2023-10-31 19:17:37
A U.S. jury in Missouri ruled Tuesday that the National Association of Realtors and several real estate companies are owed more than $1.7 billion in damages in a class-action lawsuit, finding they colluded to artificially increasing the commission that home sellers pay to buyers’ brokers.
The verdict followed a two-week trial in federal court in Kansas City, where the case attracted attention because it called into question widespread practices in the insurance industry. real estate.
According to Michael Ketchmark, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, the jury’s award will automatically be tripled under U.S. antitrust law to more than $5.3 billion. “Today was a day of accountability,” Mr. Ketchmark said.
Defendants also include Berkshire Hathaway-owned Keller Williams and HomeServices of America, as well as two of its subsidiaries. Class members include sellers of more than 260,000 homes in Missouri and parts of Kansas and Illinois between 2015 and 2012.
HomeServices said it was disappointed by the verdict and plans to appeal.
Keller Williams spokesman Darryl Frost said the company would review options for an appeal. “This is not the end,” Mr. Frost said.
A spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors, Mantill Williams, also said it would appeal and ask the court to reduce the damages amount.
The plaintiffs claim the association and defendant companies jacked up the commission, to more than 6 percent, that home sellers pay to brokers representing buyers.
Home sellers called the compensation rule “a rule that shapes and distorts the market and has serious anticompetitive effects.”
The Realtors Association, Keller Williams and HomeServices have denied any wrongdoing.
Two other defendants, Re/Max and Anywhere Real Estate, agreed to an out-of-court settlement without admitting liability before trial. Anywhere planned to pay $83.5 million and Re/Max said it would pay $55 million, subject to court approval. (Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Maryland; Writing by David Bario, Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
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