Residents of Hometown America manufactured housing communities have filed lawsuits against the Chicago-based operator on four main fronts: rent-uniformity class actions in Massachusetts, a flooding and drainage case at the Oak Point community in Middleborough, pandemic-era consumer fraud claims in New Jersey, and a post-wildfire class action in California. Together, the Hometown America lawsuits have produced a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that reshaped manufactured housing rent law, a $4.3 million settlement fund with a decade of court oversight, and an active federal class action that could put tens of millions of dollars in dispute.
The Blake Ruling on Two-Tier Rents
The most important decision in the string of cases against Hometown America came out of Oakhill Park in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Residents alleged that after the company acquired the community in January 2006, it charged people signing new leases $96 per month more than residents who had signed before the ownership change, even though the lots were essentially identical in size and services.1Justia. Blake v. Hometown America Communities, Inc., SJC-12902
Massachusetts law, M.G.L. c. 140, ยง 32L(2), requires rent changes to apply uniformly to all residents in a “similar class” and creates a rebuttable presumption of unfairness when they don’t.2Mass.gov. Manufactured Housing Act In November 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held in Blake v. Hometown America Communities, Inc. that the timing of when a resident signed a lease does not create a “dissimilar class” under the statute. Time-based rent disparities, the court said, would undercut the law’s purpose of stable, shared costs in manufactured housing communities. The SJC affirmed the finding that Hometown America had violated the Manufactured Housing Act and returned the case for further work on class certification and damages methodology.1Justia. Blake v. Hometown America Communities, Inc., SJC-12902
The Bartok Federal Class Action
Residents at other Hometown America communities alleged that the two-tier structure continued after Blake. In 2021, residents of the Oak Point community in Middleborough and the Miller’s Woods and River Bend communities in Athol filed Bartok et al. v. Hometown America, Case No. 21-CV-10790, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.3GovInfo. Bartok et al v. Hometown America Management, LLC et al
The complaint alleges that newer residents pay hundreds of dollars more per month than long-term neighbors for similar lots and identical services. Ed and Rose Bartok, who moved into the Athol park in 2016, reported paying roughly $650 per month while learning that neighbors paid significantly less.4WBUR. Mobile Home Parks Legal Battle Rent Uniformity Plaintiffs also allege that the company took steps to keep residents from finding out what their neighbors paid.5MHProNews. Bartok et al v. Hometown America Complaint
The Oak Point class alone includes more than 975 current and former residents who paid rent since June 2015. Plaintiffs are seeking reimbursement for overpaid rent plus interest and an injunction restructuring rents.5MHProNews. Bartok et al v. Hometown America Complaint In January 2026, the federal court rejected Hometown America’s motion to dismiss and certified two classes of Oak Point rent-payers, moving the case toward summary judgment and a possible trial.6Oak Point HOA. Bartok Class Certification
The Company’s Response and Lobbying Push
Hometown America has acknowledged maintaining legacy rent structures with higher rates for new residents. It argues the practice is standard for manufactured housing communities and has called the SJC’s Blake ruling “contrary to common sense.” The company has said it could lose $81 million over two decades if barred from charging new residents higher rents at its Middleborough park alone.4WBUR. Mobile Home Parks Legal Battle Rent Uniformity
Alongside the litigation, Hometown America has lobbied the Massachusetts legislature since 2016 to repeal or amend the uniform-rent provision. Between 2021 and 2023, it spent more than $233,000 on lobbying in the state. Several bills have been introduced to strike the “or change in rent” language from Section 32L(2) and apply the change retroactively; the most recent, House Bill 1302, was filed in January 2023 and reported favorably by committee in March 2024. Records show CEO Stephen Braun and chief investment officer Patrick Zilis have made campaign contributions to the sponsoring legislators.7Oak Point HOA. Hometown Lobbying Post As of mid-2026, none of these efforts have changed the law.
Oak Point Flooding Case and Settlement
Rent is not the only claim residents have brought against Hometown America at Oak Point, a 1,000-acre, 979-site community the company bought for $55 million in November 2011.8Enterprise News. Oak Point Goes for 55 In October 2018, residents filed Craw and Shurtleff v. Hometown America, Case No. 18-CV-12149, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging persistent flooding and inadequate stormwater management.9Taunton Daily Gazette. Middleboro Oak Point Manufactured Homes Settlement Offer Flooding Hometown America
The court found that Hometown America was responsible for the property around and beneath all homes, making it liable for damage caused by defective site drainage, including homes installed before the company bought the community.10Oak Point HOA. Craw Settlement
The finalized class action settlement created a $4.3 million fund for current or former residents who lived at Oak Point between September 25, 2012, and July 22, 2022. It also requires Hometown America to carry out a court-approved drainage and maintenance plan, with oversight lasting ten years through March 2033. Oversight includes an ongoing surface water inspection program and annual maintenance reports, the third of which was filed in February 2026.11Northeast Justice Center. Oak Point Class Action
Shenandoah Village Pandemic Claims in New Jersey
In August 2020, Edward Gable filed a class action on behalf of residents of Shenandoah Village, a 55-and-older community in Sicklerville, New Jersey. Gable v. Hometown America, Case No. 1:20-cv-12071, named Hometown America, its management arm, and CWS Communities LP, the Delaware limited partnership that directly owns the land and was acquired by Hometown America in a 2003 merger.12ClassAction.org. Gable v. Hometown America, LLC et al
The complaint made several allegations tied to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic:
- The defendants served “Notices to Quit” in March 2020 while New Jersey’s Executive Order 106 eviction moratorium was in effect.
- Hometown America implemented a 2.5% rent increase in May 2020 without the public hearings required by the Gloucester Township municipal code.
- The company shut down the community clubhouse, pool, and exercise room while continuing to collect rent that included the cost of those services.
- Residents alleged the company stopped enforcing age restrictions and pet rules.12ClassAction.org. Gable v. Hometown America, LLC et al
The suit brought claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the Truth-in-Consumer Contract Act, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.12ClassAction.org. Gable v. Hometown America, LLC et al A November 2022 ruling dismissed one fraud count and the injunctive relief claim but allowed other claims to proceed. The case terminated in September 2024; the publicly available docket does not specify whether it ended through settlement, judgment, or another resolution.13CourtListener. Gable v. Hometown America, LLC
Tubbs Fire Class Action in California
In October 2017, the Tubbs Fire destroyed 78 homes at The Orchard Mobile Home Community, a 55-and-older Hometown America property in Santa Rosa, California. In May 2018, displaced residents filed a class action in Sonoma County Superior Court.14Patch. Residents Sue Owner Fire Destroyed Santa Rosa Mobile Home Park
According to the complaint, Hometown America declined FEMA assistance, went six months without post-fire rebuilding clearance from the city of Santa Rosa, and delayed site cleanup and reconstruction. Residents alleged the company prohibited temporary trailers, restricted residents’ ability to choose outside manufactured home sellers, and set a rebuilding pace of just 20 to 25 homes per year, which plaintiffs argued was structured to let the company profit by selling new homes and leasing lots to new residents at higher prices.14Patch. Residents Sue Owner Fire Destroyed Santa Rosa Mobile Home Park
Residents also challenged the company’s plan to resume charging roughly $750 per month in space rent starting September 1, 2018, even though many lots were not ready for new homes.15Press Democrat. Residents of Burned Santa Rosa Mobile Home Park Sue Owner Over Lagging Rebuilding The suit sought to speed up rebuilding, block cleanup charges to individual residents, delay deferred rent payments until residents could return, and recover damages.
Hometown America president Steven Braun said publicly that the company had abated rent during remediation, that park rules did not allow temporary trailers, and that residents were free to work with outside home dealers if they met zoning and architectural requirements.14Patch. Residents Sue Owner Fire Destroyed Santa Rosa Mobile Home Park The outcome of the case does not appear in the records reviewed for this article.
What These Cases Mean for Manufactured Housing Residents
The lawsuits against Hometown America turn on a structural feature of manufactured housing: residents typically own their homes but rent the land, and a manufactured home cannot easily be moved when disputes arise with the community operator. State laws try to address that imbalance in different ways.
Massachusetts requires uniform rents for similarly situated residents and limits eviction grounds to nonpayment, safety violations, or good-faith discontinuance of the community, with a 15-day cure period before eviction can proceed. A violation of the Manufactured Housing Act also counts as an unfair or deceptive practice under Chapter 93A, opening a second avenue of relief.2Mass.gov. Manufactured Housing Act Colorado overhauled its mobile home park laws starting in 2020, adding dispute resolution, a resident right of first refusal on park sales, and an enforcement division within the attorney general’s office; rent stabilization was stripped from the legislation after a veto threat.16Colorado Sun. Colorado Mobile Home Parks Rent Increases Sales Washington’s Manufactured Home Landlord-Tenant Act sets baseline protections that some local jurisdictions strengthen.17Washington Law Help. Tenants Rights Manufactured Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act
The Blake ruling has already established that manufactured housing operators in Massachusetts cannot use lease dates to justify rent disparities. With the Bartok classes now certified and Craw’s ten-year drainage oversight running through 2033, the Hometown America litigation continues to set the terms residents in comparable communities can point to when their own disputes arise.