Re/Max settles lawsuit against competitor eXp Realty

Real estate franchisor Re / Max was founded in 1973 in Denver. (BusinessDen file)

Re / Max has settled a lawsuit filed in May against competitor eXp Realty.

The Denver-based company had accused Washington-based eXp of “tortious interference in existing contracts” and said eXp had “induced” several Re / Max franchisees to “give up” their franchise before the agreed term and contacted numerous others about doing the same.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed in Denver District Court and later moved to Denver Federal Court, was settled earlier this month.

A spokeswoman for Re / Max said in a statement that the agreement “includes a repetition of the eXp guidelines that prohibit unauthorized interference”.

“Under the terms of the agreement, we cannot comment further,” said Re / Max.

In a separate statement, eXp CEO Jason Gesing underscored the fact that the agreement “does not include a currency exchange or an injunction”.

“We remain confident in the eXp Realty business model, which continues to gain market share worldwide,” said Gesing.

The decisive factor for the dispute was the Re / Max franchise model. The company, which claims to have over 135,000 agents, found in its lawsuit that its offices are independently owned and operated.

eXp calls itself the “fastest growing cloud-based brokerage in the world” and claims to have 50,000 agents all over the world. There is no such thing as a franchise model.

Re / Max was represented by lawyers Thomas Austin Olsen, Kathryn A. Reilly and Melissa Lawson Romero by Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell. Defendant was represented by Janette L. Ferguson, Jeffrey M. Lippa and Jessica P. Marsh of Williams Weese Pepple & Ferguson.

Re / Max also recently decided to downsize its headquarters in the Denver Tech Center as the company introduces flexible work arrangements for its employees.