On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Housingwire reported that Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has requested the recusal of Missouri Federal Judge Stephen Bough from overseeing the Gibson commission lawsuit, citing a potential conflict of interest. The brokerage’s motion, filed in court on Monday, highlights a donation made by plaintiffs’ attorney Matthew Dameron to the campaign of Judge Bough’s wife, Andrea Bough, raising concerns about impartiality.
In 2019, Dameron and his spouse contributed to the Committee to Elect Andrea Bough, which supported her campaign for a position on the Kansas City, Missouri, city council. Howard Hanna argues that this financial connection necessitates Judge Bough’s withdrawal from the case, particularly given his prior recusal in a separate lawsuit involving a gun manufacturer due to similar concerns over campaign contributions.
Judge Bough previously offered to step down from the Sitzer/Burnett lawsuit, a significant case that resulted in a jury ruling against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for inflating commission rates. Despite his initial willingness to recuse himself in that instance, he ultimately remained on the case. In contrast, he has not extended the same offer regarding the Gibson suit.
Dameron also played a role as one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Sitzer/Burnett case, which has drawn considerable scrutiny within the real estate community. Judge Bough’s rulings in that case have been contentious; notably, he classified the lawsuit as “per se” rather than applying the “rule of reason” standard. This distinction is significant in antitrust lawsuits, as a “per se” classification presumes certain practices are illegal without needing extensive proof of their negative impacts.
Adding to the complexity, Howard Hanna’s filing points out that Michael Ketchmark, the lead attorney in the Sitzer/Burnett case, made a substantial donation of $103,189 to the Taxpayers Unlimited PAC in 2021. This PAC subsequently contributed over $8,000 directly to Andrea Bough’s campaign, further complicating the perceived impartiality of Judge Bough in the current proceedings.
The ongoing commission lawsuits have sparked significant unrest among residential real estate professionals, particularly following NAR’s recent $418 million settlement in the Sitzer/Burnett case. The settlement mandates substantial changes, including the removal of blanket offers of compensation to buyer agents on multiple listing services (MLSs). This verdict has led to a wave of similar lawsuits across the nation, including the Gibson case, which was initiated on the same day as the Sitzer/Burnett verdict. While many of these suits have been resolved, cases involving homebuyer plaintiffs remain in progress.
Source: Housingwire
