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Tennessee judge has denied Crye-Leike's attempt to be covered under the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement, leaving the brokerage exposed in a lawsuit. The firm had argued that it should be treated as six independent companies, each with less than $2 billion in annual transaction volume, rather than one large entity. However, the judge ruled that Crye-Leike is not eligible for protection under the NAR settlement.

    Crye-Leike's argument was based on its claim of being a collection of smaller firms, but the plaintiffs pointed out that the brokerage filed this notice and motion months after the NAR settlement and after failing to get the case dismissed. The judge agreed with the plaintiffs, concluding that Crye-Leike is not a release party under the terms of the NAR settlement agreement.

    The decision leaves Crye-Leike among the few brokerages named in the Gibson lawsuit that have not yet settled. Two other defendants, eXp and Weichert, are waiting to hear from a different judge on their settlements in the Hooper case in Georgia. The attorneys for the Gibson plaintiffs had argued that the settlements were too low, while the Hooper attorneys accused them of trying to "line their own pockets."