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NAR, Realtor Groups Seek to Overturn Verdict in Commission Suit
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) along with real estate association and brokerage companies Keller Williams and units of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway have made a joint push to undo the $1.8 billion verdict in a commission case. “The verdict was wrong and defied precedent, logic and the evidence,” said NAR spokesperson Mantill Williams.
The groups asked U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough in Kansas City, Missouri, to reject the verdict in the case, known as Sitzer/Burnett, and rule for them as a matter of law or otherwise grant a new trial. They are challenging a federal jury’s October 2023 decision for a class of home sellers who said they were overcharged on commissions they paid to agents for buyers.
The Chicago-based NAR believes Judge Bough “applied the wrong law to the case, which played a large part in the jury reaching the incorrect conclusion,” according to a statement. Earlier this week, NAR’s newly appointed president, Tracy Kasper, resigned abruptly due to blackmail threats.
