Manufactured home companies hit with lot rental price-fixing class action

Manufactured home class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Carla Hajek and Gregory Hammerlund filed a class action lawsuit against a group of manufactured home community owners and Datacomp, a provider of manufactured and mobile home data. 
• Why: Hajek and Hammerlund claim the manufactured home community owners conspired with a mobile home data valuator, Datacomp, to fix, maintain and/or stabilize lot rental prices for their residences. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court. 

A group of manufactured home community owners conspired alongside a mobile home data valuator to fix, raise, maintain and/or stabilize lot rental prices for the residences, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Carla Hajek and Gregory Hammerlund claim residents of manufactured homes are “being overcharged for what used to be affordable housing,” thanks to the companies alleged conspiracy. 

Hajek and Hammerlund named a number of owners of manufactured home communities in their complaint, as well as Datacomp, a provider of manufactured and mobile home data the defendants use. 

“After acquiring the communities, these buyers have implemented steep, annual rent increases on their manufactured home lots, which have caused significant burdens on manufactured home residents,” the manufactured home class action states. 

Hajek and Hammerlund want to represent a nationwide class of all persons or entities who paid rent directly for a manufactured home in a community included in a JLT Market Report from between Aug. 31, 2019, and the present.

Community owners coordinate to reduce, eliminate competition, class action says

Hajek and Hammerlund claim the manufactured home community owners coordinate with each other “to increase manufactured home lot rents systematically and unlawfully by purchasing and using market reports published by Defendant Datacomp.” 

The plaintiffs claim they do this via reports known as JLT Market Reports, which they allege allow the community owners to “reduce or eliminate competition amongst themselves on price, services and quality for manufactured home lots,” according to the manufactured home class action. 

“The consequence is that two of society’s most vulnerable groups—the elderly and low-income earners—face considerable financial pressures. Some residents are facing evictions,” the class action states. 

Hajek and Hammerlund claim the community owners and Datacomp violate the Sherman Act. They demand a jury trial and request injunctive relief along with an award of treble damages for themselves and all class members. 

In another case involving home prices, a consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Zillow in 2021, arguing the company failed to disclose critical information to investors in regard to its Zillow Offers side of the business. 

Have you overpaid rent in a manufactured home community? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiffs are represented by Adam J. Levitt, Brian M. Hogan, John E. Tangren, Gregory S. Asciolla, Karin E. Garvey and Jonathan S. Crevier of DiCello Levitt LLP; Reena Gambhir, Scott Martin and Megan E. Jones of Hausfeld LLP; and Myron M. Cherry, Jacie Zolna and Benjamin Swetland of Myron M. Cherry & Associates LLC. 

The manufactured home class action lawsuit is Hajek, et al. v. Datacomp Appraisal Systems Inc., et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-06715, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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