A class action lawsuit seeks to expand the nationwide spate of lawsuits accusing real estate brokerages of alleged anti-competitive behavior, this time accusing brokerage Real Estate One of allegedly seeking to improperly boost agents' commissions.
The lawsuit was filed March 20 in Cook County Circuit Court against Michigan-based Real Estate One, Inc. accusing the company of alleged anti-competitive behavior.
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Paul T. Geske, William Kingston and Brendan Duffner, of the firm of McGuire Law P.C., of Chicago. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of named plaintiff Matthew Hartz, of Illinois, who allegedly sold a home in Michigan.
According to the complaint, Real Estate One represented sellers or buyers in more than 18,000 transactions totaling at least $6.1 billion in sales volume in 2022.
The lawsuit levels allegations similar to those already laid out by the federal Justice Department and in lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors and other brokerages throughout the country. Those actions accuse realtors of anti-competitive practices, particularly including leveraging the use of the Multiple Listing Services to corner the market on listing and viewing houses for sale, allegedly resulting in home sellers across the U.S. unknowingly allegedly paying too much for realtor services and allegedly receiving substandard services from residential real estate brokers and members of the NAR.
Those lawsuits have resulted in a judgment worth $1.2 billion against certain brokerages, and settlements which collectively are worth more than $600 million, to be paid by the NAR and a collection of large brokerages.
The same attorneys filed a nearly identical lawsuit against brokerage Baird & Warner in February.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to order Real Estate One to pay three times the plaintiffs' actual damages, plus other damages and attorney fees.