A panel of Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals judges upheld the Sitzer-Burnet class-action settlement on Wednesday, tossing out several arguments aimed at overturning the deal’s November 2024 final approval.
Those objecting to the settlement argued, among other things, that the district court erred when it approved the settlement because plaintiffs lacked legal standing, the settlement payout and the proposed distribution were not adequate, and the settlement inappropriately included home buyers.
The defendants, including the National Association of REALTORS® and HomeServices of America, successfully argued in support of the settlement.
Both sides were heard during oral argument in January 2026, NAR REALTOR® News previously reported.
"We are pleased with the Court’s order affirming the district court’s decision to approve the settlement agreement," an NAR spokesperson says. "We will continue to work to foster fair, transparent, and pro-consumer real estate markets while providing resources and value to our REALTOR® members nationwide."
As part of the settlement, NAR mandated the use of written buyer broker agreements and prohibited offers of cooperative compensation being communicated on REALTOR® multiple listing services. It also agreed to pay $418 million over four years to plaintiffs.
In exchange, NAR secured the release of liability of more than 1 million NAR members, all state/territorial and local REALTOR® associations, REALTOR® association owned MLSs, NAR’s affiliate organizations and all brokerages with an NAR member as principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of $2 billion or below. MLSs and brokerages that opted in to the agreement were also released from liability.
