Gibson commission settlements upheld by Eighth Circuit

Nearly two weeks after upholding the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) home seller commission lawsuit settlement in the Sitzer/Burnett suit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has now also reaffirmed the approval of several settlements negotiated by brokerages in the Gibson copycat commission lawsuit. In a ruling published on Tuesday, the three-judge panel said the challenges to the Gibson settlement mirrored those the same appeals court already rejected last month in regards to the Stizer/Burnett settlement. The upheld settlements included those negotiated by Compass, Redfin, The Real Brokerage, Realty ONE Group, At World Properties, Douglas Elliman, Engel & Völkers, HomeSmart and United Real Estate. In their settlements, these defendants agreed to the same business practice changes outlined in NAR’s settlement. Objectors to the Gibson settlements included James Mullis, Monty March, Robert Friedman and Benny Cheatham, who all also filed appeals regarding the Sitzer/Burnett settlement. As in their Sitzer/Burnett appeals, the objectors again argued that the Gibson settlements improperly released claims brought by homebuyers and those involving other non-NAR l...