If this verdict doesn’t get overturned then there is no American justice.
Sellers are not forced to pay buyer agents. That provision in listing agreements is negotiable. If a seller doesn’t want to advertise that he will pay prospective buyers’ agents then he doesn’t have to. That makes the buyer’s cash outlay at closing much higher compared to sellers who advertise that they will pay buyers’ agents. Conversely, when sellers pay buyer agents any increase in sale price generally gets rolled into mortgages.
So paying buyer agents is a big incentive to prospective buyers and their agents. What it is not, is forced. Sellers are not forced to pay buyer agents.
The point of the lawsuit was to prove collusion among Realtors. Collusion is illegal, as it should be.
Whether there was any collusion, I cannot say, but the jury thought so.