The ink is barely dry after Judge Stephen R. Bough’s final approval National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR) has reached a nationwide lawsuit settlement agreement, but the ruling is being appealed for the first time.
On Wednesday, November 27, a day after Bough held the final approval hearing, an objector and former lead prosecutor in what is now the Moratis Commission lawsuit in Pennsylvania said – Spring Way Center LLC – has appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On the day of the final approval hearing, Spring Way’s objectors, who had originally filed their own objection in late October due to the settlement’s nationwide scope, adopted the objections of Tanya Monestier, a law professor at the University at Buffalo, and attorneys for the University at Buffalo. Knee & Shealyrepresenting the Burton Commission plaintiffs in South Carolina.
In her objection, Monestier addressed several points. These include the changes in business practices set out in the settlement and the fees to be paid to the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Additionally, in mid-November, Monestier filed a motion for reconsideration of Bough’s order that all objectors appear in person at the final approval hearing. In her motion, Monestier alleged that the court “lacks the authority to compel in-person attendance at a fairness hearing after assuring class members that their voices would be heard if they adhered to certain rules set forth in the class notice.”
Burton’s plaintiffs took a different tack and objected to the settlement’s nationwide nature, noting that all but one of the brokerage firms in South Carolina were not automatically included in the NAR settlement.
“In other states, it is certain that such brokers did not exist,” the objection said. “This settlement leaves those states with offenders who will not be punished, despite having made significant profits at the expense of the residents of those states, all because the Co-Lead Counsel is personally not interested in filing a lawsuit against them because they think they are too small.”
The objection also alleged that not all brokers and MLSs that opted into NAR’s settlement did so by the opt-in deadline. It notes that many parties signed up for this but did not execute their additional settlement agreements until well after the deadline. Furthermore, the objectors believe that the choice of the transaction volume threshold of $2 billion per year – and 2022 as the year on which to base settlement amounts – was arbitrary.
At the final approval hearing, Bough denied Monestier’s motion, along with the objections. In their appeal, the Burton plaintiffs state that they are appealing Bough’s ruling on these objections and Monestier’s motion.
NAR’s settlement isn’t the only one facing appeals after final approval. In the month following the final approval of the by Everywhere, RE/MAX And Keller Williamstwo parties appealed.
NAR did not return HousingWire‘s request for comment on his case.
