Former Keller Williams CEO John Davis has slammed Gary Keller, alleging the Keller Williams co-founder runs the company “similar to a criminal enterprise.”

Davis’s announcement comes as a federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, is deliberating whether to have his legal claims against Keller, Keller Williams, and former KW President Josh Team handled under arbitration.

Paul Omodt, a spokesperson for Davis, issued this statement: “Our most recent motion before the court seeks a public forum and argues against Keller Williams’ use of arbitration to shield its misdeeds publicly. Mr Davis and his team believe in the strength of their case and believe Gary Keller and his scheme have similarly harmed others.”

Davis filed a lawsuit last year in what he said is an effort to restore his reputation after sexual misconduct allegations against him surfaced in early 2022. His aim is to recover $300m in damages.

The complaint, issued on 27 October 2022, also names Inga Dow, the CEO of several Keller Williams offices who lodged the allegations against Davis, as a defendant. Just over a month ago, the court refused Keller’s request to merge suits filed by Davis and Dow, ruling that they will continue as two separate cases.

Davies alleges in his suit that he resigned from Keller Williams due to a disagreement with Keller over a business strategy that he hoped would be implemented by the business. He claims that the Keller Williams hierarchy responded by smearing him and withholding Dow’s accusations from him when he was negotiating the sale of his KW market center regions following his resignation, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in financial losses.

Keller Williams says John Davis’s claims are ‘unsubstantiated, unwarranted, and disparaging’.