Lutz Homebuyer Commission Appears To Be Headed To Court

The Lutz homebuyer commission lawsuit appears to be headed to trial. On Friday, Judge K. Michael Moore, who is overseeing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Miami, set a trial date for the lawsuit.

According to Judge Moore’s ruling, a two-week trial is slated to begin on August 24, 2026. Parties must finish their discovery 100 days prior to the start of the trial. 

If the parties fail to engage in discovery due to pending settlement negotiations, the court said that this will not be grounds for continuance of the trial date. 

Judge Moore’s order did not specify if the trial was set to be a jury trial or a non-jury trial. 

The lawsuit was originally filed in late April 2024 against HomeServices of America  and its subsidiaries, BHH Affiliates and HSF Affiliates. Douglas Elliman was added as a defendant in June 2024. The lawsuit, which claims the defendants conspired to artificially inflate agent commissions, was dismissed in July 2025 and Judge Moore closed the case, but the plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint in early August, reopening the suit. 

The defendants filed another motion to dismiss the suit in early September, in which they claimed that the court should dismiss the plaintiffs’ third amended complaint because they  “fail to allege the basic foundation of an antitrust conspiracy, and they assert claims that are largely time-barred, [and] fail for lack of antitrust standing.”

Earlier this month the two parties requested a hearing on this motion. So far no ruling has been made. If this trial goes through as planned. This will be the first commission lawsuit related trial since a Missouri jury found the real estate industry liable for collusion in the Sitzer/Burnett suit.