough granted the final approval. In addition to Compass and Douglas Elliman, the settlements involve The Real Brokerage, @properties, Redfin, Realty ONE Group, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate. Collectively, the companies will pay $110 million.
News of the final approvals was first reported by Real Estate News. Michael Ketchmark, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, confirmed to Inman Thursday that the settlements had received final approval.
“Today’s approval is great news for the class members,” he told Inman in a text. “This has been hard-fought litigation every step of the way. Today, we took a big step towards resolving these cases. We remain confident that the end is in sight.”
The cost breakdown by company shows that of the nine companies, Compass will pay the most by far, while United Real Estate will pay the least:
- Compass: $57.5 million
- The Real Brokerage: $9.25 million
- Realty ONE Group: $5 million
- At World Properties: $6.5 million
- Douglas Elliman: $7.75 million
- Redfin: $9.25 million
- Engel & Volkers: $6.9 million
- HomeSmart Holdings: $4.7 million
- United Real Estate: $3.75 million
The settlements received preliminary approval on the last day of April. At the time, the judge found that they were “fair, reasonable and adequate,” according to a court filing.
In a statement to Inman Thursday, Redfin said that “as the only U.S. brokerage that has saved consumers more than $1.6 billion in fees, Redfin never belonged in this case, and we’re glad to resolve it and move forward.”
The Real Brokerage issued a statement Thursday afternoon announcing the approval and stating that the settlement “conclusively addresses all claims asserted against Real.”
Kuba Jewgieniew, CEO of Realty ONE Group, said in an email to Inman that it was “a welcome judgement for us while we continue to be focused on growth.”
“We love the real estate business, will always play offense and not be sidelined by anything because we fully embrace change for the good, which is easy especially when Realty ONE Group is the proven model of the future,” Jewgieniew added.
Compass declined to comment.
Inman has reached out to the other companies involved in these settlements and will update this story with any responses they provide.
Ketchmark filed the Gibson case in a court in Missouri just minutes after the jury in the well-known Sitzer | Burnett case issued its verdict against the real estate defendants, including the National Association of Realtors.
In April, Gibson was consolidated with another case known as Umpa.
As with many similar cases, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant firms violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by enforcing rules requiring listing brokers to offer compensation to buyer brokers in order to submit a listing to a multiple listing service. This practice, the plaintiffs argued, artificially inflated broker commissions.
In August, lawyers representing the plaintiffs revealed that they were seeking a third of the $110.6 million — or $36.87 million — that the nine companies had agreed to pay. Those lawyers argued that they spent 105,000 hours over five years battling high-profile defense attorneys and are now entitled to recoup payments.
The new final approvals, and the $110.6 million, are separate from other antitrust commission cases such as Sitzer | Burnett. The National Association of Realtors announced a proposed settlement in that case in March. A judge then granted that settlement preliminary approval in April, with final approval expected in November — though there has been some pushback to the settlement.
In total, real estate defendants have proposed at least $987.1 million in monetary relief to settle antitrust litigation over commissions.
Update: This story has been updated after publication with additional details, comments and context on the case.
