Judge OKs eXp, Weichert deals after 18-month battle
eXp settled for $34M in the case known as Hooper, while Weichert will pay $8.5M. Both deals made in late 2024 received preliminary approval last spring.
A U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Georgia has granted final approval for the settlements that eXp and Weichert brokered in a lawsuit brought by homesellers over buyer agent commissions.
Judge Mark Cohen approved the two settlement agreements in the case known as Hooper, along with smaller deals involving Atlanta Communities Real Estate and a company doing business as Mark Spain Real Estate.
What each company will pay: eXp will pay the most, contributing $34 million to a settlement fund that includes deals from other cases and totals over $1 billion. Weichert will pay $8.5 million, Atlanta Communities will pay $800,000 and Mark Spain Real Estate will pay $750,000.
The three-year-old case has 13 other defendants, many of which are part of the National Association of Realtors or Gibson settlements. Cohen has ordered the plaintiffs in the Hooper case to show cause in writing if they believe those remaining defendants should not be dismissed.
What eXp had to say: In an emailed statement, eXp said it is pleased with the outcome.
"This milestone represents a significant step forward in resolving these industry-wide legal challenges and providing certainty for our agents, their clients, and our shareholders," the statement said.
"As the Court noted, this agreement was reached through rigorous, arm's-length negotiations and provides substantial value to the class while avoiding the risks and costs of protracted litigation. eXp remains committed to transparency and the evolution of the real estate industry."
Real Estate News has also reached out to Weichert for comment.
Long road to a deal: eXp and Weichert initially reached their settlement deals in the fall of 2024. The deals were granted preliminary approval in May 2025.
Both settlements took time to finalize because of the contentious nature of each. Attorneys for the Gibson case in Missouri have argued that the companies unfairly shopped around to find plaintiffs who would settle for the least amount of money.
Judge Cohen addressed that allegation in a 69-page filing, writing that the blind reverse auction argument lacked merit. Cohen said he could find only one reported federal case where the phrase even appeared — and none that applied to the facts in the Hooper case.
Cohen ruled that the evidence in the Hooper case did not establish that either settlement showed a reverse auction had taken place.
"The position of objectors' counsel appears to be that when a defendant offers a certain amount to settle a case and has the offer rejected by a group of plaintiffs, a later agreement to enter into a settlement for a lesser amount with another group of plaintiffs constitutes some kind of reverse auction, even when the record reflects that the defendant did not reveal the content of the prior settlement discussion with the later plaintiff," Cohen wrote.
The judge also noted that the Hooper attorneys requested 20% of the settlement amount to pay for attorney fees, while the Gibson attorneys requested 33%. That savings for the settlement class made the Gibson attorneys' objections "ring hollow," he wrote.
No carve-out: Another objection that Cohen addressed came from James Mullis, who is involved in several cases brought by homebuyers over inflated commission fees. Mullis was seeking a carve-out in the settlement that would allow buyers who also sold a home to continue litigating in the homebuyer cases.
Cohen rejected Mullis' objection, writing that settlement class members in Hooper had the opportunity to opt out and pursue buyer claims.
Cohen also noted that the defendants "quite reasonably would have balked at paying large amounts in settlement with a seller class only to have the same people they just paid sue them again as buyers."