Horizon Land Management, the Crofton, Maryland-based operator of manufactured home communities in more than 20 states, is the subject of several lawsuits and enforcement actions: an active federal overtime collective action filed by workers in 2025, a $1.1 million EPA settlement in 2024 over wastewater pollution at four Maryland parks, and a 2021 tenant lawsuit in Montgomery County alleging illegal water billing at the Middlebrook community. Several of these matters remain unresolved as of 2026.
The Overtime Collective Action: Lucero v. Horizon Land Management
In March 2025, three workers sued Horizon Land Management and founding partner Ryan Hotchkiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, accusing the company of cheating employees out of overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case is captioned Lucero v. Horizon Land Management, LLC, Case No. 1:25-cv-00903.1CourtListener. Lucero v. Horizon Land Management, LLC
Hotchkiss was named individually. Under the FLSA, owners and senior officers who control pay practices can be held personally liable as “employers” for wage violations.1CourtListener. Lucero v. Horizon Land Management, LLC
Collective Certification
On December 3, 2025, Judge James K. Bredar granted conditional certification in part, allowing the three plaintiffs to proceed as a limited collective but denying nationwide certification, finding that the workers had not provided enough evidence to justify a broader scope.2Law360. Workers Snag Partial Collective in Management Co. OT Suit Additional workers filed consent-to-join forms in January and February 2026, bringing opt-ins to at least nine beyond the original plaintiffs.1CourtListener. Lucero v. Horizon Land Management, LLC
In April 2026, Judge Bredar reversed course on scope, ruling that new affidavits justified expanding the collective on a nationwide basis. The court rejected the company’s argument that the renewed request amounted to an improper “second bite at the apple.”3Law360. Collective Expanded in OT Suit Against Land Management Co.
Current Status
A venue question is still open. The court ordered the parties to brief whether the case should be transferred out of the District of Maryland, and although both sides filed supplemental briefs in late 2025 and early 2026, no ruling has been issued. As of June 2026, the case remains active with filings as recent as June 5, 2026, and no settlement, verdict, or dismissal has been entered.1CourtListener. Lucero v. Horizon Land Management, LLC
The $1.1 Million EPA Wastewater Settlement
Horizon paid a combined $1,136,162 in civil penalties in August 2024 to resolve EPA claims that four of its Anne Arundel County parks committed hundreds of Clean Water Act violations. The communities are Boone’s Estates, Lyons Creek, Maryland Manor, and Patuxent, all in the Harwood and Lothian areas, whose wastewater plants discharge into waterways feeding the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay.4Bay Journal. Mobile Home Park Firm Fined $1.1 Million for Pollution Violations in Patuxent River Watershed
Between January 2019 and October 2023, the four plants collectively racked up hundreds of permit exceedances for pollutants including nitrogen, suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, and E. coli. Boone’s Estates alone had 194 exceedances, with 50 at Lyons Creek, 38 at Patuxent, and 33 at Maryland Manor. The EPA also cited the company for failing to submit required reports, failing to repair broken equipment, and, at Lyons Creek, allowing sewage to overflow onto the ground from a failed clarifier and using an unauthorized discharge point.5EPA. EPA Region 3 and Four Manufactured Home Communities Settle Wastewater Treatment Cases6EPA. Lyons Creek MHC Consent Agreement and Final Order
In December 2023, EPA Region 3 entered four Administrative Orders on Consent requiring Horizon to submit a preventive maintenance plan within 30 days and a detailed plan and timetable for repairs and facility upgrades. Company spokesperson Molly Boyle said Horizon “will continue to significantly invest to meet compliance requirements at the properties, and to monitor and comply with all regulations.”4Bay Journal. Mobile Home Park Firm Fined $1.1 Million for Pollution Violations in Patuxent River Watershed Public reporting has not confirmed whether the mandated repairs have been completed.
The Middlebrook Tenant Water Billing Lawsuit
On July 7, 2021, 28 residents of the Middlebrook mobile home community in Germantown, Maryland, sued Horizon Land Management and Middlebrook MHC, LLC in Montgomery County Circuit Court, with help from the immigrant advocacy group CASA de Maryland. The tenants alleged the company was illegally overcharging them for water and sewage services.7Washington Post. These Tenants Say Their Landlord Overcharges Them for Water, So They Use Rainwater Instead
The complaint alleged Horizon charged a flat rate that exceeded what residents would have paid directly from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, and that itemized water and sewage charges did not add up to the totals invoiced for roughly three months before the suit. Residents also alleged the company failed to fix leaky underground pipes and billed tenants for the wasted water, with one family reporting monthly bills of $790 to $800. Residents who complained, the suit said, were threatened with eviction.7Washington Post. These Tenants Say Their Landlord Overcharges Them for Water, So They Use Rainwater Instead8Patch. Mobile Home Residents Sue Crofton Management Company9Maryland Matters. With Help From CASA, Tenants File Court Claims Seeking End to High Water Bills and Unhealthy Living Conditions
Horizon denied the allegations, calling them “baseless and defamatory.” The company said it passes through WSSC water costs without profit and that a November 2018 review by the Montgomery County Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs found “an acceptable explanation” for its billing ratios. Horizon attributed the itemized discrepancies to a “technical error” starting in May 2021 in which line items reflected the prior month’s data, saying the total charge remained correct and the error was fixed in July 2021.7Washington Post. These Tenants Say Their Landlord Overcharges Them for Water, So They Use Rainwater Instead No reporting in the available record establishes whether the case has been resolved.
Maryland Protections That Frame These Disputes
Maryland Real Property § 8A requires park owners to maintain utility services in compliance with health codes and prohibits charging residents more than the actual cost of utilities bought from public utilities.10People’s Law Library of Maryland. Mobile Home Law The law also bars retaliation against residents who complain about health and safety conditions, and courts can award up to three months’ rent in damages when retaliation is proven.11People’s Law Library of Maryland. Mobile Home Evictions
In April 2023, Governor Moore signed the Manufactured Housing Modernization Act (SB 746). The law requires an acquiring entity either to cap rent increases at 10% over three years and commit to keeping the land in use as a mobile home park for at least five years, or to give residents notice of a sale and a chance to submit their own purchase offer. Horizon Land Management testified in favor of the bill with amendments, stating that its goal was to protect homeowners from immediate land-use changes or steep rent hikes and to dissuade “bad actors” from acquiring parks for redevelopment.12Maryland General Assembly. Horizon Land Management Company Testimony on SB 746