U.S. real estate brokerages must face home sellers’ class action over commissions

authored by Mike Scarcella

Home buyers who accuse the National Association of Realtors and several real estate companies of conspiring to raise commission rates may proceed as a class action, the federal prosecutor in Chicago ruled on Wednesday.

A separate class of current and future retailers who seek a court order to prevent further violations of U.S. antitrust law are now and will be subject to class-action level thanks to Andrea Wood’s decision, which gives former home sellers seeking damages totaling more than$ 13 billion status.

The defendants are seven real estate brokers. Each class’ account, according to the court’s order,” can be expected to number in the thousands, at least.”

In contrast to bringing individual claims for monetary damages, designation as a class allows plaintiffs to pursue broad-scale claims against the National Association of Realtors, RE / MAX LLC, Long & Foster Inc., and other corporate defendants.

The allegations’ qualities, which can still be contested at a later time, were not decided by the judge’s purchase. The allegations of crime have been refuted by the defendants.

The National Association of Realtors expressed disappointment over the choice and supported business list procedures in a statement.

When a house is listed for sale on multiple websites, sellers are required to provide buyers’ brokers with” offers of offers of compensation ,” according to the lawsuit. According to the sellers, this product forces them to pay higher commissions to entice buyers’ brokers.

According to NAR spokesman Mantill Williams, this exercise” creates a larger pool of buyers for sellers by having so few buyer brokers participating in that local market.”

A RE / MAX spokesman stated that the business did not comment on any ongoing legal disputes. Foster and Long opted not to post.

According to court papers, the course seeking monetary damages includes some home buyers who paid a percentage between March 2015 and December 2020 in state like Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Colorado.

The National Association of Realtors et al, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No. candidate – 01610, 1 : 19.

( Editing by Leigh Jones and Cynthia Osterman, reporting by Mike Scarcella)

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