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A proposed settlement of antitrust claims brought by homesellers against independent real estate brokerage Sibcy Cline has passed its first round in federal court.
In a Feb. 11 order, Judge Stephen R. Bough of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri granted preliminary approval to the deal, finding it to be “fair, reasonable and adequate.”
On Feb. 6, the plaintiffs in a relatively new commission lawsuit, known as Keel after its lead plaintiff, amended their complaint to add Sibcy Cline as a defendant and filed a motion for preliminary approval of a proposed settlement in the case the next day.
Sibcy Cline has more than 1,000 agents total in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The deal would have Ohio-based Sibcy Cline pay $895,000, bringing the total Keel settlement fund amount to $11,465,000.
Other firms named as defendants in the case include Side, Washington Fine Properties, Seven Gables Real Estate, First Team Real Estate — Orange County and Signature Properties of Huntington, among others. Proposed settlements for those firms were filed the same day the case was filed in court on Jan. 27 and Bough preliminarily approved those deals on Feb. 4. According to the plaintiffs, the Sibcy Cline deal “is materially the same as all other settlements in this case that the Court approved.”
The proposed settlement covers the same settlement class as the other deals: “All persons who sold a home that was listed on a multiple listing service anywhere in the United States where a commission was paid to any brokerage in connection with the sale of the home in the following date range: October 31, 2019, to date of Class Notice.”
In Tuesday’s order, Bough clarified that the settlement class includes those who sold homes on any MLS nationwide regardless of affiliation with the National Association of Realtors.
The court has scheduled a final approval hearing for the settlements in the Keel case for June 24 at 2:30 p.m. Central. The same court will be holding a final approval hearing for settlements in a similar case, Gibson, that same day at 1:30 p.m. Central.
Robin Sheakley, Sibcy Cline’s president and CEO, did not respond to a request for comment.
Read Bough’s order granting preliminary approval (if document is not visible, re-load the page):
