eXp, Weichert settlements granted preliminary approval
After months of sparring between attorneys in the Hooper and Gibson commissions lawsuits, a Georgia judge has allowed the deals to move forward.
A U.S. District Court judge in Georgia has granted preliminary approval to four brokerage settlements in the commissions lawsuits, including the contentious deals reached by eXp and Weichert.
In a May 23 filing, Judge Mark Cohen ruled that his court does indeed have jurisdiction over the proposed settlement agreements — referring to a previous motion to move the case to Missouri — and that they satisfy the criteria for preliminary approval. Cohen scheduled a final approval hearing for 10 a.m. on Oct. 28 in Atlanta.
eXp said in a statement that it was satisfied with the result.
"The home seller plaintiffs had brought antitrust claims against eXp — and many other brokerages — arising out of the brokerages' former adherence to a National Association of Realtors broker-compensation rule that long predated eXp's existence," according to the statement. "eXp has consistently denied antitrust liability or wrongdoing but is pleased to be on the path to putting the litigation behind it. eXp looks forward to working to obtain a final judicial approval of its settlement."
Why approval was delayed: Plaintiffs in the Georgia case, known as Hooper, asked the judge for preliminary approval in January once all of the settlements were finalized. But the eXp and Weichert deals were a sticking point: The attorneys for the Gibson case in Missouri, which also named the two brokerages as defendants, argued in October that the companies unfairly shopped around to find plaintiffs who would settle for the least money.
And so began many months of back-and-forth arguments between the attorneys in the two cases.
While the Gibson lawyers claimed that eXp and Weichert conducted a reverse auction to "settle on the cheap," the Georgia attorneys responded by saying the settlements were actually a better deal for the class of home sellers and accused the Gibson lawyers of trying to "line their own pockets" with additional fees.
In late March, Judge Cohen ruled that the Gibson plaintiffs could not block the deals from moving forward, noting that they would have an opportunity to object during the approval process.
The other Hooper settlements: Two smaller firms previously reached agreements in Hooper, and their deals also received preliminary approval on May 23. Mark Spain Real Estate settled for $800,000, and Atlanta Communities Real Estate settled for $750,000.
Adding in eXp's $34 million settlement and Weichert's $8.5 million deal, a total of $44.05 million will be added to the settlement fund.
$1 billion and counting: Nearly all of the major brokerage settlements in the commissions cases have been negotiated with the Gibson and Sitzer/Burnett plaintiff attorneys in Missouri, bringing the class-action settlement fund to more than $1 billion. However, a handful of defendants in the case have yet to settle.