NAR reaches $52.25 million settlement agreement in commission case
Read quickly
- The National Association of Realtors (NAR) agreed to a $52.25 million settlement in the Tuccori vs. At World Properties purchase commission case, pending court approval.
- The settlement requires no new changes in business practices, other than those in the March 2024 $418 million Sitzer home seller settlement, with NAR maintaining ongoing compliance.
- The payments will be made over several years, typically after June 2028, following the completion of the Sitzer settlement payments in February 2028.
An AI tool created this summary, based on the text of the article and checked by an editor.
The organization announced Friday that it had reached a broad agreement to protect members and MLSs from buyer-led cases. No new practice changes are needed.
The National Association of Realtors has reached an agreement to pay $52.25 million as part of a settlement agreement with a group of homebuyers who targeted some of the biggest names in real estate.
The settlement agreement, which requires court approval, was reached as part of a case known as Tuccori vs. AtWorld Properties.
The settlement agreement would not require any further changes to business practices other than what was already agreed to as part of the agreement $418 million settlement in March 2024 in the Sitzer | Burnett lawsuit for home sellers. Instead, NAR agreed to continued compliance with these existing practice changes.
Payments from the settlement would be made over a period of several years, with the majority of payments made after June 2028. That’s after the final payment NAR is due in the Sitzer settlement, which is expected to occur in February 2028.
NAR said the settlement was structured to cover a broad range of real estate professionals. Among them:
- NAR members
- State and local real estate agent associations (including those that may or may not operate an MLS)
- Broker-Affiliated MLSs
- Non-broker MLSs
- Real estate agents who have not yet reached a purchase-side settlement agreement and whose client is a NAR member
In a statement, NAR CEO Nykia Wright said the proposed settlement was aligned with the organization’s three-year strategic plan, specifically related to providing legal certainty to the real estate industry.
“This outcome, which provides a broader level of protection and disclosure to the industry than ever secured in any previous NAR settlement, is the result of NAR’s new legal team’s careful approach to addressing legal risks and reinforces our commitment to providing greater value and stability for our members so they can stay focused on their clients and realize their next transaction,” Wright said in the statement.
Douglas Elliman, named in a separate lawsuit filed by Florida plaintiff James Lutz, also warned the court that she intended to participate in the Tuccori settlement, although the terms of the agreement were not immediately known.
A master settlement agreement in the Tuccori lawsuit provided an opt-in feature for entities not named in the case. NAR was not named as a suspect in the case.
The trade group has also participated in litigation in a separate buy-side class action lawsuit known as Batton vs. NAR, which was filed in 2021.
The plaintiffs in both the Tuccori and Batton cases alleged that NAR, its members, and other named industry defendants conspired to inflate housing prices through real estate commissions.
Keller Williams agreed to pay $20 million to settle the Batton lawsuit earlier this year. REMAX reached its own level $8.5 million settlement agreement two weeks ago.
NAR will ask the Batton court to pause the case while it seeks final approval of the proposed Tuccori settlement.
Email Taylor Anderson
