Objector petitions for rehearing in NAR settlement appeals

Copycat commission lawsuit plaintiff Robert Friedman has filed a petition for a rehearing after his appeal of the final approval of the settlements in the Sitzer/Burnett and Gibson suits was turned down. In rulings in mid-August and early September, three-judge panels for the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the final approval of the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) commission lawsuit settlement in the Sitzer/Burnett suit and several settlements reached by brokerage defendants in the Gibson lawsuit. Friedman, whose commission lawsuit journey began in 2023 when he sued the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), which is not affiliated with NAR. In his lawsuit, Friedman alleged that REBNY and the brokerage defendants he named in the suit conspired resulting in artificially inflated agent commissions in pricey Brooklyn neighborhoods. In the appeal, Friedman claimed that this conspiracy with REBNY was distinct and unrelated to the alleged conspiracies in the Gibson and Sitzer/Burnett suits, especially since REBNY is not related to NAR and has its own rules and code of ethics. The appeals court disagreed with this rationale, upholding the settlements. In his request for ...