On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, attorneys for the plaintiffs in the Gibson antitrust lawsuit filed a request for $36.9 million as payment for services rendered.
Nine brokerages, including Compass and Redfin, paid a combined total of $110.6 million to settle the case. Michael Ketchmark, lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit, is asking for one-third of that amount.
From the filing:
“Class Counsel are a diverse group of well-respected antitrust, complex litigation, and trial lawyers who spearheaded the litigation,” the attorneys wrote in the filing. “In doing so, Class Counsel were not able to rely on any governmental prosecutions or on pre-existing litigation by other private attorneys.
“These Settlements are the independent product of their wholly contingent, risky, costly, and time-intensive work seeking a recovery against Defendants, not the work of anyone else.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs also requested $13.1 million to cover remaining expenses related to the case—$12.9 million of which has already been paid.
In a 102-page filing submitted with the request, law professor Robert Klonoff argued that “based on the extraordinary results achieved by class counsel,” one-third of the total settlement award is a reasonable ask for this and other pending settlements, including the two largest, which are scheduled to be finalized on November 26:
- $418 million from the National Association of Realtors
- $250 million from HomeServices of America
Settlements in Gibson
Ketchmark filed the Gibson case right on the heels of the verdict reached on October 31, 2023.
Gibson was the first of the commission copycat lawsuits filed after the sellers in Sitzer/Burnett won their case against the named defendants, including the National Association of Realtors. Gibson, with its longer list of defendants, was also national in scope, unlike Sitzer/Burnett, which only applied to Missouri homeowners.
On April 24th (2024), Gibson joined with the Umpa lawsuit, which was filed in the same court.
The nine settlements in Gibson are scheduled to finalize on the anniversary of the Sitzer/Burnett verdict (October 31, 2024).
- Compass: $57.5 million
- Real Brokerage: $9.25 million
- Redfin: $9.25 million
- Douglas Elliman ($7.75 million)
- Engel & Völkers ($6.9 million)
- @properties ($6.5 million)
- Realty ONE ($5 million)
- HomeSmart ($4.7 million)
- United Real Estate ($3.75 million).
The request is consistent with previous settlements. Back in May, attorneys for the Sitzer/Burnett and Moehrl plaintiffs were granted approval of their request for one-third of the total combined $208.5 million award in the RE/MAX, Anywhere, and Keller Williams settlements.
In granting his approval for that request, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen R. Bough acknowledged it was “undeniable” that antitrust lawsuits are difficult to prosecute.
Meanwhile, it’s too soon to say how much class members can expect to receive as their share of the settlement payout, but it could amount to tens or possibly hundreds of dollars. Much depends on how many eligible members send in a claim.
Hourly Rates Add Up
In the filing, attorneys claim more than 105,000 hours working on the lawsuits. In addition, it was stated the combined out-of-pocket expenses amounted to over $13 million.
Those hours were spread among 20 experts and consultants. Some of the hourly rates for attorneys working on the case include:
- $1,250 an hour—Partners at Eric Dirks’ law firm (with associates receiving $600 per hour and paralegals $300 per hour).
- $1,450—Lead plaintiff attorney Michael Ketchmark
- $2,200—Marc Seltzer of Susman Godfrey
Ketchmark wrote that he’d spent just under 7,000 hours on all the antitrust lawsuits in which he served as plaintiff’s counsel. At his current rate ($1,450 an hour), his total time is valued at $10.1 million.
