Rocket Companies on Monday became the latest firm to face a lawsuit over allegations that it forced real estate agents to steer clients to its mortgage offerings.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in eastern Michigan by three homebuyer plaintiffs from Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs said they used Rocket for their mortgages after being referred to the company by their real estate agents.
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The lawsuit’s complaint goes on to state that Rocket runs a referral network where it funnels leads to real estate agents in exchange for a fee at closing.
“In exchange for these leads, agents were required to steer clients to Rocket Mortgage, LLC (Rocket’s mortgage company) and away from other mortgage providers — all in violation of a real estate agent’s fiduciary duties to her clients,” the plaintiffs alleged in the complaint.
“Rocket also compelled agents and brokers to refer clients to Rocket Mortgage even when those clients had no prior connection to Rocket Mortgage.”
The lawsuit alleges that the conduct has continued after Rocket closed on its acquisition of Redfin, and that the mortgage company still partners with agents who don’t work for Redfin.
“Rocket charges these third-party agents a higher referral fee if these agents do not steer their clients to Rocket Mortgage,” according to the complaint. “All of this conduct is textbook steering.”
In response to the lawsuit, a Rocket spokesperson disputed the allegations.
“We categorically disagree and will dispute the allegations that Rocket, Redfin or any of the named defendants are doing anything illegal,” the spokesperson said. “The claims in this case are a complete retread of the case that the CFPB filed and was quickly dismissed. Rocket is proud to help homebuyers navigate complex real estate partnerships. We are confident that we will be vindicated once facts are presented”
The lawsuit was filed by Barbara Waller, Elizabeth Johnson and Randel Clark. The trio is represented by attorneys at Hagens Berman, which is the same law firm that filed the Moehrl commission lawsuit targeting the real estate industry at large.
Hagens Berman is also representing the plaintiffs who sued Zillow and various other brokerages in a lawsuit that also alleged Zillow inflated homebuying costs through its lead generation and mortgage referral practices.
Zillow is now ultimately facing several different lawsuits over alleged mortgage steering, the newest of which was filed last week.
In a statement on the new case against Rocket, Steve W. Berman — managing partner of Hagens Berman — said Monday, “Everyday families rely on the laws governing our nation’s real estate market for fairness and transparency, and we believe Rocket has failed to play by the rules.”
“We believe at least hundreds of thousands of consumers have been duped by Rocket’s tricks, and judging by its year-over-year revenue, its scheme has worked,” Berman added.
The suit’s proposed class includes anyone who financed a home purchase using a Rocket Mortgage or Quicken Loans between 2019 and today, according to the lawsuit.
The case follows a separate lawsuit, filed in December 2024 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, that accused Rocket Homes of using an illegal kickback scheme to get agents to steer their clients to the company.
That lawsuit, which was filed shortly after President Donald Trump won election to a second term in office, was dropped shortly after Trump’s administration took office.
Three months after that lawsuit was dropped, Rocket announced its plans to acquire Redfin, the real estate search portal and brokerage that has roughly 2,200 agents nationwide.
While Redfin isn’t a defendant in the new lawsuit, the complaint alleges that Rocket knowingly acquired the brokerage “to bring the steering practice in-house.”
