XML 43 R22.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.25.0.1
Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
We are involved in various legal and regulatory proceedings (“Proceedings”) arising in the ordinary course of business. The Proceedings include, but are not limited to, legal claims made by employees, vendors and customers, and notices, consent decrees, information requests, additional permit requirements and other similar enforcement actions by governmental agencies relating to our utility infrastructure, including water and wastewater treatment plants and other waste treatment facilities and electrical systems. Additionally, in the ordinary course of business, our operations are subject to audit by various taxing authorities. Management believes these Proceedings taken together do not represent a material liability. In addition, to the extent any such Proceedings or audits relate to newly acquired Properties, we consider any potential indemnification obligations of sellers in our favor.
Beginning on August 31, 2023 through December 4, 2023, certain private party plaintiffs filed several putative class actions in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, against Datacomp Appraisal Systems, Inc. (“Datacomp”) and several owner/operators of manufactured housing communities, including ELS (the “Datacomp Litigation”), alleging that the community owner/operators used JLT Market Reports produced by Datacomp to conspire to raise manufactured home lot rents in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. ELS purchased Datacomp in connection with the MHVillage/Datacomp acquisition during the year ended December 31, 2021. On December 15, 2023, the plaintiffs filed an amended consolidated complaint captioned, In re Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:23-cv-6715. Plaintiffs seek both injunctive relief and monetary damages, including attorneys’ fees. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on January 29, 2024.
We believe that the Datacomp Litigation is without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend our interests in this matter. As of December 31, 2024, we have not made an accrual, as we are unable to predict the outcome of this matter or reasonably estimate any possible loss.