Weichert Realtors and eXp World Holdings have cited Howard Hanna Real Estate Services’ motion for the recusal of Judge Stephen R. Bough, who oversaw the Sitzer/Burnett trial, in the Gibson suit, as a reason why the Gibson plaintiffs should not be allowed to intervene in the Hooper suit.
Unlike most of the other large brokerages hit by the wave of copycat commission lawsuits filed after the Sitzer/Burnett jury verdict, eXp and Weichert did not reach settlements in the Gibson suit, instead choosing to negotiate with the Hooper plaintiffs in Georgia. Shortly after eXp notified the court of its settlement, the Gibson plaintiffs filed a motion to intervene in the Hooper suit. In this motion, the Gibson plaintiffs alleged that the companies engaged in “reverse auctions” to negotiate their “sweetheart deal” settlements. eXp, which announced its settlement in October, is settling the commission lawsuits for $34 million, while Weichert, which settled in November, has agreed to pay $8.5 million. The Gibson plaintiffs feel that these settlement amounts are far too low.
Earlier this month, the two brokerage defendants had to provide representatives who were able to testify regarding the settlement negotiations undertaken by both brokerages for videotaped depositions.
In their motion for preliminary approval of the settlements filed in January, eXp and Weichert stated that the “parties reached the Settlement Agreements after considering the risks and costs of litigation.”
Additionally, they argued that the terms of the settlements were in line with those negotiated in the Gibson and Sitzer/Burnett suits.
The Gibson plaintiffs did not accept this argument and the parties have since gone back and forth about this issue filing responses to the motion for preliminary approval and the Gibson plaintiffs’ motion to intervene and transfer the suit to Judge Bough.
In this latest suggestion in support of their response in opposition to the motion to intervene, eXp and Weichert cite Howard Hanna’s motion for the recusal of Judge Bough as a reason why the suit should not be transferred and that the Gibson plaintiffs should not be allowed to intervene.
In its motion for recusal filed earlier this month, Howard Hanna argued that Judge Bough should be recused from the Gibson suit because Matthew Dameron, former lead class counsel, donated to the political campaign of Judge Bough’s wife, Andrea Bough. Judge Bough offered to recused himself in the Sitzer/Burnett suit due to this, but he did not make the same offer in the Gibson suit.
Howard Hanna noted in its filing that Judge Bough recused himself in a case against a gun manufacturer for the same donation.
A date has not yet been set for the preliminary approval hearing for the settlements.
