A U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois Judge, Andrea Wood, granted class-action status to a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (N.A.R.) and other real estate brokerages.
The lawsuit accuses them of anti-competitive practices to inflate commissions.
- The
lawsuit challenges the practice of requiring home sellers to pay the
buyer real estate agent's commission, increasing the pressure to offer
higher commissions to attract brokers.
- The class action suit
will allow plaintiffs to pursue large-scale claims against corporate
defendants, such as N.A.R., RE/MAX, Long & Foster Inc., etc.
- The
lawsuit filed by past home sellers seeks over $13B in damages, and the
judge expects membership in each class to number in thousands.
- The
N.A.R. said in a statement that it was disappointed with the verdict
and defended its practices by saying it saves time and money for
sellers.
