Batton Commission Lawsuit Class On The Chopping Block

The class certification process in the Batton homebuyer commission lawsuit hit a snag. In September, the Batton plaintiffs filed a motion for the certification of their proposed class. However, in late October, the suit’s defendants, which include the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Anywhere, REMAX and Keller Williams, filed a motion asking the court to strike or delay the class certification motion.

In this motion, the defendants argued that a ruling by Judge Stephen Bough during his final approval of their Sitzer/Burnett settlements, which settled all home seller commission lawsuit claims, prevented buyers who also sold homes and were part of the settlement class from being eligible to participate in the homebuyer commission lawsuits. According to the motion, this injunction, which is currently on appeal in the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals, would invalidate nearly 80% of the proposed class. 

Earlier this week, Judge LaShonda Hunt, who is overseeing the Batton lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, ruled that until the Eighth Circuit settles the appeal, Judge Bough’s original ruling and injunction would have to be honored.

Judge Hunt then presented two options for the plaintiffs, telling them that she would consider either an amended motion for class certification with a narrowed proposed class or staying the case until the Eight Circuit ruled on the Batton plaintiffs’ Sitzer/Burnett appeal. The parties’ are expected to present a joint proposal related to this dispute during a hearing on Nov. 14. 

Roughly five years have passed since the Batton suit was originally filed. The lawsuit claims that the defendants all took part in a “decades-long, nationwide antitrust conspiracy,” which the suit claims caused buyers to pay “billions in overcharges.” 

In September, the lawsuit estimated potential damages of $3.6 billion across four MLSs, based on comparisons with foreign markets averaging 1.38% buyer agent commissions.