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Nov 3 (Reuters) – A pair of class action lawsuits filed this week against major U.S. real estate brokerages are placing new pressure on the industry following a $1.8 billion verdict in Kansas City federal court for home sellers who claimed sales commissions were artificially inflated.
In one of the new cases, a prospective national class of home buyers on Thursday sued companies including Douglas Elliman (DOUG.N), Compass (COMP.N), eXp World Holdings (EXPI.O) and Redfin (RDFN.O) in Chicago federal court.
In the other, the same plaintiffs’ lawyers who won the Missouri home sellers’ trial verdict on Tuesday filed new national claims on the same day in Kansas City federal court.
The new Kansas City complaint also named Douglas Elliman, Redfin, Compass, eXp World Holdings and other companies.
The lawsuits challenge the longstanding industry practice of requiring sellers to pay the commission, sometimes upwards of 5% to 6%, to brokers representing the buyers in a home sale. The cases allege a conspiracy in violation of U.S. antitrust law.
“Our goal is to take the message from the state of Missouri and take it nationwide so that homeowners in our country can finally reap the benefits of technology and get these corporate real estate giants’ hands out of the homeowners’ equity,” said plaintiffs’ lawyer Michael Ketchmark, lead trial attorney in the Missouri case and the national class action.
The plaintiffs’ firms in the new Chicago lawsuit, Korein Tillery and Lowey Dannenberg, also filed a class action in 2021 for home buyers against other brokerages. That case is pending.
An attorney for the plaintiffs in the new case declined to comment on Friday.
Douglas Elliman on Friday declined to comment, and Compass did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Redfin on Friday declined to comment on the litigation. Its CEO Glenn Kelman on Oct. 31 said the company has “campaigned tirelessly for lower fees, commission transparency, and broader consumer access to real estate listings.”
In a statement, eXp said it was “committed to upholding fair and transparent practices compliant with law and we already have mechanisms and a plan in place that enables buyers and sellers to negotiate commissions.”
Other defendants in the new cases include Weichert Realtors, United Real Estate and Howard Hanna Real Estate. Representatives for those companies on Friday did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The National Association of Realtors and other defendants in the Missouri home sellers’ class action trial have vowed to challenge Tuesday’s verdict. They have denied wrongdoing.
Any appeal would land in the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees federal cases in Missouri and several other states.
Read more:
Shares of Elliman, other realtors fall after $1.78 billion broker commission verdict
US jury finds realtors liable for inflating commissions, awards $1.78 bln damages
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Reporting by Mike Scarcella
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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This article was originally published by a www.reuters.com . Read the Original article here. .