Judge Rules Berkshire Hathaway Energy Must Face Commission Lawsuit — $250M HomeServices Settlement Is Not a Shield

By Frances Flynn Thorsen

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate just learned that its subsidiary's $250 million settlement is not a get-out-of-jail-free card for the parent company.

On April 9, U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough in Kansas City, Missouri — the same judge who presided over the landmark Sitzer/Burnett trial — ruled that Berkshire Hathaway Energy must face a proposed antitrust class action alleging that it conspired to inflate real estate commissions paid by home sellers. The ruling came despite the fact that HomeServices of America, Berkshire Hathaway Energy's real estate brokerage subsidiary, already settled those same claims for $250 million in 2024.

The full case profile — including all court documents, the April 9 ruling, and upcoming trial milestones — is available in our Lawsuits Database.

The "Single Enterprise" Defense — and Why It Failed

Berkshire Hathaway Energy's legal strategy rested on a single argument: that it and HomeServices of America operated as a "single enterprise" for antitrust purposes. Under this theory, once HomeServices settled, the parent company should be shielded from additional liability — because the two entities were, in effect, one.

Judge Bough rejected that argument. He found that the HomeServices settlement itself undermined the defense. In a November 2024 filing, HomeServices had asked the court to evaluate the fairness of its $250 million settlement against HomeServices' own financial resources — not Berkshire Hathaway Energy's. That framing, Judge Bough concluded, reflected the parties' intent that the deeper-pocketed Berkshire entities were not being released from liability when HomeServices settled.

The distinction matters enormously. Berkshire Hathaway ended 2025 with $373.3 billion in cash and equivalents. HomeServices, while a large brokerage, is a fraction of that. If plaintiffs can reach Berkshire Hathaway Energy directly, the potential damages exposure is of a different order of magnitude.

For a plain-language explanation of the single enterprise doctrine and other antitrust defenses used in commission litigation, see our Legal Glossary.

What Comes Next

With the motion to dismiss denied, the case proceeds toward discovery and, potentially, trial. Michael Ketchmark — the plaintiff attorney who won the $1.8 billion Sitzer/Burnett jury verdict in October 2023 — said he looked forward to "a jury trial and showing Berkshire Hathaway Energy's role in propping up this conspiracy to pick the pockets of homeowners."

Berkshire Hathaway Energy and its lawyers did not respond to requests for comment following the ruling.

The case adds another significant chapter to the ongoing real estate commission litigation. While many defendants have settled — total settlements across all commission lawsuits now exceed $2 billion — the Berkshire Hathaway Energy ruling demonstrates that settlement by a subsidiary does not automatically extinguish claims against a corporate parent. For other large real estate holding companies watching this litigation, that is a consequential precedent.

You can compare the Berkshire Hathaway Energy case side-by-side with the HomeServices settlement and other major cases using our Case Comparison Tool.

Update: Where the Case Stands Now (May 2026)

As of May 2026, the Berkshire Hathaway Energy case is in the early post-ruling phase. Following the April 9 denial of the motion to dismiss, BHE must file a formal answer to the complaint — the standard next step after a motion to dismiss is denied. After that, the case will move into the discovery phase, where both sides exchange documents, take depositions, and build their evidentiary records for trial.

No settlement discussions between BHE and the plaintiffs have been publicly reported. Given BHE's position that it is not liable — and Ketchmark's stated eagerness for a jury trial — the case appears headed toward contested litigation rather than a quick settlement. That said, the commission litigation landscape has seen numerous last-minute settlements, and BHE's exposure (given Berkshire Hathaway's $373 billion cash position) creates strong incentive for both sides to eventually negotiate.

The next key milestone to watch: BHE's formal answer to the complaint, which will reveal which defenses the company intends to pursue and whether it asserts any counterclaims.

The Eighth Circuit Looms Over Everything

The broader litigation landscape remains unsettled. Oral arguments were held in January 2026 before the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on objectors' challenges to the Sitzer/Burnett NAR settlement. Some objectors — including both homebuyers and homesellers — have argued the settlement is inadequate and asked the appeals court to void it. A ruling from the Eighth Circuit could reshape the entire settlement landscape, including the Tuccori opt-in deals that multiple brokerages are now relying on to exit the litigation.

Meanwhile, the Batton 2 homebuyer case — which targets many of the same defendants — continues on a parallel track. On April 29, 2026, Judge LaShonda Hunt denied the Batton plaintiffs' emergency motion to block NAR's $52.25M Tuccori settlement — the same one-sentence denial she used against the Anywhere injunction in March. The Batton plaintiffs have appealed to the Seventh Circuit. If Tuccori is ultimately approved, the stay could effectively end the Batton case for many defendants. The Tuccori plaintiffs must file their approval motion by May 18, 2026, setting the stage for a preliminary approval hearing expected in summer 2026.

Until that ruling comes down, the commission lawsuit saga continues to generate new filings, new rulings, and new questions about who ultimately pays — and how much.

If you sold a home between 2015 and 2024, you may be eligible for compensation from one or more of these settlements. Use our Settlement Eligibility Calculator to find out.

PropertyPleadings.com is tracking all active commission lawsuits and settlement developments. Subscribe to our weekly digest for automatic updates every Monday.

Image Credit: Nano Banana

Sources: Reuters, April 9, 2026 | Seeking Alpha, April 9, 2026