Compass, Inc.

Page 2United Real Estate;

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company; HomeServices of America; BHH Affiliates, LLC; HSF Affiliates, LLC; The Long & Foster Companies, Inc.; Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

Premiere Plus Realty, Co.; Charles Rutenberg Realty - Orlando, LLC; Hanna Holdings, Inc.

Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC; At World Properties, LLC; The Real Brokerage, Inc.; Real Broker, LLC; Realty ONE Group, Inc.; ;

NextHome, Inc.; EXIT RePage 3alty Corp. International; EXIT Realty Corp. USA; Windermere Real Estate Services Company, Inc.; William L Lyon & Associates, Inc.; William Raveis Real Estate, Inc.; John L. Scott Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; The Keyes Company; Illustrated Properties, LLC; Parks Pilkerton Village Real Estate; Crye-Leike, Inc.; Baird & Warner Real Estate, Inc.; Real Estate One, Inc.; The K Company Realty, LLC, doing business as LoKation; eXp Realty, LLC; Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; John L. Scott, Inc.; KNIE & SHEALY

Objector - Appellant

Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America

Amicus on Behalf of Appellee(s)

No. 24-3478

Don Gibson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Lauren Criss, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; John Meiners, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Daniel Umpa

Page 5Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company; HomeServices of America; BHH Affiliates, LLC; HSF Affiliates, LLC; The Long & Foster Companies, Inc.; Keller Williams Realty, Inc.; ; Premiere Plus Realty, Co.; Charles Rutenberg Realty - Orlando, LLC; Hanna Holdings, Inc.

Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC; At World Properties, LLC; The Real Brokerage, Inc.; Real Broker, LLC; Realty ONE Group, Inc.

NextHome, Inc.; EXIT Realty Corp. International; EXIT Realty Corp. USA; Windermere Real Estate Services Company, Inc.; William L Lyon & Associates, Inc.; William Raveis Real Estate, Inc.; John L. Scott Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; The Keyes Company; Illustrated Properties, LLC; Parks Pilkerton Village Real Estate; Crye-Leike, Inc.; Baird & Warner Real Estate, Inc.; Real Estate One, Inc.; The K Company Realty, LLC, doing business as LoKation; eXp Realty, LLC; Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; John L. Scott, Inc.; KNIE & SHEALY

Defendant s

v.

Page 6Monty March

Objector - Appellant

No. 24-3481

Don Gibson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Lauren Criss, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; John Meiners, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Daniel Umpa

Page 7; United Real Estate

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company; HomeServices of America; BHH Affiliates, LLC; HSF Affiliates, LLC; The Long & Foster Companies, Inc.; Keller Williams Realty, Inc.; ; Premiere Plus Realty, Co.; Charles Rutenberg Realty - Orlando, LLC; Hanna Holdings, Inc.

Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC; At World Properties, LLC; The Real Brokerage, Inc.; Real Broker, LLC; Realty ONE Group, Inc.

Defendant

NextHome, Inc.; EXIT RePage 8alty Corp. International; EXIT Realty Corp. USA; Windermere Real Estate Services Company, Inc.; William L Lyon & Associates, Inc.; William Raveis Real Estate, Inc.; John L. Scott Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; The Keyes Company; Illustrated Properties, LLC; Parks Pilkerton Village Real Estate; Crye-Leike, Inc.; Baird & Warner Real Estate, Inc.; Real Estate One, Inc.; The K Company Realty, LLC, doing business as LoKation; eXp Realty, LLC; Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; John L. Scott, Inc.; KNIE & SHEALY

Objector - Appellant

No. 24-3564

Don Gibson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Lauren Criss, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; John Meiners, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated; Daniel Umpa

Defendant Page 9Compass, Inc.

Defendant

Defendant

United Real Estate;

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company; HomeServices of America; BHH Affiliates, LLC; HSF Affiliates, LLC; The Long & Foster Companies, Inc.; Keller Williams Realty, Inc.

Premiere Plus Realty,Page 10 Co.; Charles Rutenberg Realty - Orlando, LLC; Hanna Holdings, Inc.

Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC; At World Properties, LLC; The Real Brokerage, Inc.; Real Broker, LLC; Realty ONE Group, Inc.; ;

NextHome, Inc.; EXIT Realty Corp. International; EXIT Realty Corp. USA; Windermere Real Estate Services Company, Inc.; William L Lyon & Associates, Inc.; William Raveis Real Estate, Inc.; John L. Scott Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; The Keyes Company; Illustrated Properties, LLC; Parks Pilkerton Village Real Estate; Crye-Leike, Inc.; Baird & Warner Real Estate, Inc.; Real Estate One, Inc.; The K Company Realty, LLC, doing business as LoKation; eXp Realty, LLC; Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.; John L. Scott, Inc.; KNIE & SHEALY

Objectors - Appellants

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City Page 11Submitted: January 14, 2026 Filed: September 1, 2026 [Published]

Before L.R. SMITH, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.

This opinion incorporates by reference the facts and legal analysis of Burnett v. National Association of Realtors , No. 24-3444, 2026 WL 2421806 (8th Cir. Aug. 19, 2026). Many of the parties and most of the issues in Burnett appear in this related appeal. In short, conspiratorial rules adopted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) led to inflated home costs and harmed home buyers and home sellers.¹ Avoiding the harms required either listing and selling one's home without the assistance of a broker or finding a broker not affiliated with a NAR multiple listing service (MLS).

The plaintiffs in Burnett challenged the NAR rule in a class action and won at trial. A major settlement followed where the district court 2 expanded the class nationwide and released claims from similar copycat lawsuits. We affirmed the district court’s approval of that settlement.

Page 12Other plaintiffs filed two new actions alleging the same claims nationwide against other real estate brokerage companies with other MLSs, asserting that they participated in the same conspiracy: Gibson v. National Association of Realtors , Case No. 4:23-cv-00788 (W.D. Mo.), and Umpa v. National Association of Realtors , Case No. 4:23-cv-00945 (W.D. Mo.). The district court consolidated these cases under the Gibson caption and appointed the Burnett plaintiffs’ counsel as Interim Lead Counsel on behalf of the Gibson class, making them 'responsible for any settlement negotiations with Defendants that would propose to resolve [these] claims on a class-wide or aggregate basis.” R. Doc. 521, at 10.

In addition to the major Burnett settlement, class counsel also settled the cases at issue here as part of the broader agreement. These settlements achieved an additional $110.6 million for the class, increasing the total collected sum to $1,017,687,754. In exchange, each defendant agreed to the same practice change relief discussed in our Burnett opinion.

As with the primary Burnett settlement, the class reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Only 46 class members opted out, and only 11 submitted objections. Of those initial 11 objectors, four objectors now appeal; most others failed for lack of standing. Each of the four objectors here also appear in the Burnett opinion and raise the same arguments on appeal.

Appellant Benny D. Cheatham is represented by two law firms that filed Burton v. National Association of Realtors , No. 7:23-cv-05666 (D.S.C.), six days after the Burnett verdict.

Appellant Monty March is represented by law firms that filed March v. Real Estate Board of New York, Inc. , No. 1:23-cv-09995 (S.D.N.Y.), two weeks after the Burnett verdict. Appellant Robert Friedman is represented by law firms that filed Friedman v. Real Estate Board of New York, Inc. , Case No. 1:24-cv-00405 (S.D.N.Y.), two months after the Burnett verdict. Both March and Friedman assert Page 13claims against the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and several defendants here.

Appellant James Mullis is represented by law firms who filed Batton v. National Association of Realtors , Case No. 21-cv-430 (N.D. Ill.), about two years after Burnett . Batton sought recovery for home buyers rather than home sellers, but the plaintiffs lacked standing under the Sherman Act. After the district court dismissed Batton , the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint seeking injunctive relief under federal law and raising several state law claims. The district court dismissed the federal law claim but proceeded with some state law claims. Batton remains in discovery.

All the objectors sought to set aside the global resolution of the settlements. March and Friedman argue that their New York classes are different from the larger class. Mullis argues that state law indirect purchaser claims are distinct from the other claims in the class. Objectors also argue that the damages are inadequate. Further, they argue that the settlement was plagued by collusion. Objectors additionally contend that the district court violated due process by requiring all objectors to appear in person and waiving objections from those who failed to appear, though the district court nonetheless considered each objection on the merits.

The district court approved the settlements, finding nationwide expansion of the class proper. It found that “[t]he slight differences that the New York Objectors contend exist between the relevant NAR and REBNY rules are not material or sufficient to create a distinct factual predicate.” R. Doc. 530, at 33. The district court also found that the state law indirect purchaser claims arose out of the same conspiracy and factual predicate and were therefore properly released. The district court made the same determination for the release of defendants’ agents, affiliates, and franchisees. This appeal followed.

Page 14The arguments raised here closely mirror those raised in Burnett . They differ with respect to the particular settlement approved by the district court. Adopting the legal analysis, facts, and discussion in Burnett , we similarly affirm the district court here.

A class action settlement must be “fair, reasonable, and adequate.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2). The district court may approve a settlement “only on finding” that it satisfies the enumerated factors laid out in Rule 23(e). Id. As in Burnett , the district court here “considered the Rule 23(e) factors alongside and within the Van Horn factors'-our circuit's traditional yardstick for evaluating a settlement-'despite only needing to consider the Rule 23(e) factors. This was not required, but neither was it erroneous.” 3 Burnett , 2026 WL 2421806, at *8.

The district court appropriately considered the fairness of the class action settlements here. First, the court considered whether “the Class Representatives and Class Counsel have adequately represented the class.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2)(A); see R. Doc. 530, at 9–20 (discussing class counsel’s qualifications and achievements Page 15in the litigation).⁴ Second, the court considered whether 'the proposal was negotiated at arm's length.' Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2)(B); see R. Doc. 530, at 10 (“[E]ach Settlement was conducted at arm’s length.”). Third, the court considered the adequacy of the relief. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2)(C). In analyzing the adequacy of relief, the district court considered the “costs, risks, and delay of trial and appeal.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2)(C)(i); see R. Doc. 530, at 11 (“The Settlements reflect a compromise based on the parties’ educated assessments of their best-case and worstcase scenarios, and the likelihood of various potential outcomes. . . . Against these risks, the Settlements provide [ample benefits].”). It also analyzed “the effectiveness of any proposed method of distributing relief to the class.' Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2)(C)(ii); see R. Doc. 530, at 12 ('[T]he Settlements effectively distribute relief to the class, including via the proposed method for processing class member claims. The Court-appointed notice and claims administrator . . . will work with Class Counsel in processing Class member claims and distributing relief.”). It further looked at “the terms of any proposed award of attorney’s fees, including timing of payment.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2)(C)(iii); see R. Doc. 530, at 52–58 (discussing attorneys’ fees and concluding that “Co-Lead counsel are, in accordance with the Settlement Agreements, authorized to withdraw up to the amounts allowed by the Settlement Agreements out of the Escrow Accounts.”). Finally, with respect to the adequacy of relief, the district court looked at the 'agreement[s] required to be identified under Rule 23(e)(3).' Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(C)(iv); see R. Doc. 530 (discussing the settlement generally). And the district court properly followed the final requirement of the Rule. Namely, whether “the proposal treats class members equitably relative to each other.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(D); see R. Doc. 530, at 12Page 16 (discussing the equities of the settlements and noting that '[t]he practice change relief applies the same to all Class members nationwide”); see also Keil v. Lopez , 862 F.3d 685, 697 (8th Cir. 2017) (finding that 'the settlement[s] provide[d] substantial and immediate benefits to the class”).

As for Appellants' argument that 'a settlement cannot extinguish viable, unpleaded claims that lack an identical factual predicate with the pleaded claims,” Mullis’s Br. 28, we again refer to our decision in Burnett . There, we acknowledged that district courts must apply the identical factual predicate test, Burnett , 2026 WL 2421806, at *8; see also Hesse v. Sprint Corp. , 598 F.3d 581, 590 (9th Cir. 2010). However,

under the identical-factual-predicate doctrine, a settlement agreement may release claims that share a common nucleus of operative fact with the claims in the underlying litigation. In practice, the doctrine mirrors res judicata: a release may lawfully bar later actions arising from the same cause as the settled litigation. Res judicata applies not only to the precise legal theory presented in the previous litigation but to all legal theories and claims arising out of a common nucleus of fact.

Burnett , 2026 WL 2421806, at *8 (quoting In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litig. MDL 2406 , 85 F.4th 1070, 1090 (11th Cir. 2023)) (citation modified)); see also Thompson v. Edward D. Jones & Co. , 992 F.2d 187, 191 n.6 (8th Cir. 1993) (stating that released claims need to “rest on the same or similar facts as the class action claims”). We thus reject Mullis’s argument—raised in Burnett as well—that 'homebuying claims do not share identical factual predicates with home-selling claims because buying one home and selling a different home are two distinct transactions.” Mullis’s Br. 30. The claims nevertheless arise from the same nucleus: the conspiratorial MLS rules that drove up the prices for all home transactions . See Burnett , 2026 WL 2421806, at *8; see also R. Doc. 292-1, at 2 (“The terms ‘multiple listing service’ and 'MLS' encompass multiple listing services nationwide, regardless of whether they are affiliated with NAR or not, including, for Page 17example . . . REBNY/RLS.').⁵ This is not a 'superficial similarity between . . . two class actions,” as these claims all share the same factual predicate. Hesse , 598 F.3d at 591. As we noted in Burnett , the objectors themselves “filed complaints expressly linking their claims to the rules challenged in Gibson , including those adopted by NAR.” R. Doc. 530, at 32.⁶

Thus, we also reject Mullis' argument-also raised in Burnett -that the settlements do not reach his claims. The settlement agreements employ “very broad” language, In re Gen. Am. Life Ins. Co. Sales Practices Litig. , 357 F.3d 800, 803 (8th Cir. 2004), that “clearly encompasses the claims in question,” Burnett , 2026 WL 2421806, at *9 (citation modified). We find the same for Frieman’s argument, also raised in Burnett , that the district court erred by holding 'that 'claims involving properties listed on non-NAR’ listing services including REBNY/RLS ‘all share the same factual predicate as those involving properties listed on NAR-affiliated MLS[s].'' Friedman's Br. 17 (quoting R. Doc. 530, at 33-34); see also March’s Br. 14 (arguing that “the nationwide class action settlements improperly released claims from the Manhattan REBNY litigation which do not arise out of the same factual predicate as the NAR litigations”).

Page 18Appellants argue here, as they did in Burnett , that the district court’s in-person requirement was a violation of due process. We disagree.

Due process is satisfied where class members received notice of the settlement proposal and were able to argue their objections to the district court. Due process does not entitle objectors to dictate the means by which the court considers the fairness of the proposed settlement.

Burnett , 2026 WL 2421806, at *14 (citation modified). Once parties 'insert [themselves] into the dispute” by filing an objection, they must “play by the rules that the district court set[s].' In re T-Mobile Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig. , 111 F.4th 849, 858 (8th Cir. 2024). Moreover, the district court considered each objection on the merits. The district court did not err in requiring objectors to appear in person.

For all these reasons, and those expressed in Burnett , we affirm.