Judge Denies Batton Bid to Block NAR's $52M Tuccori Deal — What Happens Next

By Frances Flynn Thorsen

The homebuyer plaintiffs in the Batton v. NAR commission lawsuit have had enough. On April 28, they asked a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the National Association of Realtors from finalizing its $52.25 million settlement in the Tuccori case — a deal the Batton lawyers say was engineered to extinguish their clients' claims on the cheap.

The motion is the second time the Batton plaintiffs have used this argument. In February, they filed a nearly identical challenge after Anywhere Real Estate — a defendant in Batton — chose to settle in Tuccori rather than face the Batton plaintiffs directly. That motion was denied, and the Anywhere settlement received preliminary approval. The Batton plaintiffs appealed, and that appeal is still pending at the circuit level.

Now, with NAR following Anywhere's lead, the Batton lawyers are back. "As predicted, the National Association of Realtors has now announced that it too opted-in to Tuccori, following Anywhere Real Estate, Inc.'s lead," the April 28 filing states. "As with Anywhere, the losers of this deal are the injured homebuyer class members whose claims have been sold out from under their feet for a fraction of their true value."

The Math Behind the Complaint

The Batton plaintiffs' core argument is a comparative one. NAR's $52.25 million Tuccori settlement represents roughly 12 percent of the $418 million the association agreed to pay in the Sitzer/Burnett homeseller case. The plaintiffs argue this ratio is far below what homebuyers in other "indirect purchaser" cases have received relative to the "direct purchaser" settlements in the same litigation.

Their own case offers a telling contrast. The $20 million "icebreaker" Keller Williams settlement in Batton amounted to 28.5 percent of the $70 million Keller Williams paid in Sitzer/Burnett — more than double the ratio NAR is offering through Tuccori.

"As a result of NAR's settlement, Plaintiffs and the homebuyer class will suffer the inadequacies of the NAR settlement and Tuccori counsel's representation, as well as pressure to engage in an ongoing race-to-the-bottom with Tuccori counsel," the filing states.

The term "reverse auction" refers to a legal phenomenon in which defendants, facing multiple class action lawsuits making similar claims, shop for the plaintiff's attorney willing to settle for the lowest amount. The concern is that defendants can effectively pit competing plaintiff lawyers against each other, driving down the settlement value for the class members who are supposed to benefit. See our Legal Glossary for a full explanation of this term.

The Batton Case Is Already on Pause

The Batton plaintiffs are fighting this battle with one hand tied behind their backs. On April 16 — just twelve days before they filed the injunction motion — an Illinois judge granted NAR's request to stay the Batton proceedings entirely. The stay is contingent on the outcome of the Tuccori settlement approval process. If Tuccori is approved, NAR argues, the Batton case against it is effectively over.

The judge also rejected the Batton plaintiffs' attempt to have the Tuccori plaintiffs' lawyers designated as interim co-lead counsel in Batton — a move that would have given the Batton team more leverage over how the settlement class is managed. All parties are required to provide a joint status update to the court on June 2, 2026.

You can track the full procedural history of the Batton 2 case — including all key filings, the April 16 stay order, and upcoming deadlines — in our Lawsuits Database.

More Brokerages Joining Tuccori

NAR is not alone in choosing the Tuccori exit ramp. On April 27, Compass and United Real Estate filed a joint memo informing the Batton 2 judge that they, too, had entered into Tuccori opt-in settlements. Both firms are defendants in Batton 2 but not in Tuccori, and both have argued that approval of their Tuccori deals — combined with their earlier Gibson settlements (Compass paid $57.5 million; United paid $3.75 million, both receiving final approval in October 2024) — would release them from all commission-related claims.

The growing list of Tuccori opt-ins now includes NAR, Anywhere, Douglas Elliman, Compass, United Real Estate, The Real Brokerage, Hanna Holdings, Realty One, The Agency, and several smaller firms.

Weichert Real Estate is taking a different approach. Rather than joining Tuccori, Weichert is negotiating directly with the Batton 2 plaintiffs. The parties filed a joint motion on April 20 requesting a 60-day stay for Weichert only, while a mediator works toward a mutually agreeable settlement. The parties agreed to update the court on the status of those negotiations by May 27, 2026. This is the only active Mediation in Progress case currently tracked in our Lawsuits Database.

What This Means for Homebuyers

The Batton case was filed on behalf of homebuyers — people who paid buyer-agent commissions that the plaintiffs allege were inflated by the same conspiracy that generated the $1.8 billion Sitzer/Burnett verdict. If the Tuccori settlement is approved and the Batton case is effectively resolved through it, homebuyers who were hoping for a more substantial recovery may find themselves bound by a settlement they had no role in negotiating.

If you bought a home between 2015 and 2024 using a buyer's agent, you may have a stake in this litigation. Use our Settlement Eligibility Calculator to estimate whether you qualify for compensation under any of the active settlement funds.

Update: Judge Denies Emergency Injunction (April 29, 2026)

One day after the Batton plaintiffs filed their emergency motion, Judge LaShonda A. Hunt issued a ruling — in a single sentence.

On April 29, 2026, Judge Hunt denied the motion "for the same reasons" she cited when she blocked the Anywhere injunction in March. No elaboration. No oral argument. No hearing. The same terse formula she has used each time the Batton plaintiffs have tried to intervene in the Tuccori settlement process.

The ruling was not a surprise to legal observers. Judge Hunt has now denied four separate attempts by the Batton plaintiffs to stop or slow the Tuccori settlement approval process: the original intervention request (March 4), the Hanna opt-in injunction (April 6), the Anywhere injunction (March), and now the emergency motion targeting NAR's $52.25M deal (April 29).

On April 30, Judge Hunt also denied Compass and United Real Estate's motions to stay Batton proceedings pending Tuccori approval — consistent with her earlier denials for other opt-ins. That means Compass and United remain technically subject to Batton discovery obligations even as they await Tuccori approval.

The Seventh Circuit Appeal

The Batton plaintiffs are not giving up. They have a parallel appeal pending before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging earlier denials in the Tuccori settlement process. The April 29 denial is expected to be added to that appeal record.

An appellate win — even a partial one — could force the district court to reconsider the Tuccori approval timeline. But appellate courts rarely reverse district court discretion on preliminary injunctions in complex class action settlements, and the Batton plaintiffs face an uphill battle.

The May 18 Deadline

The next critical date in the Tuccori timeline is May 18, 2026. Under the opt-in settlement procedure, the Tuccori plaintiffs must file a motion for approval of all opt-in settlors by that date. With 12 defendants now opted in — including NAR, Anywhere, Howard Hanna, HomeServices of America, Compass, United Real Estate, and others — the May 18 filing will be a major document that sets the stage for the preliminary approval hearing expected this summer.

Track the full Tuccori timeline and all 12 opt-in defendants in our Tuccori Settlement Guide.

What This Means for Homebuyers

The Batton case was filed on behalf of homebuyers — people who paid buyer-agent commissions that the plaintiffs allege were inflated by the same conspiracy that generated the $1.8 billion Sitzer/Burnett verdict. With the injunction denied and 12 defendants now opted into Tuccori, the path to a comprehensive homebuyer recovery through Batton has narrowed — at least for now.

If you bought a home between 2015 and 2024 using a buyer's agent, you may have a stake in this litigation. Use our Settlement Eligibility Calculator to estimate whether you qualify for compensation under any of the active settlement funds. The Tuccori claims deadline is September 15, 2026.

PropertyPleadings.com will continue tracking developments in Batton v. NAR and the Tuccori settlement approval process. Check back for updates as the May 18 approval motion deadline and June 2 joint status report deadline approach. Subscribe to our weekly digest for automatic updates.

Sources: Real Estate News: Judge denies request to halt NAR settlement in Tuccori, April 30, 2026 | Real Estate News: Batton plaintiffs move to block NAR deal in commissions case, April 29, 2026 | Real Estate News: Compass, United the latest to settle in Tuccori, April 28, 2026 | NAR REALTOR News, April 23, 2026