HousingWireHousingWire
After Hanna Holdings, the parent company of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, filed a motion to dismiss, the Davis commission lawsuit plaintiff could have either filed a reply brief or an amended complaint. On Monday, the court got its answer, with the plaintiff’s counsel filing its first amended complaint.
The suit still takes aim at the National Association of Realtors’ Participation Rule, which required listing brokers to make a blanket offer of compensation to buyer brokers in order to list a property on a Realtor association-affiliated MLS. The plaintiffs allege that due to this rule, they paid elevated commission rates, increasing the overall cost of their transaction.
“The conspiracy has substantially reduced competition in the market for buyer-agent services to the detriment of American home buyers,” the lawsuit states. “Specifically, the conspiracy enables brokers to raise, fix, and maintain buyer-agent compensation at artificially high levels that would not exist in a competitive marketplace, which in turn causes home buyers to pay higher prices. The conspiracy also enables brokers to ‘steer’ home buyers away from lower commission homes.”
The initial complaint, which was filed in late May, only listed Scott Davis as a plaintiff. Davis is a resident of North Carolina who purchased a home in Greensboro in 2022 using a buyer agent from Allen Tate Real Estate LLC, a subsidiary of Hanna Holdings. But the amended complaint has a robust list of 25 plaintiffs.
In addition to Davis, the plaintiffs now consist of Niall Adams, Mya Batton, Theodore Bisbicos, Aaron Bolton, Jason Boomsma, Thomas Braun, Sabrina Clark, Steven Ewald, Ryan Eisner, John Garrett, Brennon Groves, Darin Hendry, Anna James, Do Yeon Irene Kim, James Lutz, Jordan Kullmann, James Mullis, Daniel Parsons, Joshua Putt, John Sannar, Robert Sayles, Ben Shadle, Brent Strine, Christine Van Woerkon and Sherrie Wohl.
The added plaintiffs purchased homes in various states, including North Carolina, Maine, Tennessee, Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, West Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Virginia, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., Oregon, Connecticut and New York.
Batton, Bisbicos, Bolton, James, Kim, Mullis and Parsons are plaintiffs in the two Batton suits, while Lutz is the lead plaintiff in another homebuyer commission lawsuit filed against HomeServices of America and Douglas Elliman.
According to the information in the amended complaint, Davis is the only plaintiff to use a buyer’s agent affiliated with Hanna Holdings, the suit’s lone defendant.
Davis, as well as all of the additional plaintiffs, are represented by Korein Tillery, the law firm representing the Batton plaintiffs, and Lowey Dannenberg.
In addition to Hanna Holdings, the Davis suit lists Anywhere Real Estate, RE/MAX Holdings, Keller Williams Realty, HomeServices of America, Compass, eXp World Holdings, Redfin, Weichert Realtors, United Real Estate Group and Douglas Elliman as co-conspirators.
The suit is seeking class-action status for a nationwide class defined as persons who purchased residential real estate that was listed on a Realtor-affiliated MLS between Dec. 1, 1996, and the present.
The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial, as well as damages and an injunction that “permanently enjoin and restrain Defendant from establishing the same or similar rules, policies, or practices as those challenged in this action in the future.”
