eXp Realty, AGNT, Sanford settle sexual assault case
An Oct. 18 filing indicates Anya Roberts and the corporate defendants reached a “confidential settlement.” The trial against two former eXp agents will proceed.
One day before a landmark sexual assault trial involving former eXp Realty agents was scheduled to begin, the plaintiff and eXp Realty reached a settlement in the case.
Case background: Anya Roberts, an eXp agent, filed a lawsuit in 2023 claiming that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by former agents David Golden and Michael Bjorkman at a recruiting event. The defendants included Golden, Bjorkman, eXp Realty, AGNT (formerly eXp World Holdings) and Glenn Sanford.
The judge overseeing the litigation opted to split the case into two trials. The first, with the former agents alleged of committing the assault, begins today. The second, with eXp and Sanford, was set to start on Nov. 16.
When the trials were split in August, some claims against the corporate defendants were dropped. AGNT and Sanford would no longer have faced claims of sex trafficking, vicarious liability or negligence in hiring — but eXp Realty was still on the hook for all three claims.
A partial dismissal: The plaintiff filed a partial dismissal in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Oct. 18, a day ahead of the first trial, resolving all claims with the corporate defendants.
The one-page filing states: "Plaintiff and Defendant eXp Realty LLC have reached a confidential settlement in principle which will fully and finally resolve all claims asserted by Plaintiff against Defendant eXp Realty LLC, Defendant Glenn Sanford, and AGNT, Inc. (formerly known as eXp World Holdings, Inc.)."
The filing goes on to clarify that the settlement "concerns the eXp Defendants only. The action remains pending as to all other Defendants, and Plaintiff intends to proceed with the litigation against the non-settling Defendants," suggesting the current trial will proceed as scheduled.
No details revealed: Described as "confidential," the terms of the settlement were not disclosed in Sunday's filing. The court document noted that dismissal papers would be filed within 15 days once the parties finalized the settlement agreement.
What eXp had to say: In a statement shared with Real Estate News, a spokesperson for eXp said, "Anya Roberts and eXp Realty are pleased to announce that they have resolved the lawsuit Ms. Roberts brought against eXp. eXp has consistently denied any claims brought against eXp, and the resolution is not an admission of wrongdoing.
Ms. Roberts is proud to have continued as an agent with eXp throughout this matter and has confidence in remaining affiliated with eXp Realty moving forward. eXp is committed to an agent community where every agent is safe, respected, and heard."
The spokesperson confirmed that "the terms of the resolution are confidential."