June 13, 2025
A proposed class of home sellers urged a Missouri federal court to deny two brokerages’ second request to stay proceedings against them in a consolidated antitrust broker fees class action while they finalize a parallel settlement in what sellers have called “copycat” proceedings in Georgia.
Weichert Co., eXp Realty LLC and two affiliated entities had asked the court for a second time in May to stay proceedings against them while they await an October final approval hearing on a $44 million settlement they reached with home sellers in a separate Georgia case over fee inflation practices.
But the Missouri class argued Thursday that this request is premature, given their plans to challenge the adequacy of that settlement at an October class action fairness hearing.
“The evidence is overwhelming that the settlements are unfair, unreasonable, and inadequate and should not be approved,” the home sellers said. “Defendants should not simply assume that final approval will occur when the Hooper court considers plaintiffs’ evidence and objections at the October 28 hearing.”
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The consolidated class is represented by Alexander Aiken, Beatrice Franklin, Floyd G. Short, Marc M. Seltzer and Steven G. Sklaver of Susman Godfrey LLP, Robert A. Braun, Benjamin D. Brown, Sabrina Merold and Daniel H. Silverman of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Brandon J.B. Boulware and Jeremy M. Suhr of Boulware Law LLC, Eric L. Dirks, Michael A. Williams and Matthew L. Dameron of Williams Dirks Dameron LLC, Michael S. Ketchmark and Scott A. McCreight of Ketchmark & McCreight PC, Steve W. Berman, Rio S. Pierce, Jeannie Evans and Nathan Emmons of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Julie Pettit of The Pettit Law Firm, Michael K. Hurst of Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann LLP and Frederic S. Fox of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP.
Read Home Sellers Say Brokerages Can’t Pause Mo. Antitrust Case.