Reading the Moehrl v NAR Class Action Certification Opinion

Judge Andrea Wood of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois just granted class certification to the plaintiffs in Moehrl v. NAR, the mega lawsuit dealing with real estate commissions. This apparently sent shockwaves throughout the real estate industry, which puzzles me a bit. But then again, I've been following this lawsuit from the very beginning, and when the closely related Sitzer v. NAR (now Burnett v. NAR) was granted class action status, I wrote:

In a way, this was the least surprising decision as I never thought these lawsuits would be anything other than class action lawsuits, and it never occurred to me that the court would deny class status to the plaintiffs in Sitzer, in Moehrl, in Leeder, in Nosalek, or any of the other “we paid too much because of cooperation and compensation” lawsuits that might be filed.

Well, Moehrl was certified. And while much of my thoughts on this one remains the same as my thoughts about Sitzer when that lawsuit was granted class action status, there are a couple of new elements here that bear examination.

I read the memorandum opinion and order granting cert (and denying two motions by the Defendants) so you don't have to. But that doesn't mean I'm a practicing lawyer, an antitrust specialist, or more importantly, your lawyer. Please consult your own attorneys for actual legal opinions. What follows is for edutainment and speculation only.