Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate.
Zillow and Realtor.com served third-party subpoenas in Batton case
Through a joint status report for the Batton case filed March 14, both parties are still in discussion over the production of documents.
Following Keller Williams’, Anwhere’s and RE/MAX LLC’s production of documents in January, February and March 2025, respectively, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has claimed—according to the filing—that it “has no possession, custody or control of any transaction-level data and did not make any productions of data in the Moehrl, Burnett or Nosalek litigations.”
After jointly reviewing and discussing the data, the plaintiffs argue that the defendants aren’t maintaining certain characteristics about home transactions—closing costs, square footage and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms—used to calculate commissions paid by buyers.
To gather that data, plaintiffs served third-party subpoenas to the owners of Zillow and Realtor.com on Feb. 20, demanding listing information, the MLS’ policies and procedures and the identity of the individuals responsible for implementing and maintaining their policies and procedures.
According to the filing, the plaintiffs are presently meeting and conferring with Zillow and Realtor.com, who have requested extensions until the end of April to gather the requested information.
As of the filing date, the plaintiffs have yet to receive the proposal the defendants, on Feb. 27, informed them of having regarding sealed files from the Moehrl, Burnett or Nosalek cases. Plaintiffs intend to file a motion to unseal those documents if they are unable to reach an agreement, according to the court documents.
Independent brokerage William Raveis settles in Gibson case
The trio of remaining brokerages still fighting against commission class-action lawsuits—Crye-Leike, Howard Hanna and William Raveis—just became a couple, with William Raveis reaching a settlement deal March 13.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available, and the deal is still subject to court approval.
This settlement comes just weeks after Judge Stephen R. Bough denied William Raveis’ request to enforce listing arbitration clauses.
Hanna Holdings seeks recusal of federal judge in Gibson case
Judge Bough—the federal court judge in both the Burnett and Gibson cases—has been asked, for the second time, to recuse himself from a case.
Last year, Judge Bough proactively asked parties involved in the Burnett case if they felt he should recuse himself—offering to “step down” if parties felt it was necessary given that the former lead class counsel, Matthew Dameron, donated to his wife Andrea Bough’s political campaign.
While the court pointed out that conflict of interest to the parties in the Burnett case, that was not the case for Gibson. Hanna Holdings found out about the issue through a Google search, according to the court documents.
On Oct. 31, 2024—just nine days before the Gibson conference to approve settlements and attorney’s fees—Dameron withdrew his appearance in both Gibson and Burnett. After the conference, his firm was awarded nearly $10 million, read the filing.
Given that Dameron withdrew from the case right before the court approved settlements, Hanna Holdings argues it “indicates a recognition on Mr. Dameron’s part that his contributions to Andrea Bough’s campaign warranted the Court’s disqualification in this case, as it did in Burnett,” read the filing.
