Another class action lawsuit filed, this time by buyers

On November 26, 2024, Judge Stephen Bough approved the settlement between NAR and the seller plaintiffs in the Burkett case.

During the same week, Plaintiff Mya Batton, and 6 other buyers filed their second amended complaint (also called Batton 2), targeting COMPASS, Douglas Elliman, eXp World Holdings, Howard Hanna Real Estate, Redfin, United Real Estate Group and Weichart Realtors.  It was initially filed on November 2, 2023 just two days the Burnett jury reached its verdict on October 31, 2023.

The same group of buyers filed the initial so-called Batton 1 suit in January 2021 against NAR, Anywhere Real Estate, Keller Williams, RE/MAX, and HomeServices of America (except that the initial Plaintiff was Judah Leeder and Mya Batton subsequently took over as the class representative).

The claims in Batton 1 and Batton 2 are essentially similar.  It is possible that both cases may be merged.  The allegations include restraint of trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1 and Sections 4 and 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 15 & 26; state antitrust laws; and consumer protection laws.

The allegations cite the following NAR rules in support: Buyer-Agent Commission Rule, Commission Concealment Rule, Free-Service Rule, Commission Filter Rules, Commission Modification Rules, and its Lockbox Policy.

Thus, NAR and the nation’s leading brokerages are facing a second massive class action litigation.

We have handpicked the key allegations in the 58-page Batton 2 Complaint here.

The complete legal filing of the Batton 2 Complaint, all 58 pages, can be found here.