A jury in Santa Clara County, California entered a verdict against real estate investment trust (REIT) Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (ELS) for $15.3 million in favor of current or former residents of the California Hawaiian manufactured home community (MHC) located in San Jose, California. Plaintiffs alleged ELS did not maintain the common facilities of the community in good working order, and 75 percent of the jury award was for emotional distress. ELS Chief Executive Officer Marguerite Nader said, “This Property is a well-located, 100% occupied, institutional quality asset that received the Manufactured Housing Institute’s Community of the Year award in 2012. We disagree with the verdict and will vigorously seek to overturn it in the trial court or on appeal.” MHProNews.com has learned the MHC is governed by California’s extensive regulations and San Jose’s rent control ordinance, and that punitive damages may also be awarded. The plaintiff’s sites comprise only ten percent of the total homesites, according to wsj.com. ELS owns 379 manufactured home and recreational vehicle communities comprised of 140,333 homesites in the U. S. and Canada.##
