Franchiser is the second real estate defendant to be dismissed from the flat-fee brokerage’s lawsuit that claimed an anticompetitive scheme to defeat discount brokerages.
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Keller Williams scored a court win in an antitrust case filed by discount brokerage Homie this week as Homie moved to dismiss it from the case.
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The franchiser was the second real estate defendant to be dismissed from the case, which alleges an illegal conspiracy to work against discount brokerages like Homie.
The Utah-based Homie filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Utah in August. In its brief filing, Homie said that removing Keller Williams from the lawsuit didn’t mean it was also preparing to release its other competitors and the National Association of Realtors from the case.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this notice of dismissal does not in any way apply to or affect Homie’s claims in the Action against any of the other Defendants, which remain pending,” Homie attorneys wrote in the notice of dismissal on Wednesday.
The dismissal followed Homie’s move to dismiss Utah’s largest multiple listing service, Wasatch Front Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc., from the lawsuit in October.
Homie is seeking to recover damages from the National Association of Realtors and other competitor defendants for their roles in an alleged collusion scheme to block discount brokerages from competing in the real estate market.
After the latest dismissal, NAR, Anywhere, HomeServices of America, RE/MAX and HSF Affiliates remain listed as defendants that Homie alleges “conspired” to prevent innovation and boycott low-commission listings.
The National Association of Realtors and other major real estate companies have previously asked a judge to throw out the case filed by Homie, arguing the policies in question didn’t amount to an illegal conspiracy to snuff out discount brokerages.
Homie had plans for rapid expansion amid the high home sale years during the COVID housing market.
It made a remarkable pivot in April 2024, laying off staff and changing agents from salaried workers to contractors amid an ongoing slowdown in the housing market.
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