Illinois judge rejects motion to halt NAR-related hearing

A
federal
judge
in
Illinois
has
denied
the
plaintiffs’
motion
in
a
separate
case
for
an
injunction
preventing
the


final
approval
of
the
Burnett
settlement
—
a
landmark
case
filed
against
the
National
Association
of
Realtors;
Anywhere
Real
Estate
(at
the
time
known
as
Realogy);
Remax;
and
Keller
Williams
that
could
upend
current
practices
of
determining
real
estate
broker
commissions. 

The
various
parties
ended
up
settling
the
case,
also
known
colloquially
as
Sitzer/Burnett,
including


NAR
in
March
for
$418
million.
(The
NAR
agreement
is
not
a
part
of
the
hearing
tomorrow.)
Homeservices
of
America,
which
is
no
longer
a
defendant
in
the
Batton
matter
having
been
removed
by
the
court
in
February,
was
the
most
recent


to
enter
into
a
settlement
agreement
in
a
related
proceeding. 

The
motion
for
the
injunction
was
filed
earlier
today,
citing
the
closeness
of
the
Burnett
hearing
after
the
defendants
released
certain
details
of
the
settlement,
including
their
intent
to
release
homebuyers’
claims.

This
filing
claimed “The
Proposed
Order,
if
entered,
will
irreparably
harm
homebuyer
Plaintiffs
and
putative
class
members
who
both
bought
and
sold
homes
in
two
ways:
(1)
it
improperly
enjoins
them
from
continuing
to
litigate
their
claims
in
this
case
before
this
Court;
and
(2)
releases
their
claims
without
additional
compensation,
let
alone
adequate
notice
and
representation
for
the
unique
claims
held
by
homebuyers.”

But
in
denying
the
motion,
Judge
Andrea
Wood
noted
these
plaintiffs
had
filed
objections
to
the
Burnett
settlement
and
will
have
their
opportunity
to
be
heard
in
court
on
May
9.

The
reason
for
that
hearing
is
for
the
district
court
to
consider
and
address
challenges
to
the
fairness
of
the
proposed
settlement,
Judge
Wood
wrote.

“Moreover,
although
Plaintiffs
characterize
their
requested
injunction
as
enjoining
action
by
the
specified
Defendants,
Plaintiffs’
goal
is
to
prevent
the
fairness
hearing
duly
set
by
the
Burnett
court
from
going
forward
according
to
that
court’s
orders,”
the
ruling
continued. “Such
extraordinary
action
would
be
inappropriate.”

Judge
Wood
cited
a
Seventh
Circuit
ruling
that “[i]t
is
particularly
rare
for
a
federal
court
to
enjoin
litigation
in
another
federal
court.”

The
attorneys
for
the
Batton
plaintiffs
have
the
opportunity
to
express
their
objections
to
the
Burnett
settlement
in
that
forum,
the
U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Western
District
of
Missouri
in
Kansas
City.

‘This
Court
will
continue
to “operate
on
the
basis
of
the
assumption
that
all
federal
judges
follow
the
law
and
protect
the
rights
of
the
class
members
in
accordance
with
Rule
23
of
the
Federal
Rules
of
Civil
Procedure,'”
Judge
Wood
ruled.