ASHFORD HOSPITALITY TRUST INC

Palm Beach Florida Hotel and Office Building Limited Partnership, et al. v. Nantucket Enterprises, Inc. This litigation involves a landlord tenant dispute from 2008. This litigation was resolved in 2017 with the determination and reimbursement of attorney’s fees being the only remaining dispute. The negotiations relating to the potential payment of the remaining attorneys’ fees remained open, pending the appeal of a contempt order against the Maraist Law Firm for failing to produce their fee records. We previously accrued approximately $504,000 in legal fees. In September 2024, a settlement was reached to resolve the prevailing party’s legal fees in the amount of $1.4 million. As a result an additional accrual of approximately $896,000 was recorded and is included in “other hotel expenses” on our consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024.

On December 20, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against one of the Company’s hotel management companies in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Contra Costa alleging violations of certain California employment laws, which class action affects nine hotels owned by subsidiaries of the Company. The court has entered an order granting class certification with respect to: (i) a statewide class of non-exempt employees of our manager who were allegedly deprived of rest breaks as a result of our manager’s previous written policy requiring its employees to stay on premises during rest breaks; and (ii) a derivative class of non-exempt former employees of our manager who were not paid for allegedly missed breaks upon separation from employment. Notices to potential class members were sent out on February 2, 2021. Potential class members had until April 4, 2021 to opt out of the class; however, the total number of employees in the class has not been definitively determined and is the subject of continuing discovery. The opt-out period has been extended until such time that discovery has concluded. In May 2023, the trial court requested additional briefing from the parties to determine whether the case should be maintained, dismissed, or the class de-certified. After submission of the briefs, the court requested that the parties submit stipulations for the court to rule upon. On February 13, 2024, the judge ordered the parties to submit additional briefing related to on-site breaks. A tentative settlement has been reached subject to the respective parties obtaining various approvals.

On August 4, 2020, a lawsuit, Benjamin Zermeno v. Beverly Hills Marriott, was filed in Alameda County Superior Court as a PAGA representative action alleging various wage and hour violations of all Remington managed California properties. The plaintiff’s individual claims were compelled to arbitration. On August 18, 2022, another lawsuit, Cristina Catalano v. Beverly Hills Marriott and Mr. C, was filed as a PAGA representative action alleging various wage and hour violations of all Remington managed California properties. The co-defendant separately settled and the individual arbitration has also settled. A private mediation was held on December 27, 2024 to globally resolve the three outstanding matters. A tentative settlement was reached subject to the parties finalizing the agreement and court approval. As of December 31, 2024, the estimated settlement liability amount has been accrued.

We are also engaged in other legal proceedings that have arisen but have not been fully adjudicated. To the extent the claims giving rise to these legal proceedings are not covered by insurance, they relate to the following general types of claims: employment matters, tax matters and matters relating to compliance with applicable law (for example, the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar state laws). The likelihood of loss from these legal proceedings is based on the definitions within contingency accounting literature. We recognize a loss when we believe the loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. Based on the information available to us relating to these legal proceedings and/or our experience in similar legal proceedings, we do not believe the ultimate resolution of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flow.

During the quarter ended September 30, 2023, we had a cyber incident that resulted in the potential exposure of certain personal information. We have completed an investigation and have identified certain information that may have been exposed and notified potentially impacted individuals pursuant to applicable state guidelines. All systems have been restored. In February of 2024, two class action lawsuits were filed, one in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and a second in the 68th District Court for Dallas County related to the cyber incident. The lawsuit filed in the 68th District Court was subsequently dismissed and refiled in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. On March 12, 2024, the court ordered the two cases be consolidated. The consolidated case is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The parties have reached an agreement, subject to final Court approval, to resolve the class action suit. The amount of the class settlement is approximately $485,000. Ashford Inc. expects the entire settlement amount to be reimbursed through insurance coverage. The hearing for final Court approval of the settlement is scheduled for August 27, 2025.

Our assessment may change depending upon the development of any current or future legal proceedings, and the final results of such legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty. If we ultimately do not prevail in one or more of these legal matters, and the associated realized losses exceed our current estimates of the range of potential losses, our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially adversely affected in future periods.