Editor’s note: The COURT REPORT is RISMedia’s weekly look at current and upcoming lawsuits, investigations and other legal developments around real estate.
Compass closes Anywhere acquisition
In a regulatory filing on Jan. 9, Compass announced that its merger with Anywhere Real Estate was officially closed. The deal has faced much scrutiny from the real estate industry, as well as by federal lawmakers and stockholders recently. Despite these issues, the merger persisted.
Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources, reported that Department of Justice (DOJ) staff in the antitrust division had recommended an “in-depth investigation” into the merger, but that a lawyer representing Compass “successfully” lobbied senior DOJ officials who overruled these concerns. That included bypassing Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, who oversees the DOJ Antitrust Division, according to Bloomberg. Compass declined to comment on the report.
Company executives called the completed deal a “new chapter” for its now 330,000 combined agents.
“Our collective vision is to become the best in the world at empowering real estate professionals with everything they need to realize their entrepreneurial potential,” said Compass CEO Robert Reffkin in a statement. Reffkin will continue to lead the combined companies, with Compass previously saying that Anywhere brands would be preserved.
Several objections to Gibson settlements filed ahead of hearing
Several objections were filed as 2025 came to a close ahead of a Feb. 5 final approval hearing for several settlement agreements in the Gibson commission lawsuit (the main copycat case, filed by the same lawyers behind Burnett). The main objector is a plaintiff in the original homebuyer commission lawsuit, James Mullis, who is objecting to the final approval of Hanna Holdings’ settlement agreement. Hanna Holdings is the parent company of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.
In the filing, Mullis insists that the release in the settlement does not cover “claims asserted by class members to recover damages in separate transactions when they purchased a home.” He had made similar claims regarding settlements in the Burnett and Moehrl suits, but his objections were overruled.
An appellate court is currently considering whether settlement deals will protect companies from claims by sellers who also bought homes, reducing the number of potential class members (and potential damages) in the buyer lawsuits.
A second objection came from a group of objectors, most of whom have filed objections to prior settlements in the Gibson lawsuit, as well as other commission lawsuits. Some of them are plaintiffs in other Burnett copycat lawsuits
Asking the court to deny the final approval of these settlements, objectors argue that they “greatly exceed the scope for which classes were certified and for which discovery was conducted,” that the $42 million settlement amount “is grossly disproportionate to the amount appropriate to adequately compensate the injured parties and neither the Court nor members of the class have had the opportunity to review records that would adequately allow them to determine ability to pay,” and that the proposed practice changes are “illusory.”
New name pulled into Zillow steering lawsuit
In an amended complaint filed Dec. 29 in the U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, the Real Broker, LLC—a subsidiary of Real Brokerage—has been added as a defendant in the recently consolidated Taylor-Armstrong lawsuit that alleges steering, racketeering and RESPA violations against Zillow.
The filing also includes testimonies from several confidential sources and commentary from real estate coach Jared James—who spoke about Zillow on a podcast—that the plaintiffs allege support their claims.
The Real Brokerage opts into global Tuccori settlement
The Real Brokerage has opted into the global settlement in Tuccori v. @properties, settling the Cwynar lawsuit—a Burnett copycat lawsuit taking aim at commission fees from the homebuyer side of the transaction rather than homesellers—filed against the brokerage as well. In a Jan. 5 motion to stay Cwynar proceedings, both parties of the suit confirmed a settlement agreement was reached due to Real’s agreement to opt into the Tuccori settlement, as the Tuccori settlement also covers the claims made in the Cwynar suit. Judge Georgia Alexakis granted the stay the next day.
