Although the commission lawsuit has arrived in Texas, the QJ team lawsuit named as lead plaintiff is different from the Mehr, Sitzer/Barnett, March, Gibson, or Button 2 commission lawsuits. This lawsuit names a major corporate securities company as a defendant. keller williams, ~ side, Home American Servicesand Fathom Realtythe robust list of defendants also includes real estate teams such as: loken group and hexagon groupand personal broker Mark Anthony Dimas.
The lawsuit was filed Monday by the plaintiffs. QJ Team LLCa Texas-based home construction company; Five Points Holdings LLC.is a holding company led by DS News founder Mark Hulme, located in the Sherman District of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The lawsuit accuses 29 defendants of conspiring to artificially inflate real estate agents' fees.
At the heart of the plaintiffs' complaint is the National Association of Realtors The Cooperation Compensation Rule requires a listing broker to make a lump sum offer of compensation to the buyer's broker in order to list a property on the MLS.
“Without NAR's mandatory indemnity proposal provision, the cost of buyer's brokerage fees would be borne by the customer (homebuyer),” the filing states. “This will lead to competition among buyer brokers to offer lower commission rates. As a result, the actual party hiring the buyer broker, the homebuyer, will not be negotiating and will charge the broker a commission. Because they do not pay, compulsory fee provision rules stifle price competition among buyer intermediaries.”
Although the complaint identifies NAR as the originator of the alleged conspiracy, the trade group is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. (However, he is named as a co-conspirator) anywhere and RE/MAX.) instead, Texas Association of Realtorsas well as local real estate agent groups. Austin Board of Realtors, Metrotex Realtors Association, Houston Association of Realtors It is named.
According to the complaint, the “anticompetitive measures” introduced by NAR and perpetuated by the defendants “charge home sellers above competitive rates and discourage them from competing with innovative or lower-cost alternatives.” “It's hindering competition.”
The filing also outlines three “illogical, harmful, and anticompetitive effects” of the alleged collusion. These include: Maintain, fix, and stabilize buyer/broker compensation at levels that do not exist in competitive markets. and to encourage steering and actions that discourage innovation and entry by new low-cost real estate brokerage service providers. ”
Like other commission lawsuits, this lawsuit also seeks class action status and uses listing agents or brokers affiliated with one of the defendants to list properties on the Texas MLS, and in November Starting from the 13th, all persons who have paid buyer brokerage fees will be defined as a group. , from 2019 to present.
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and damages, but the amount has not yet been determined.
housing wire We reached out to the defendants in the case for comment, but only Keller Williams and the defendants returned requests for comment. compass needleis the parent company of. austin real estatereplied that he did not wish to comment.
