The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate.
Search for new Attorney General underway
Given the ongoing antitrust investigation into the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) by the Department of Justice (DOJ), any shakeup at the DOJ could have ripple effects on the real estate industry. Such a shakeup is inevitably coming in 2025.
Following the 2024 presidential election, candidates are already being put forth to fill President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet. As of now, the incoming administration has not put forth a new Attorney General pick to succeed Merrick Garland.
According to Politico, though, names being floated to run the DOJ include Utah Senator Mike Lee, former Trump administration lawyer Mark Paoletta and former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe.
Lee has been aligned with NAR in the past; he was the largest Senate recipient from the NAR PAC during the 2021-2022 election cycle.
However, it is unclear if the NAR settlement—which is being reviewed for approval on November 26—could be affected by the election. The DOJ did not file an objection to the settlement before the deadline.
NAR also previously filed a Supreme Court petition to block the DOJ’s investigation in October. Depending on the result of that petition, it could make the Attorney General a moot point in the investigation’s future.
Weichert settles in Hooper commission lawsuit, receives stay in Gibson case
On Wed., Nov. 6, Weichert, Realtors filed a notice in the Northern District Court of Georgia that it had reached a settlement with plaintiffs in the case Hooper V. NAR.
First filed in November 2023, Hooper is a class-action lawsuit. Like similar cases, Hooper’s plaintiffs were home sellers who alleged a conspiracy by NAR and brokerages to inflate commissions by “requiring home sellers to shoulder both the commission of their listing agents and the commission of the buyer’s agent when properties are listed on the ubiquitous Multiple Listings Service.”
Named defendants besides NAR and Weichert included major brokerages such as Anywhere, Century 21 and RE/MAX. However, the case’s scope was confined to Georgia.
After settling a stay in Hooper due to their settlement, Weichert filed a request for a stay in Gibson v. NAR, a nationwide commission lawsuit. “The proposed nationwide class settlement would preclude the claims brought against (Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.) and Weichert Co. in the present case. The settlement was jointly negotiated with counsel for the Hooper plaintiffs, including with the assistance of mediators,” said the filing.
Weichert’s strategy of settling in a smaller statewide copycat case to earn a stay in a national lawsuit closely parallels how eXp Realty settled, with plaintiffs characterizing that maneuver as a legally dubious attempt to get a better deal.
