You received a notice because records from Defendants and other sources show that you may have sold a home using one of the Subject MLSs, that you used a broker or agent affiliated with a Defendant to list your home, and you paid a commission to the buyer’s broker. For more information about whether you are a Class Member, see FAQ 10 below.
The notice explains that the Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise before the Court holds a trial. The trial is to decide whether the claims being made against Defendants, on your behalf, are correct.
Judge Stephen R. Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri is overseeing the class action. The lawsuit is known as Burnett et al. v. National Association of Realtors, et al., No. No. 4:19-cv-00332-SRB.
The lawsuit claims that Defendants created and implemented rules which require home sellers to pay commissions to the broker or agent representing the buyer. It also alleges that Defendants enforce these rules through anticompetitive and unlawful practices.
The lawsuit claims that these rules are anticompetitive and unfair, and that they violate federal antitrust law and Missouri law.
In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. The people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.”
The home sellers who sued Defendants—and all the Class Members like them—are called Plaintiffs. The entities they sued (in this case, the National Association of Realtors, RE/MAX, Keller Williams, Realogy, and HomeServices of America) are called Defendants. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class—except for those who choose to exclude themselves from the Class.
The Court decided that this lawsuit can be a class action and move toward a trial because it meets the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions in federal courts.
The lawsuit claims that Defendants created and implemented rules which require home sellers to pay commissions to the broker or agent representing the buyer. It also alleges that Defendants enforce these rules through anticompetitive and unlawful practices.
In this case, the Class Representatives are Scott and Rhonda Burnett, Ryan Hendrickson, Jerod Breit, Scott Trupiano, Jeremy Keel, Hollee Ellis and Frances Harvey.
The lawsuit claims that these rules are anticompetitive and unfair, and that they violate federal antitrust law and Missouri law.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges violations of the Sherman Act (a federal antitrust statute found at 15 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.); the Missouri Antitrust Law (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 416.031); and the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.010 et seq.).
The Sherman Act and Missouri Antitrust Law claims apply to home sales between April 29, 2015, to the present. The Sherman Act claim applies to home sales within the Class that occurred in Missouri and portions of Kansas and Illinois.
The Missouri Merchandising Practices Act claim applies to home sales between April 29, 2014, to the present. The Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and the Missouri Antitrust Law claims apply only to home sales within Missouri.
Defendants deny the allegations and deny that the rules are anticompetitive. Defendants assert that the challenged rules benefit both sellers and buyers by making home sale transactions more efficient and that, in any event, there has been no unlawful conduct. Defendants’ Answers to the Third Amended Complaint are available at here.
The Court has not decided whether Plaintiffs or Defendants are correct. By establishing the Class and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting that Plaintiffs will win or lose this case. Plaintiffs and the Class must still prove their claims at trial.
Plaintiffs are asking for the Court to rule that the rules created and implemented by Defendants are anticompetitive, and that they violate federal and Missouri law. Plaintiffs are also asking the Court to require Defendants to reimburse home sellers any commission they paid to the broker or agent representing the buyer in their transaction.
No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not yet decided whether Defendants did anything wrong, and no Defendant has agreed to a settlement with Plaintiffs. There is no guarantee that money or benefits ever will be obtained. If they are, you will be notified about how to ask for a share.
You received this notice because records from Defendants and other sources show:
(1) that you may have listed your home for sale on one of the Subject MLSs.
(2) that you may have sold your home between either April 29, 2014 to the present (if the home was in Missouri), or April 29, 2015 to the present (if the home was in Kansas or Illinois);
(3) that you may have used a listing broker or agent affiliated with a Defendant to list your home; and
(4) that you may have paid a commission to the buyer’s broker.
For more information, please view the Notice here.
If you are still not sure whether you are included, you may contact the Settlement Administrator or the lawyers in this case.
You don’t have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit. By doing nothing you are staying in the Class. If you stay in and Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits, either as a result of the trial or a settlement, you will be notified about how to apply for a share (or how to ask to be excluded from any settlement).
Keep in mind that if you do nothing now, regardless of whether Plaintiffs win or lose at trial, you will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, Defendants—as a part of any other lawsuit—about the same legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. This means that if you do nothing, you will be legally bound by all of the orders that the Court issues and judgments the Court makes in this class action.
If you already have your own lawsuit against Defendants concerning the rules at issue or wish to initiate your own lawsuit, then you need to ask to be excluded from the Class. If you exclude yourself from the Class—which also means to remove yourself from the Class and is sometimes called “opting-out” of the Class—you won’t get any money or benefits from this lawsuit even if Plaintiffs obtain them as a result of the trial or from any settlement between Defendants and the Plaintiffs.
However, you may then be able to sue or continue to sue Defendants for the issues in this lawsuit. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s judgments in this class action.
If you start your own lawsuit against Defendants after you exclude yourself, you’ll have to hire and pay your own lawyer for that lawsuit, and you’ll have to prove your claims. If you do exclude yourself so you can start or continue your own lawsuit against Defendants, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your claims may be subject to a statute of limitations.
To ask to be excluded, you must send an “Exclusion Request” in the form of a letter sent by mail, stating that you want to be excluded from Burnett et al. v. National Association of Realtors, et al. Be sure to include your name and address, and sign the letter.
You must postmark your Exclusion Request by November 12, 2022, to Burnett et al. v. National Association of Realtors, et. al., c/o CPT Group Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606. You may also get an Exclusion Request form here or submit online here.
The Court decided that the following law firms are qualified to represent you and all Class Members:
You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you will have to pay that lawyer. For example, you can ask him or her to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.
If Class Counsel gets money or benefits for the Class, they may ask the Court for fees and expenses. You won’t have to pay these fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsels’ request, the fees and expenses would be either deducted from any money obtained for the Class or paid separately by Defendants.
As long as the case isn’t resolved by a settlement or otherwise, Class Counsel will have to prove Plaintiffs’ claims at a trial. During the trial, a Jury or the Judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether the Plaintiffs or Defendants are right about the claims in the lawsuit. There is no guarantee that Plaintiffs will win, or that they will get any money for the Class.
You do not need to attend the trial. Class Counsel will present the case for Plaintiffs, and Defendants will present the defenses. You or your own lawyer are welcome to come at your own expense.
If Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits as a result of the trial or a settlement, you will be notified about how to participate. We do not know how long this will take.
If you have questions about the Settlement, please visit the Court Documents page or contact the Settlement Administrator as follows:
Burnett et al. v. National Association of Realtors®, et al.
Settlement Administrator
c/o CPT Group, Inc.
50 Corporate Park
Irvine, CA 92606
Email: mlscommissionlawsuit@cptgroup.com