"Defendants argued that a ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough issued when he approved the Sitzer/Burnett settlements covering home-seller commission claims bars homebuyers, who also sold properties and were part of that settlement class, from joining the buyer-focused lawsuits. They said the injunction, now on appeal before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, would exclude nearly 80% of the proposed class."
"In November, U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt, who oversees the Batton case in Illinois, agreed the injunction must stand until the appellate court rules. She offered plaintiffs two paths; file a revised class-certification motion with a narrower, compliant class definition or pause the case entirely until the 8th Circuit issues its decision. The Batton lawsuit, filed nearly five years ago, alleges the defendants engaged in a decades-long, nationwide antitrust conspiracy that forced buyers to pay inflated broker fees."
U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt ruled that an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough must remain in effect until the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules. Defendants argued that Bough's ruling, made when he approved the Sitzer/Burnett settlements covering home-seller commission claims, bars homebuyers who also sold properties and were part of that settlement class from joining buyer-focused lawsuits, potentially excluding nearly 80% of the proposed class. Hunt permitted plaintiffs to file a revised, narrower class-certification motion or pause the Batton case until the appellate decision. The Batton lawsuit alleges a decades-long, nationwide antitrust conspiracy that inflated broker fees, with a September filing estimating potential damages of $3.6 billion across four MLS regions based on international commission comparisons. Hunt ordered a joint status report by Nov. 24 specifying discovery or class-certification work to proceed while the appeal is pending.
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