In one of the Moehrl-related antitrust litigations, filed by plaintiffs Scott and Rhonda Burnett and others in the Western District of Missouri, the court on April 22, 2022 granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and a trial date is now set for October 2023. Among other relief, plaintiffs seek damages equal to all buyer commissions paid by sellers in four MLSs primarily in Missouri during the class period from April 29, 2015 to present. If any damages are awarded, such damages could be trebled and defendants would be jointly and severally liable. On December 29, 2022, the Burnett court entered an order directing the parties to conduct a mediation no later than March 15, 2023.
On April 9, 2021, a putative class action claim was filed in the Federal Court of Canada against the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (“TRREB”), The Canadian Real Estate Association (“CREA”), RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc. (“RE/MAX OA”), which was acquired by the Company in July 2021 (see Note 6, Acquisitions and Dispositions, for additional information), Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership, Royal Lepage Real Estate Services Ltd., and many other real estate companies, collectively the “Defendants”, by the putative representative plaintiff, Mark Sunderland (the “Plaintiff”). The Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants conspired, agreed or arranged with each other and acted in furtherance of their conspiracy to fix, maintain, increase, control, raise, or stabilize the rate of real estate buyers’ brokerages’ and salespersons’ commissions in respect of the purchase and sale of properties listed on TRREB’s multiple listing service system (the “Toronto MLS”) in violation of the Canadian Competition Act. On February 24, 2022, Plaintiff filed a Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim. With respect RE/MAX OA, the amended claim alleges franchisor defendants aided and abetted their respective franchisee brokerages and their salespeople in violation of the section 45(1) of the Competition Act. Among other requested relief, Plaintiff seeks damages against the defendants and injunctive relief.
The Company intends to vigorously defend against all claims. The Company may become involved in additional litigation or other legal proceedings concerning the same or similar claims. The Company is unable to predict whether resolution of these matters would have a material effect on its financial position or results of operations. The Moehrl Action, Moehrl-related antitrust litigations (collectively referred to as the “Moehrl-related antitrust litigations”), and Sunderland Action consist of:
Christopher Moehrl et al. v. The National Association of Realtors, Realogy Holdings Corp., HomeServices of America, Inc., BHH Affiliates, LLC, HSF Affiliates, LLC, The Long & Foster Companies, Inc. RE/MAX, LLC., and Keller Williams Realty, Inc., filed on March 6, 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Scott and Rhonda Burnett et al. v. The National Association of Realtors, Realogy Holdings Corp., HomeServices of America, Inc., BHH Affiliates, LLC, HSF Affiliates, LLC, RE/MAX, LLC, and Keller Williams Realty, Inc., filed on April 29, 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Jennifer Nosalek et al. v. MLS Property Information Network, Inc., Realogy Holdings Corp., HomeServices of America, Inc., BHH Affiliates, LLC, HSF Affiliates, LLC, RE/MAX, LLC, Keller Williams Realty, Inc., filed on December 17, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Mya Batton et al. v. The National Association of Realtors, Realogy Holdings Corp., HomeServices of America, Inc., BHH Affiliates, LLC, HSF Affiliates, LLC, The Long & Foster Companies, Inc., RE/MAX, LLC, and Keller Williams Realty, Inc., filed on January 25, 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Mark Sunderland v. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc. o/a RE/MAX INTEGRA, Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership, Residential Income Fund, L.P., Royal Lepage Real Estate Services Ltd., Homelife Realty Services Inc., Right At Home Realty Inc., Forest Hill Real Estate Inc., Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd., Max Wright Real Estate Corporation, Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited, Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. and IPRO Realty Ltd., filed April 9, 2021 in the Federal Court of Canada.
15. Defined-Contribution Savings Plan
The Company sponsors an employee retirement plan (the “401(k) Plan”) that provides certain eligible employees of the Company an opportunity to accumulate funds for retirement. The Company provides matching contributions on a discretionary basis. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, the Company recognized expense of $3.2 million, $1.5 million and $1.0 million, respectively, for matching contributions to the 401(k) Plan. During 2020, as part of a cost mitigation plan due to COVID-19, the Company suspended the matching contributions to the 401(k) Plan in the final three quarters of the year. The Company’s 401(k) matching contribution was reinstated in 2021.