In a significant development for the real estate sector, three major brokerages have secured a procedural victory amidst ongoing homebuyer commission lawsuits. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge LaShonda Hunt, presiding over the Batton cases following Judge Andrea Wood’s recusal in early September, approved a joint motion from RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and Anywhere to stay the Batton 1 case.
The brokerages filed their motion to stay in mid-June after Judge Stephen Bough, handling the Sitzer/Burnett and Gibson/Umpa cases, granted final approval for settlement agreements involving the three companies in a nationwide lawsuit concerning home seller commissions.
In their motion, the corporate defendants argued that the final approval order from the Sitzer/Burnett and Moehrl lawsuits stipulates that “non-excluded Settlement Class Members are hereby enjoined from filing, commencing, prosecuting, intervening in, or pursuing as a plaintiff or class member any Released Claims against any of the Released Parties, which include Settling Defendants’ franchisees and affiliated brokerages, and agents affiliated with those franchisees or affiliated brokerages.” They noted that James Mullis, Mya Batton, and Theodore Bisbicos qualify as non-excluded Settlement Class Members.
Furthermore, the defendants highlighted that Mullis had filed an appeal regarding the final approval of the settlement agreements. They asserted that to “preserve judicial and party resources” and consider the potential for any appeal to alter the Final Approval Order, the court should pause proceedings concerning the claims made by Mullis, Batton, and Bisbicos.
Alongside granting the motion to stay the Batton 1 lawsuit, Judge Hunt indicated that she is reviewing the defendants’ motions to dismiss the case based on a lack of personal jurisdiction and aims to issue a decision within the next 30 days. This outcome bodes well for the National Association of Realtors, another defendant in the home seller commission lawsuits, which has reached a preliminary settlement, pending final approval on November 26, 2024.
While the Batton 1 case is on hold, the related Batton 2 lawsuit continues to proceed. Judge Hunt has similarly taken motions to dismiss that suit under advisement. Additionally, court documents reveal that “the parties have agreed that Defendants need not begin collecting, reviewing, and producing documents, and Plaintiffs will not file any discovery motions until the Court rules on the pending motions.”
Defendants in the Batton 2 case include Compass, eXp World Holdings, Redfin, Weichert Realtors, and United Real Estate. Initially named as defendants, Howard Hanna and Douglas Elliman have since been dismissed from the case. HomeServices of America, previously a defendant in Batton 1, was also dismissed earlier this year.
The discovery phase for both Batton cases is not set to conclude until May 2026, marking over five years since the original Batton suit was initiated.
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