The company denied wrongdoing and said it had agreed to settle with plaintiffs in an attempt to move on and continue growing the business.
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The settlements are still coming in.
Fathom Realty will pay $2.95 million and agree to the changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors settlement agreement in a bid to settle its own legal woes, the company announced this week.
Fathom, a subsidiary of the public company Fathom Holdings, was among the dozens of brokerages and franchises that exceeded $2 billion in sales volume in 2022 and therefore was required to reach its own agreement with homeseller plaintiffs targeting the real estate industry with class-action lawsuits.
“Fathom Realty was founded on the principle of delivering unparalleled support to our agents,” CEO Marco Fregenal said in a statement. “We believe that this settlement represents the most prudent way forward, enabling our agents to focus on their clients without the distraction of prolonged litigation.”
Fathom Holdings, a publicly traded company, said it wasn’t required to disclose the terms of its settlement, but that it chose to do so in the name of transparency.
The company will pay $500,000 within five days of the settlement being approved.
Another $500,000 will be deposited by Oct. 1, 2025, and $1.95 million by Oct. 1, 2026.
“The company believes that it has, and will generate, adequate funds to make these payments without compromising its business,” the company said.
The company said it wasn’t admitting liability or guilt related to the claims made against it and dozens of other real estate companies in the sprawling list of class-action lawsuits that targeted the way real estate agents get paid.
“We continue to assert that Fathom never participated in any conspiracy to inflate commissions and continue to believe that due to our flat-fee model, there was no incentive to join any such conspiracy,” Fregenal said.
Rather, he said, the decision to settle would help the company move on.
“Entering into a settlement now has the benefits of avoiding ongoing legal fees and removing the demand on the executive team’s time, allowing us to focus on growing our business and ensuring our agents continue to have the opportunity to excel in their service to clients,” Fregenal said.