5 more settlements granted preliminary approval in Gibson
Deals reached with Howard Hanna, William Raveis, EXIT, Windermere and Lyon will add $40M to the fund earmarked for home sellers’ antitrust claims nationwide.
A district court has granted preliminary approval of five more proposed settlements in the major commissions lawsuit known as Gibson.
Which settlements are moving forward? On Oct.3, Judge Stephen R. Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri — who also oversaw the landmark Sitzer/Burnett case — granted the Gibson plaintiffs' motion for preliminary approval of deals reached with defendants Hanna Holdings; William Raveis Real Estate; EXIT Realty; Windermere Real Estate; and William L. Lyon & Associates, which now operates under the Windermere brand.
"The Court finds that the proposed Settlements … are fair, reasonable, and adequate," Bough wrote. The parties in the case were ordered to contact the court to schedule a final approval hearing.
How much was added to the $1 billion-plus settlement fund? If approved, the defendants will pay a total of $39.7 million to resolve commissions-related antitrust claims from home sellers nationwide:
Hanna Holdings: $32 million
William Raveis: $4.1 million
EXIT Realty: $1.5 million
Windermere and Lyon: $2.1 million
Who is left in the case? Among the remaining defendants in Gibson are eXp, Weichert and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Both eXp and Weichert reached settlement agreements with sellers in a different commissions case — Hooper — spurring a series of objections from Gibson plaintiffs who accused the firms of shopping around for a better deal. Those agreements received preliminary approval in May and are scheduled for final approval on Oct. 28 — at which time Gibson class members can raise additional objections.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy has yet to announce a proposed settlement.
Deals already approved: Seventeen other Gibson defendants have already received final approvals.
Settlements with Compass, Real Brokerage, Realty One, @properties, Douglas Elliman, Redfin, Engel & Volkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate totaling more than $110 million were approved in Oct. 2024.
NextHome, The Keyes Company and Illustrated Properties, John L. Scott Real Estate Affiliates and John L. Scott, The K Company Realty d/b/a LoKation, Real Estate One and Baird & Warner Real Estate received final approval in June, with damages totaling $8.35 million.