On December 4th, Florida Realtors received a lawsuit. The lawsuit makes accusations of inflated broker commissions and violation of antitrust laws.
Sitzer/ Burnett Case
On October 31, 2023, the Sitzer/Burnett case received a verdict. It was a landmark day in real estate. In short, approximately 500,000 Missouri homeowners filed a lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors and other major real estate franchises. In this case, the federal jury awarded $1,785,310,872 in damages, automatically escalating to $5.356 billion under the law, as reported by an Inman article. The national news segment of our last market update covered this watershed event.
Subsequent Lawsuits Filed
Further accusations are gaining momentum. Specifically, the conspiracy accusations are regarding inflated broker commissions. Arguably, the commissions violate antitrust laws. The most recent lawsuits were filed in Florida and Pennsylvania on December 4th. These suits are seeking class action status. Basically, the focus of the attack is on the practice of requiring listing brokers to share commissions with buying brokers. In our state, the lawsuit was filed in the 11th Judicial Circuit of Miami-Dade County. It targets Florida’s realtor association and other large brokerages listed here.
Florida Realtors
An Inman article provided a quote from Juana Watkins, general counsel for Florida Realtors. She stated: “Florida Realtors vehemently denies these allegations and will defend this action vigorously. Florida Realtors applauds the pro-consumer, pro-competitive real estate market in Florida and will do everything necessary to protect the association.”
Florida Realtors 2024 Great American Realtor Days
For those eager to actively engage in real estate-related legislation, mark your calendars for an annual lobbying opportunity. Florida Realtors 2024 Great American Realtor Days, will be held in Tallahassee, FL on January 9th-11th. NEFAR members are invited to join the “Rally in Tally”. Register here.
Fluid Realty
The Fluid Realty Team is Jacksonville’s top real estate group and local boutique brokerage. We provide a full-service experience with the best realtors in the area. Our expertise includes luxury beach real estate within the four Beaches of Jacksonville, FL: Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach.
