Four retired federal judges are formally protesting the procedure by which the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) and other big brokerages, including Anywhere, settled the buyer commission cases, saying that the practice will encourage “forum-shopping” by class-action defendants. In a 22-page letter, known as an amicus curiae brief, Diane Wood, David Coar, G. Patrick Murphy…
A federal judge in Chicago has granted preliminary approval to settlement agreements with more than 20 real estate companies in a major antitrust lawsuit filed by recent homebuyers challenging commission practices in the residential real estate market. On May 26, U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins approved opt-in agreements in the case Tuccori v. At…
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Kansas City, Missouri, heard oral arguments in the Sitzer-Burnett settlement appeal on Jan. 14, with attorneys representing objectors as well as defendants debating the validity of the settlement amount and its effectiveness in addressing homebuyer claims. Nearly two years after the landmark March 2024 settlement—where the National Association…