Law firm tees up class action linked to MRED-Compass deal 

Listing transparency and controversies over agent commissions lawsuit settlements remained front and center in real estate industry litigation this week. 

A new class-action lawsuit in Chicagoland?

The controversy surrounding Midwest Real Estate Data's (MRED) partnership with Compass doesn't appear likely to fade anytime soon.

Hagens Berman, a key player in the real estate commissions cases, is now seeking Chicagoland homebuyers for a potential class-action lawsuit.

The law firm says on its website that it is investigating whether buyers who purchased a home in the area after April 24 — the date on which MRED expanded access to its private listing network to all licensed agents nationwide, with Compass signing on as the first brokerage to join — "overpaid" due to an alleged MRED/Compass monopoly in the market.

The post alleges a "twofold" impact of MRED and Compass controlling a majority of Chicago's listings: "Most buyers are shut out of privately listed homes entirely," Hagens Berman alleges, and listings that do end up making it on the open market are missing "the information that helps set a fair selling price," such as days on market.

Without this data, "buyers can't tell an overpriced listing from a fairly priced one," the post says.

Dispute over attorneys fees drags on

In a Sept. 17 status report, attorneys in the homebuyer agent commissions case known as Tuccori and in a related case known as Batton said they haven't reached an agreement over the amounts that counsel should be paid from the Tuccori case's roughly $120 million settlement fund. The attorneys in both cases have requested about one-third of the funds.

The Tuccori attorneys have been ordered to file an opposition brief by Sept. 24 since an agreement has not been reached. A reply will be due by Oct. 1.

Litigation in Batton began in 2021, while the Tuccori case was filed in late 2023. Several of the Batton defendants have in the past year opted into the Tuccori settlement, deals that the Batton attorneys have tried to block on claims that some of the opt-in settlements were the result of a "reverse auction." The Batton plaintiffs have been unsuccessful in halting the opt-in deals.

Meanwhile, two new objectors in Tuccori have emerged in recent days. One non-party class member, Tom Wheeler, called the entire settlement "procedurally improper" in a Sept. 17 filing. The second objector, a class member in Batton named Aaron Bolton, alleged in his own Sept. 17 filing that the opt-in settlements qualify as a "classic reverse auction" in which Batton defendants sought out the lowest possible settlement agreement.

Rehearing requested in Gibson appeal

An objector to the landmark Gibson agent commissions settlements is continuing to exercise his options in the appeals process.

On Sept. 15, Robert Friedman reiterated his earlier request for a rehearing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Friedman originally filed a lawsuit against the Real Estate Board of New York in 2024. He has argued that his case is distinctly different from the Sitzer/Burnett and Gibson cases and should thus not be included in those settlement agreements.

Friedman requested a rehearing by the Eighth Circuit earlier this month after a three-judge panel voted to uphold the settlements in Gibson. Friedman's most recent filing included a few new arguments, including a warning that the appeals court's ruling could set a precedent that may result in more reverse auctions. The court would become a "hotbed (of) overbroad class action releases" if the ruling stands, Friedman's latest filing alleges.