HousingWireHousingWire
The plaintiffs in the Lutz homebuyer commission lawsuit are looking to file yet another amended complaint. In a motion filed on Monday, James Lutz told the court that in his proposed amended complaint, he would add 31 more named plaintiffs to the suit.
According to the motion, the “newly added Plaintiffs plead identical claims to those that Plaintiff has already pled and which have been upheld in related litigations.”
The Lutz suit was originally filed in April against HomeServices of America after it was dismissed from the Batton 1 suit. The suit was amended in early June to include Douglas Elliman as an additional defendant.
In mid-August, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. The motion argued that the “Plaintiff lacked standing to represent the claims of putative class members asserting claims under the laws of states other than Florida, where Plaintiff purchased a home.”
The plaintiff claims that this is the primary reason for filing an amended complaint. His attorneys wrote in the motion that the plaintiff “has worked to identify and vet additional named Plaintiffs to respond to Defendants’ arguments.”
“The Proposed Amended Complaint adds 31 Plaintiffs who reside or purchased homes in 25 states plus the District of Columbia, all of which are in addition to Plaintiff Lutz who purchased a home in Florida,” the motion states.
The names of many of the additional plaintiffs will ring some bells for those following the commission lawsuits. They include Scott Davis, Mya Batton, Theodore Bisbicos and James Mullis.
According to the motion, naming new class representatives is warranted “in order to ensure that the proposed classes are adequately represented, addressing an issue that Defendants may raise at a later stage in this litigation.”
“Additionally, Defendants have signaled that they may later argue that their settlements in related litigation concerning home-seller claims released the homebuyer claims asserted in this case,” the filing adds. “By adding additional Plaintiffs that were not impacted by the home-seller settlements or who have opted-out of those settlements, the amendment will also address any potential argument concerning the releases in the home-seller settlements.”
The court has yet to rule on whether Lutz can file a second amended complaint.
