Although eXp World Holdings is hoping to move past the commission lawsuits thanks to the proposed nationwide settlement it negotiated with the Hooper suit plaintiffs in Georgia, other courts are not so sure. Last Wednesday, Judge Stephen R. Bough, who oversaw the Sitzer/Burnett trial and is also overseeing the Gibson suit, ruled after oral arguments that eXp must turn over all documents related to the negotiation of its settlement by this coming Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The Gibson plaintiffs have previously called the settlement a “sweetheart deal” and have accused eXp of engaging in a reverse auction. eXp is also a defendant in the Gibson suit, and while other companies involved in multiple copycat suits negotiated settlements with the Gibson plaintiffs, eXp did not.
The brokerage reached a settlement in early October 2024. As part of the settlement, eXp has agreed to pay $34 million into the settlement fund and make unspecified business practice changes. Within a matter of weeks, the Gibson plaintiffs filed a motion to intervene in the Hooper suit, as they took issue with eXp’s settlement amount.
Judge Bough’s latest ruling is the second one in which he has ordered eXp to turn over documents related to its settlement negotiations. In November, eXp asked for a stay in the Gibson suit, due to its pending settlement in the Hooper suit, but Judge Bough ruled that he would need to conduct a review of the Hooper documents, in order to determine whether or not a reverse auction occurred and if a stay is appropriate.
“While eXp argues that Plaintiffs’ provided facts are ‘unfounded,’ Plaintiffs base their allegations upon publicly available financial information, the timing of the Hooper settlement after negotiations between Plaintiffs and eXp ended, and statements made during an October 8, 2024, phone call by Hooper plaintiffs’ counsel to Plaintiffs’ counsel that eXp’s financials were not considered during settlement negotiations,” Judge Bough wrote in his order last week.
He added that the Gibson plaintiffs have produced “plausible evidence that raises a genuine issue that eXp participated in a reverse auction.”
eXp filed a motion for Judge Bough to reconsider this ruling, which he denied last Wednesday.
Judge Bough’s most recent ruling came on the same day that eXp, Weichert Realtors, Atlanta Communities Real Estate, and Mark Spain Real Estate, along with the Hooper plaintiffs, filed a motion for the preliminary approval of their respective settlements.
In an emailed statement, an eXp spokesperson said the company remains focused on gaining approval of its settlement.
“We are confident the Georgia judge overseeing the Hooper case will find the settlement to be fair, reasonable and adequate,” the spokesperson wrote.
