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A month after eXp Realty used a now-contested method to reach a commission lawsuit settlement, new court documents show that Weichert has deployed the same method for its own settlement.
The documents state that Weichert Real Estate Affiliates reached its settlement agreement on Nov. 5 in a case known as Hooper. However, the documents were filed in a different and better-known case known as Gibson. The documents were filed in that different case because Weichert is asking the Gibson judge to “stay,” or pause, the company’s part in that lawsuit while the settlement proceeds in Hooper.
The documents do not say how much Weichert may have agreed to pay. The company declined to comment when reached Thursday by Inman.
On Friday, Judge Mark Cohen, who is presiding over the Hooper case, granted a motion to pause that case in light of the proposed settlement, according to a filing made in that court.
The settlement is notable because it follows eXp’s playbook. In eXp’s case, the company announced a $34 million settlement with the Hooper plaintiffs in early October. However, weeks later the plaintiffs in the Gibson case criticized the settlement as too small. They claimed that the virtual brokerage settled the Hooper suit in order to get a better deal than they might have by settling the Gibson case.
The Gibson plaintiffs want to force the company back to the negotiating table in their lawsuit.
At issue is a practice known as a “reverse auction,” which essentially amounts to a defendant shopping around among similar class actions suits to find the most advantageous settlement terms. Once one suit is settled, it typically resolves other copycat suits as well. In this case, that means eXp or Weichert settling in the Hooper case would also resolve Gibson — even if the Gibson plaintiffs aren’t happy with the terms of the resolution.
For its part, eXp this week pushed back against criticism of its deal. The company argued that its settlement amount is not too small, but also claimed that there is no rule barring it from settling Hooper instead of Gibson.
The battle over eXp’s settlement is still ongoing, and it remains to be seen if still more companies may take a similar approach to wrapping up their own commission litigation.
Read the new documents discussing Weichert’s settlement here (if the documents don’t appear, refresh the page):
Update: This story has been updated to mention that Weichert declined Inman’s request for comment, and to add details about a court order that was released on Friday.
