“Having fully considered the arguments at the hearing and in the written submissions, and based on all materials in the record, the motion for final approval is granted,” the ruling states.
The ruling also reaffirmed Don Gibson, Lauren Criss, John Meiners, and Daniel Umpa as the settlement class representatives. Additionally, the ruling noted that the settlement class is nationwide and that the agreements release claims arising “from sales of homes listed on NAR and non-Realtor MLSs, including all claims on behalf of Class Members, as sellers, buyers,or otherwise, arising from the same factual predicate.”
Besides granting final approval to the settlements, Judge Bough also entered a partial final judgement, which dismissed the case with prejudice for the five settling brokerage defendants. This judgement means that members of the settlement class will be unable to bring related claims against those defendants in the future.
The Gibson lawsuit was initially filed in October of 2023, just a day after a Missouri jury found Keller Williams, HomeServices of America and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) liable for artificially inflating real estate agent commissions through NAR’s now defunct Participation Rule.
