BOSTON–U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris granted final approval to the $3.95 million settlement in the Nosalek v. MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) commission lawsuit Monday at Boston’s John J. Moakley Federal Courthouse.
“Right now we are consistent with the NAR settlement,” said Saris, further noting that the settlement agreement received clearance from two different Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers and only had two minor objections out of the nearly 650,000 class members.
“I’m just inclined to approve this long fought for (settlement),” Judge Saris said, adding that she hopes this will make the market more competitive in terms of broker fees.
Before ending the hearing, Judge Saris pressed Matt Goodin, the defendant’s attorney, on what effects this might have on brokerages, but Goodin did not give a definitive answer.
“Ultimately, it will be for academics…to discuss if it has the intended effects,” added Saris.
The settlement amount landed at $3.95 million, which is equivalent to what the “buy in” rate for MLS PIN to have joined the Burnett settlement, according to Seth Klein, representing the plaintiffs.
There are approximately 650,000 class members and, on average, if each of them file approved claims, each would receive approximately $6 before deduction of costs and any awarded fees and expenses, according to court filings.
Over 450,000 postcard notices have already been mailed to class members, Klein said.
Judge Saris noted that one of the complaints was that the money awarded to each class member would only be between $10 and $30, and that the amount didn’t offer “much solace.”
“We would have loved to have gotten more money from MLS PIN,” Klein followed.
There is the opportunity for the class members to receive additional monies, but Klein noted that he was unsure of an exact amount.
The settlement brings to a close a lawsuit that alleged anticompetitive practices related to buyer-broker commissions. Previously involved in the settlement, the DOJ withdrew its objection after MLS PIN removed offers of compensation from its platform. The first proposed settlement terms would have kept offers of buyer compensation on the platform, as MLS PIN is not affiliated with NAR and chose not to opt into the NAR deal last year.
“The parties and the (DOJ) engaged in extensive discussions about the settlement terms over a period of approximately 18 months,” read court documents. “The parties ultimately reached a FASA in May 2025 that includes both a Settlement Fund of $3.95 million and substantive rule and practice changes at MLS PIN to remove the alleged anticompetitive misconduct and bring MLS PIN’s practices in line with the practices adopted by NAR and approved by Judge Bough in Burnett.”
The settlement discussions have been ongoing for quite some time, with the first agreement proposed before the Burnett trial.
During the hearing Monday, Judge Saris noted that this case will go down in her record as one of her longest running litigations.
“Beginning in September 2022 and through the signing of the fourth amended settlement agreement (FASA), counsel for plaintiffs and MLS PIN engaged in multiple rounds of phone conferences and correspondence with each other and with the DOJ, including exchanging several drafts of the settlement agreements and amendments to MLS PIN’s Rules and Regulations,” read a court filing.
The settlement agreement defines the settlement class as sellers who paid buyer-broker commissions during the settlement class period of Dec. 17, 2016 through and including the date of the final judgment and order of dismissal.
Additionally, the settlement requires MLS PIN to amend the following alleged anticompetitive practices:
- Eliminate any requirement that seller-brokers or sellers must make offers of buyer-broker commission
- Prohibit all MLS PIN participants and subscribers from making or sharing offers of buyer-broker commission in a listing
- Eliminate all buyer-broker commission-specific fields
- Permit a listing only if the seller-broker certifies through an appropriate checkbox to MLS PIN that the seller was notified that MLS PIN does not require the seller to offer compensation to buyer-brokers or other buyer representatives
- Eliminate any forms, advertising and educational or instructional materials inconsistent with any provision above
According to court documents filed Sept. 22, nearly 27,000 members of the class-action suit have already sought settlement benefits. Of the nearly half-million class members, only four have excluded themselves from the settlement and only two have submitted objections, of which only one was properly filed with the court.
