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federal judge dismissed Howard Hanna from a class-action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to inflate commission fees for home sellers. The ruling came as part of a broader trend of courts siding with the family-owned brokerage in similar cases. Judge William Stickman IV cited a lack of evidence supporting the plaintiffs' claims, noting that West Penn MLS's rules did not require home sellers to pay buyer-broker commissions.

    The judge pointed out that the "buyer broker rule" only requires listing disclosures about potential compensation for buyer brokers. In this case, West Penn MLS allowed listing agents to enter zero in the compensation field, distinguishing it from cases naming the National Association of Realtors as a defendant. The plaintiffs failed to establish an agreement related to allegations of steering, and the varying commission fee percentages paid by the three home seller representatives undermined their claim of a conspiracy.

    As part of a settlement, West Penn MLS agreed to pay $895,000 in damages to avoid further litigation. Howard Hanna has been dismissed from other cases, including the Gibson lawsuit and one of the Batton cases, but remains a defendant in the Umpa case, which was merged with Gibson.