Warren Buffett's real-estate firm will spend $250M to get out of legal hot water

Charlie Rose

A real-estate brokerage owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a lawsuit over its commission fees, according to plaintiffs in the case.

Home sellers had sued HomeServices of America, alleging it conspired to force sellers to pay inflated agent commissions.

“This is another significant settlement for American home sellers who have been saddled with paying billions in unnecessary commission costs,” said plaintiff attorney Benjamin D. Brown, managing partner of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and co-chair of its Antitrust practice. “This brings us a step closer to resolving this long-running case involving the industry-wide brokers’ commission scheme.”

In a statement to Business Insider, HomeServices Executive Vice President Chris Kelly said the brokerage settled the case to “eliminate the uncertainty brought by the protracted appellate and litigation process.”

“As we move beyond this settlement, our focus remains steadfast on ethical operations, industry integrity, and delivering value,” Kelly said. “Our long-standing principle of helping agents build careers that positively impact the communities and consumers they serve continues.”

The group of home sellers, in this case, had also sued other brokerages and have scored millions in settlements already.

Among the payouts is a whopping $418 million from the National Association of Realtors that has shaken up the real-estate industry.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider on Microsoft Start.