A class action lawsuit accuses mega brokerage Redfin and the National Association Realtors of violating federal antitrust law in the way commissions are paid to listing agents.
The lawsuit was filed on Feb. 26 in Los Angeles federal court by named plaintiff Andrea Freedlund, of Aliso Viejo, against Redfin Corporation, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and the California Association of Realtors (CAR).
The suit accuses the defendants of colluding to fix and inflate buyer-side real estate agent commissions.
The plaintiff argues that these practices have led to collusion and wrongdoing becoming explicit business practices for the defendants. The complaint states that rules set by NAR and CAR require home sellers to make a non-negotiable offer of buyer’s broker’s commission as a condition of listing their property on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This has reportedly resulted in fixing and stabilizing buyer-side commissions at an anticompetitively high level.
According to the complaint, Redfin, which was a member of both associations until October 2023, required its realtors to abide by these rules. The plaintiff alleges that this has facilitated alleged "steering" by buyer's brokers.
The plaintiffs seek to expand the action to include a class of potentially tens of thousands of other home sellers who used Redfin's services in California from 2019-2023.
They are seeking treble actual damages, plus attorney fees.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Caleb Marker and Flinn T. Milligan, of Zimmerman Reed LLP, of Los Angeles.