The Hooper Commission plaintiffs and the brokerage defendants who have reached proposed settlement agreements want to make things official.
On Wednesday, the Hooper plaintiffs spoke – along with the other defendants Mark Spain real estate, eXp World Holdings, Weichert of North America And Real Estate Brokerage in Atlanta Communities — filed a motion for preliminary approval of their settlements and preliminary certification of the settlement class.
The four brokers have agreed to changes in business practices, as well as total payments of $44.05 million. Mark Spain Real Estate would pay $750,000, eXp World Holdings $34 million, Weichert of North America $8.5 million and Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage $800,000 as part of the settlements.
According to the motion, “the settlements, if approved, would provide meaningful relief to home sellers, as well as certainty and closure to highly contentious and costly litigation with the Settling Defendants.”
The settlement parties argue that the proposed settlements, as well as the proposed settlement class, are consistent with the settlements in the Gibson and Sitzer/Burnett lawsuits, which have received final approval.
“Similar to these settlements, the parties herein have negotiated proposed settlements that resolve, on a nationwide basis, Plaintiffs’ claims for damages and injunctive relief against the Settlement Defendants for their alleged anticompetitive practices in the residential real estate brokerage services market,” the filing said.
“The proposed settlements with eXp, Weichert, Atlanta Communities and Higher Tech [Mark Spain] provide meaningful practice changes, cooperation in litigation against non-settlement defendants, and total payments of $44.05 million.”
The motion notes that the settlements were reached “through extensive negotiations” that lasted several months.
“The parties reached the settlement agreements after considering the risks and costs of litigation. Plaintiffs and class counsel believe that the claims asserted are meritorious and that the evidence developed to date supports the claims,” the motion states.
“However, plaintiffs and attorneys also recognize the numerous risks and delays of further proceedings in a complex case such as this and believe that the settlements provide significant benefits to the settlement class members. The settling defendants deny the material allegations of the complaint and any wrongdoing, but wish to avoid the time, expense, uncertainty and risk associated with further litigation.”
If the settlements are provisionally approved, the members of the settlement class will have the opportunity to exclude themselves from the settlements or appeal their approval.
Once preliminary approval is received, notices will be sent to students within 60 days and the final approval hearing will be scheduled at least 140 days after registration for preliminary approval.
The motion comes despite opposition to plaintiffs’ settlements in other home seller commission lawsuits. After eXp first filed the proposed settlement, plaintiffs in the Gibson lawsuit filed a motion to intervene, alleging that the nation’s largest brokerage, based on the number of transactions, had a “reverse auction” used in choosing to settle with Hooper’s accusers. According to Gibson’s accusers, eXp settled for far less than they should have by negotiating with Hooper’s accusers.
Despite the criticism, eXp is not giving up without a fight. In later filings, eXp has asserted that the settlement amount is reasonable, and that nothing prevents it or any other defendant from settling with one group of plaintiffs against another.
