Redfin, Compass Gain Approval for Settlement in Commissions Case

Online real estate brokerage Redfin Corp. and Compass Inc. are among nine companies that gained approval for a $110 million deal resolving claims they inflated real estate commissions in violation of antitrust law.

Judge Stephen R. Bough of the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri approved the settlement at a hearing Thursday, said Steve Berman, attorney for the plaintiffs and managing partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. The deal is in addition to others submitted for approval in a related suit, bringing total monetary value of settlements across both cases to more than $1 billion.

“We are pleased that the case is moving forward with the historic settlement that will change the way commissions are charged in the real estate industry,” Berman said in a statement to Bloomberg Law.

Plaintiffs sued the brokerages and the National Association of Realtors with claims they conspired to inflate buyer-broker commissions for homes listed by NAR-affiliated multiple listing services. A Missouri jury last year awarded nearly $1.8 billion in damages after finding NAR colluded to maintain high brokerage commissions.

Redfin said in a statement, “As the only U.S. brokerage that has saved consumers more than $1.6 billion in fees, Redfin never belonged in this case, and we’re glad to resolve it and move forward.”

The other settling defendants include Real Brokerage Inc., Realty ONE, At World Properties, Douglas Elliman, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart, and United Real Estate.

The deal moves forward despite objections from parties who questioned whether the settling defendants proved the deal was fair, reasonable, and adequate.

Redfin and the other defendant companies are represented by firms including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Crowell & Moring LLP and Kasowitz Benson & Torres LLP.

The case is Gibson v. Nat’l Ass’n of Realtors, W.D. Mo., No. 4:23-cv-00788, 10/31/24.