Attorney General Ellison wins relief for Minnesotans deceived by MV Realty
So-called “Homeowner Benefit Agreements” with hidden oppressive terms declared null and void
Company permanently banned from doing business in Minnesota
March 25, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Attorney General Keith Ellison reached a settlement to resolve a lawsuit he filed against MV Realty in September 2024 that declares null and void so-called “Homeowner Benefit Agreements” (“HBAs”) with hidden oppressive terms that Minnesota homeowners were deceived into signing with MV Realty. A consent judgment filed in Ramsey County requires MV Realty to rescind, or cancel, any HBA still in effect. The order also requires that MV Realty contact each Minnesota county recorder with whom it attempted to enforce an HBA by recording documents on property titles and provide each recorder with an order declaring MV Realty’s HBAs null and void.
The order also permanently bans MV Realty from doing business in Minnesota. It further requires that the company’s main officers — Anthony Mitchell, David Manchester, and Amanda Zachman — refrain from engaging in residential real estate brokerage work in the state for five years. Ms. Zachman is additionally required to pay $10,000 to resolve the Attorney General’s allegations that she practiced real estate in Minnesota without a license.
Finally, the consent judgment requires MV Realty to return certain penalties it collected from individuals who may have unknowingly violated the HBAs. Individuals eligible for restitution include heirs of estates from which MV Realty collected an “Early Termination Fee” for selling a home which, due to the actions of a deceased family member, was subject to an HBA.
In September 2024, Attorney General Ellison sued Florida-based MV Realty PBC, LLC, its Minnesota arm MV Realty of Minnesota, LLC, and their shared officer Amanda Zachman, alleging they violated Minnesota consumer protection laws by selling contracts with oppressive terms to Minnesota homeowners, deceptively obscuring and concealing those unfair terms in their verbal sales pitch to such homeowners, HBAs. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison accused MV Realty of selling HBAs to Minnesotans as a way for a homeowner to receive, up-front fast and easy cash from MV Realty, with the homeowner’s only obligation being to use MV Realty as their realtor in the future, if the homeowner were ever to sell their home. If the homeowner agreed, a third-party notary with no information about the contract was sent to the home, where the homeowner was presented with a multi-page contract with small font and confusing legal jargon for the first time and told to sign.
This business model was designed to hide terms from Minnesotans who would have found the contracts objectionable because, among other reasons:
- HBAs last for 40 years;
- HBAs bind the homeowner’s heirs and inheritors, including their children, as if though those inheritors signed the contract themselves;
- HBAs contain unlawful and unenforceable liquidated damages clauses, dubbed “Early Termination Fees,” which penalize a homeowner or their heirs in the amount of 3% of their home’s value if they violate the contract by hiring another realtor;
- HBAs provide MV Realty with six months to successfully sell the house, and, if they fail, the homeowner has only 60 days to locate and hire a realtor, re-list the house, and sell it in a bona fide, arms’-length transaction for a price equal to or higher than what it was listed at with MV Realty; if the homeowner sells it on the 61st day, or for $1 less than the list price of the home under MV Realty, the homeowner is subject to the Early Termination Fee
MV Realty attempted to enforce these contracts through documents called “Memoranda” that MV Realty recorded on every homeowner’s property title record with their local county recorder.
“Minnesotans deserve to know what they’re signing up for, not just in some fine print buried a sub-contract away, but up-front and obvious,” Attorney General Ellison said. “We talked to hundreds of people across the state, and they all told us the same thing: If I’d have understood what I was signing, I never would have done it. I’m pleased we’ve gotten people and their families out of these deceptive, oppressive contracts and that we’ve banned this company from ever doing business in Minnesota again.”
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office worked closely with local and national partners in this matter, including attorneys general nationwide and Minnesota’s county recorders via the Minnesota County Recorders Association.
Minnesotans who believe they are eligible for restitution under the consent judgment or have questions about how terminations may be recorded may file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office via its online complaint form. The office can also be contacted by phone at (651) 296-3353 (Metro area) or (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota).
