A federal antitrust settlement resolving claims over how real-estate commissions were structured is now accepting claims from the home buyers it covers, with a filing deadline set for next month. Home buyers who purchased a property listed on a multiple listing service and paid a commission as part of that purchase can seek a share of the $120 million fund before the October 27 deadline.
Who the $120 Million Fund Actually Covers
The settlement resolves Tuccori, et al. v. At World Properties LLC, et al., a case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that accused a group of brokerages, franchisors and industry defendants of inflating buyer-broker commissions. According to the settlement administrator’s site, the fund totals $120,334,500 and covers people who purchased a home listed on a multiple listing service anywhere in the United States and had a commission paid to a brokerage as part of that transaction, during class periods that vary by state and defendant.
Eligibility does not depend on which brokerage represented the buyer during the purchase. What matters is that the property was listed on an MLS and that a commission was paid to any brokerage as part of the sale, a broader standard than requiring the buyer to have worked with one of the specific companies that settled.
Filing a claim is free and does not require an attorney. The administrator’s process asks claimants to identify the property they purchased, generally through a recorded deed, rather than submit any payment information.
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How a $120 Million Fund Came Together
The total fund built up from separate agreements with 26 different real estate companies and organizations named as defendants, rather than a single payment from one company. The National Association of Realtors alone agreed to contribute $52.25 million toward the fund, with the remaining defendants, a mix of national and regional brokerages, adding the rest as the litigation proceeded. A federal judge granted preliminary approval to the settlement structure earlier this year, clearing the way for the claims process that opened to the public in August.
What the Lawsuit Alleged
The underlying case argued that industry rules requiring a home seller to offer a set commission to a buyer’s agent through the multiple listing service effectively fixed what buyers paid for representation, even though buyers rarely negotiated that commission directly with their own agent. The Tuccori case followed an earlier wave of similar lawsuits, including the Sitzer/Burnett litigation that produced its own nationwide settlement covering home sellers, but built its claims specifically around the buyer’s side of the transaction and around At World Properties and the other companies that settled in this fund.
Why Sellers Are Routed to Different Settlements
Home sellers who paid a commission are not part of this fund. The administrator’s own frequently asked questions page states that the settlement class is limited to buyers, and that anyone already covered by one of the earlier home-seller commission settlements, including the Burnett, Gibson, Keel or Hooper cases, is excluded from claiming here against the same defendant.
The distinction traces back to how the underlying antitrust claims were split. Sellers who paid a listing commission brought their own set of cases against the National Association of Realtors and major brokerages years earlier, and those settlements already established separate compensation funds. The Tuccori case behind this $120 million fund was built specifically around the buyer’s side of the transaction, so its claims process, deadlines and eligibility rules run independently of the seller settlements.
The commission-structure rules at the center of the broader litigation changed nationally in 2024, when Realtor associations altered Multiple Listing Service policies to stop requiring a seller to state a buyer-agent commission offer up front. The Tuccori settlement compensates buyers for commissions paid under the earlier system, before those MLS policy changes took effect, rather than addressing commissions paid under the rules now in place.
How to File Before the October 27 Deadline
Claims are due October 27, 2026, according to the National Association of Realtors’ own summary of the settlement agreement, which the trade group entered as one of the settling defendants. Eligible buyers submit a claim form through the administrator’s website, and the process is designed to work even without old closing paperwork on hand, since the recorded deed for the purchased property serves as the primary proof of eligibility.
Because the claims process relies on the recorded property deed rather than an original closing statement or commission invoice, buyers who purchased a home years ago and no longer have that paperwork on hand are not automatically excluded from filing.
Payments are expected to go out after the claims period closes and the court finalizes the settlement, with the amount each eligible buyer receives depending on how many valid claims are filed against the $120 million total. The administrator has not published an estimated payment date, since the final per-claim amount cannot be set until the deadline passes and the total number of valid claims is known.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
