Cal-Am Properties is a defendant in a federal antitrust class action, In re Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation, which accuses roughly a dozen large manufactured home community operators of conspiring to inflate lot rents nationwide. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois before Judge Franklin U. Valderrama, case number 1:23-cv-06715.1CourtListener. In Re Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation An earlier version of the complaint was dismissed in December 2025, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint in January 2026, and as of mid-2026 the court has not yet ruled on the defendants’ renewed motion to dismiss.
What Cal-Am Is Accused Of
Cal-Am Properties, a privately held company founded in 1988, operates more than 65 manufactured home communities, RV resorts, and apartment complexes across nine states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.2Cal-Am Properties. About Cal-Am Properties The lawsuit groups Cal-Am with ten other community operators and a data company, Datacomp Appraisal Systems, and alleges they violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act by coordinating lot-rent increases instead of competing on price.3CourtListener. In Re Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation – Parties
The core theory is that operators submitted their own proprietary pricing, occupancy, and planned-increase data to Datacomp, which compiled it into subscription reports (the “JLT Market Reports”) covering up to 187 metropolitan areas and sent the compiled information back to the same operators. The plaintiffs say that gave each company detailed knowledge of what its competitors were charging and planning to charge, allowing rents to rise in lockstep. They point to industry-wide lot rent increases that averaged about 2.3% per year from 2010 through 2018, then jumped to roughly 9.1% per year from 2019 through 2021.4NPR Brightspot CDN. Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Class Action Complaint
Cal-Am is alleged to have subscribed to and used the JLT Market Reports to set its own lot rents. Two named plaintiffs are tied directly to Cal-Am properties: Kevin McDonough, a resident of Palm Breezes Club, and Deborah Norvise, a resident of Tropicana Palms. The complaint also points to Cal-Am’s 2017 purchase of the Far Horizon East Mobile Home Park in Tucson, Arizona, for $33 million (adding 415 lots) as an example of the consolidation that plaintiffs say made the alleged scheme possible.5Courthouse News Service. Mobile Homes Antitrust Class Action Complaint The second amended complaint goes further, alleging that Cal-Am and the other operators also had direct “manager-to-manager” communications with competitors to swap current rent levels before annual rent-increase cycles.6ManufacturedHomeProNews. Second Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint
Who the Lawsuit Would Cover
The proposed class includes anyone who paid rent for a manufactured home lot in a community tracked by a Datacomp JLT Market Report from August 31, 2019, to the present. The plaintiffs are asking for treble damages (three times the actual harm, which federal antitrust law allows), an injunction against the alleged practices, and attorneys’ fees.5Courthouse News Service. Mobile Homes Antitrust Class Action Complaint No class has been certified yet, and no claims process has opened: certification can only be considered if the case survives the pending motion to dismiss.
Why the First Complaint Was Dismissed
On December 4, 2025, Judge Valderrama granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint. He ruled that submitting pricing data to Datacomp did not, by itself, amount to an “invitation to conspire,” and that parallel rent increases could be explained by ordinary market forces, namely stagnating supply and rising demand for manufactured home lots. He called the plaintiffs’ arguments about industry structure and opportunity “merely consistent with, rather than suggestive of, a price-fixing conspiracy.”7Legal Newsline. Rent Collusion Suit Tossed vs. Manufactured Home Community Operators
The judge also rejected the plaintiffs’ proposed market definition, which treated the United States as a single market with broad regional submarkets. He found that implausible because tenants generally cannot move a manufactured home across the country to chase cheaper rent.8A&O Shearman. Federal District Court Dismisses Manufactured Homes Price-Fixing Claims The dismissal was not final; plaintiffs were given until January 5, 2026, to file an amended complaint.7Legal Newsline. Rent Collusion Suit Tossed vs. Manufactured Home Community Operators
What Changed in the Amended Complaint
On January 26, 2026, the plaintiffs filed a second amended consolidated complaint and told the court they had reached a settlement with one of the original defendants, Murex Properties. The dollar amount is not public, but the Murex deal includes a cooperation provision requiring Murex to turn over internal documents and information to help the plaintiffs pursue the case against the remaining defendants.9ManufacturedHomeProNews. Case 1:23-cv-06715 – Second Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint – Murex Settled The court gave preliminary approval to the Murex settlement on March 10, 2026, and set a final fairness hearing for September 3, 2026.10CourtListener. In Re Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation – Docket Page 2
The amended pleading tries to answer each of the judge’s criticisms. It drops the nationwide market theory in favor of narrower geographic markets that reflect where tenants can realistically move.11MLex. Manufactured Home Tenants Oppose Managers’ Move to Dismiss US Antitrust Claims Drawing on the Murex cooperation materials, it also alleges that Cal-Am and the other operators engaged in direct communications with competitors in the same local markets to exchange rent pricing ahead of annual increases, rather than relying only on the passive sharing of data through Datacomp’s reports.9ManufacturedHomeProNews. Case 1:23-cv-06715 – Second Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint – Murex Settled Two additional defendants, Ascentia Real Estate Holding Company and Riverstone Communities, were added in the amended complaint.10CourtListener. In Re Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation – Docket Page 2
Where the Case Stands Now
Cal-Am and the other remaining defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss the second amended complaint on March 31, 2026. The plaintiffs filed their opposition on May 22, 2026, with the defendants’ reply due June 22, 2026. Discovery is stayed while the motion is pending, so no evidence exchange or depositions have taken place.10CourtListener. In Re Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation – Docket Page 2
The next scheduled milestone is a joint status report due July 17, 2026, or within 21 days of the ruling on the motion to dismiss, whichever comes first. The judge’s ruling on that motion will decide whether the case moves into full discovery and a class certification fight, or whether the plaintiffs face another setback.