Rocket Companies and its subsidiaries are facing a nationwide class action lawsuit filed Monday that accuses the mortgage giant of forcing real estate agents — including those at its subsidiary Redfin — to steer homebuyers toward Rocket Mortgage loans in violation of federal law.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by consumer-rights law firm Hagens Berman, alleges that Rocket operates a “pay-to-play” referral scheme that violates federal regulations.
According to the allegations, Rocket Homes and Redfin agents are coerced to “preserve and protect” the lender’s business by funneling clients to Rocket Mortgage and its title company, Amrock (now called Rocket Close), regardless of whether better rates are available elsewhere.
Plaintiffs claim this quid pro quo arrangement violates the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which prohibits kickbacks and unearned fees in real estate settlement services.
Rocket denies any wrongdoing. In a statement shared with Scotsman Guide, a Rocket Companies spokesperson said, “We categorically disagree and will dispute the allegations that Rocket, Redfin or any of the named defendants are doing anything illegal,” adding that “we are confident that we will be vindicated once facts are presented.”
The suit seeks treble damages for a proposed class of consumers who purchased a home financed by Rocket Mortgage or Quicken Loans from Jan. 1, 2019, to the present.
At the center of the lawsuit is an agreement Rocket Homes required its partner agents to sign, known as the “Preserve and Protect” agreement. The complaint cites a 2019 version of Rocket’s terms and conditions stating that agents must “preserve and protect the relationship between the client” and Quicken Loans, the former company name of Rocket Mortgage.
The lawsuit alleges that Rocket Homes warned agents that “purposefully steering a client from Quicken Loans to another mortgage lender is prohibited and could result in termination” of the agent’s relationship with Rocket.
In exchange for complying with this alleged steering, agents allegedly received a steady stream of referrals — leads that are crucial for their income.
The complaint specifically targets Rocket’s July 2025 acquisition of Redfin, a deal valued at $1.75 billion. The lawsuit contends Rocket acquired the brokerage to internalize its steering practices after coming under regulatory scrutiny.
The plaintiffs allege that Rocket provided Redfin agents with an increased number of leads if they refer clients to Rocket Mortgage, a practice they say did not qualify for RESPA’s safe harbor protections for an “affiliated business.”
Redfin declined to comment, instead referring Scotsman Guide to Rocket’s statements denying any wrongdoing.
The class action suit relies heavily on findings from a four-year investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In December 2024, the CFPB filed an enforcement action against Rocket, alleging similar steering violations.
However, that complaint was dismissed in February 2025 by the Trump administration, a move the plaintiffs characterize as an attempt to “gut” the agency rather than a dismissal on the case’s merits.
The CFPB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The three named plaintiffs are from Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. They allege they were pressured by their agents to use Rocket Mortgage and were not presented with other options. The defendants named in the suit are Rocket Companies Inc., Rocket Mortgage LLC, Amrock Holdings LLC and Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC.
