Hunt ruled without prejudice, allowing plaintiffs to craft a new class definition.
Defendants argued that a ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough — issued when he approved the Sitzer/Burnett settlements covering home-seller commission claims — bars homebuyers, who also sold properties and were part of that settlement class, from joining the buyer-focused lawsuits.
They said the injunction, now on appeal before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, would exclude nearly 80% of the proposed class.
In November, U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt, who oversees the Batton case in Illinois, agreed the injunction must stand until the appellate court rules.
She offered plaintiffs two paths; file a revised class-certification motion with a narrower, compliant class definition or pause the case entirely until the 8th Circuit issues its decision.
The Batton lawsuit, filed nearly five years ago, alleges the defendants engaged in a “decades-long, nationwide antitrust conspiracy” that forced buyers to pay inflated broker fees.
A September filing estimated potential damages at $3.6 billion across four MLS regions, based on comparisons with international markets where buyer-agent commissions average 1.38%.
Hunt ordered all parties to file a joint status report by Nov. 24 outlining what discovery or class-certification work should proceed while the appeal is pending.