CREA Issues Statement Following RE/MAX Class Action Settlement
On October 8, 2025, the Federal Court approved the settlement agreement between RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc. (“RE/MAX Canada”) and the plaintiffs in the Sunderland and McFall litigations. These actions allege that certain rules, requiring that a listing REALTOR® make an offer of compensation to the co-operating broker (i.e., the buyer agent) on an MLS® listing, amount to an anti-competitive criminal conspiracy to fix prices contrary to section 45 of the Competition Act, even though that offer can be any amount except zero.
The settlement was a business decision by RE/MAX Canada, which continues to deny the allegations set out in these lawsuits. The decision to settle by RE/MAX Canada does not affect the legal arguments in these cases. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) continues to believe these lawsuits are without merit.
As part of the settlement, RE/MAX Canada has agreed to several conditions including that RE/MAX Canada will not require its affiliates to be members of CREA or the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). However, RE/MAX Canada supports the free choice of their affiliates and agents to decide whether to continue to be members.
To be clear, this settlement does not affect the MLS® rule that requires a listing REALTOR® to offer cooperating compensation which can be any amount except zero in an MLS® listing, which remains in effect. This means that this rule continues to apply to all REALTORS®, including RE/MAX members who continue to remain as valued members of our REALTOR® community, whose listings appear on an MLS® System.
CREA stands firmly behind its more than 160,000 members and will continue to defend these actions alongside our co-defendants, who include boards and associations, franchisors, and brokerages.
The Sunderland and McFall litigations are currently before the courts. As a reminder, CREA and all boards and associations have a common interest in avoiding public discussion of these matters or any statements which might prejudice the outcome of these cases.