Nosalek, Hooper settlements nearing final approval 

A couple of key commissions cases are moving closer to a final resolution now that objection deadlines have passed.

Nosalek final settlement hearing scheduled: After five years of litigation, the case known as Nosalek is scheduled to have a final settlement hearing between MLS PIN and Massachusetts home sellers on Sept. 29. While the case is similar to the prominent antitrust cases out of Missouri — including Sitzer/Burnett and Gibson — finding a resolution has taken time.

The settlement — $3.95 million in monetary damages paid by MLS PIN and changes that include no longer listing offers of compensation — received preliminary approval in June, nearly two years after an initial agreement was reached. While few objections were filed following the preliminary approval, class members William and Susan Funk objected to award distribution plans and what they called excessive legal fees.

The case was slowed by a variety of other factors, however, including U.S. Department of Justice concerns about the original settlement agreement. MLS PIN made a couple of key concessions in an amended agreement filed in May, which raised no further objections from the DOJ.

eXp, Weichert are up next: The second commissions case barreling toward a resolution is Hooper, filed in Georgia. The deadline for written objections passed earlier this month, and a final settlement hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28.

This case has faced more objections, particularly from Gibson plaintiffs who objected to what they claimed was a "sweetheart deal" between the Hooper plaintiffs and eXp and Weichert. The Gibson plaintiffs have alleged that the two brokerages shopped around for a better settlement deal after their negotiations in Gibson failed.

In a written objection filed on Sept. 19, Don Gibson, Jeremy Keel and Daniel Umpa reiterated allegations that eXp and Weichert conducted a reverse auction after the plaintiffs refused to accept the brokerages' "lowball offers."

"eXp and Weichert chose plaintiffs and counsel in far less advanced litigation — Plaintiffs and their counsel here (in Hooper) — who have done nothing to litigate this stayed case and who undertook little investigation and no discovery," the objection said.

Attorneys in Hooper have previously refuted similar claims. 

eXp reached a $34 million settlement in the Hooper case nearly a year ago, while Weichert settled for $8.5 million in Nov. 2024. Two smaller firms that previously reached agreements in Hooper — Mark Spain Real Estate settled for $800,000 and Atlanta Communities Real Estate settled for $750,000 — received preliminary approval on May 23.