5 more settlements approved in Gibson commissions case
The formal approval granted in the Gibson case on Feb. 5 adds nearly $40 million to the larger settlement fund, which totals over $1 billion.
Five proposed settlements received final approval this week in the major commissions case known as Gibson.
Which settlements were approved? In Missouri on Feb. 5, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Bough signed off on settlements for: Hanna Holdings; William Raveis Real Estate; EXIT Realty; Windermere Real Estate; and William L. Lyon & Associates, a firm that now operates under the Windermere brand.
The settlements were granted preliminary approval in October 2025.
That group of defendants will pay a total of $39.7 million into the commissions-related antitrust settlement fund for homesellers. That fund, which now totals over $1 billion, is expected to be distributed to a nationwide class of nearly 2.7 million members.
In a 53-page filing, Bough wrote that he considered the objections brought to the court and overruled each on its merits. He noted that the court previously overruled the same or similar objections from earlier settlement cases.
Of note is an objection from James Mullis, who has been involved in litigation for homebuyers. Mullis was seeking to carve out indirect purchaser buyer claims in order to continue to pursue the Batton case, which saw its first settlement agreement earlier this week.
But Bough overruled that objection, saying defendants "would not have paid the large amounts in settlement only to have many of the same people they just paid sue them again for the same alleged antitrust conspiracy."
What's the breakdown of damages? Here's what each firm will pay:
Hanna Holdings: $32 million
William Raveis: $4.1 million
EXIT Realty: $1.5 million
Windermere and Lyon: $2.1 million
Who is still involved 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 known as Hooper, spurring a series of objections from Gibson plaintiffs who accused the brokerages of shopping around for better deals. Those agreements received preliminary approval last May but haven't yet received final approval.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy has yet to announce a proposed settlement.