The settlement of the lawsuit by the NAR committee is encountering more opposition
A week after final approval was granted, the National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement agreement faces more challenges.
On Monday, settlement objector and University at Buffalo law professor Tanya Monestier filed a motion to intervene in the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit. And Monty March, the lead plaintiff in a now-dismissed copycat lawsuit in New York, has appealed Judge Stephen R. Bough’s ruling to the court. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
These actions follow an appeal filed on November 27 by the plaintiffs in the Burton lawsuit, who also objected to NAR’s final approval of the settlement.
In Monestier’s filing, she alleges that by denying her motion for reconsideration and granting her objection, the court created legal uncertainty about the status of her appeal, which she contends could delay the resolution of her planned appeal.
“She simply wants to have formal party status for purposes of appeal, to avoid additional appellate litigation and to reduce the delay in the appeal,” Monestier wrote about herself in her filing.
Monestier claims that she intends to intervene to “preserve her rights on appeal for belt-and-suspenders reasons,” and that she should be allowed to intervene because “her interests are not adequately protected by the existing parties’.
March’s filing, meanwhile, does not provide any insight into his reasons for appealing. But it does note that it covers Bough’s approval of the NAR settlement, the settlement reached by HomeServices of America and the request for fees from the plaintiffs’ lawyers, all of which were approved on November 26.
In the March objection to the NAR settlement, which was filed in late October, he challenged the national applicability of the NAR settlement. His filing claims this will prevent New York City home sellers from filing their own lawsuits, as the New York Real Estate Board is not a NAR affiliated MLS.
The Sitzer/Burnett docket also included another appeal filed Monday. But this appeal — which was filed by James Mullis, a plaintiff in the Batton Homebuyer Commission lawsuits — focused on the settlements approved in the Gibson lawsuit, which is also overseen by Bough. Wednesday, December 4, is the deadline for filing appeals against the nine settlements that were finally approved on October 31, so Mullis came under the radar.
His file also provides no insight into the reasons for the appeal. It does show that he is opposed to the settlements reached Compass ($57.5 million), The real real estate agency ($9.25 million), At World Properties ($6.5 million), Douglas Elliman ($7.75 million, but can pay up to $10 million additional), Redfin ($9.25 million), Engel & Völkers ($6.9 million), Real Estate A Group ($5 million), HomeSmart holdings ($4.7 million) and United Real Estate ($3.75 million).
