Milwaukee city attorney slaps out-of-state landlord with lawsuits

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Vanessa Swales and Everett Eaton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office is targeting one of the biggest out-of-state rental companies in the city as a public nuisance after investigations into widespread property neglect, code violations, unpaid property taxes, and safety and security concerns, according to new legal filings.

The spotlight is on Highgrove Holdings Management LLC, its owner, David Tomblin, and his complex network of business entities and associates that has overseen an estimated 260 properties – most of which have been left vacant and dilapidated possibly as far back as 2020.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviewed two lawsuits filed by the City Attorney’s Office with the Milwaukee County Circuit Court on March 26, in which City Attorney Evan Goyke named not only Tomblin’s properties but also his business model as a nuisance to the city, tenants and the local community.

While the move by Goyke and his legal team is not unprecedented, it is the first time his office has filed such a large-scale order since he was elected in 2024 and marks the city’s growing efforts to go after problem landlords.

“We’re doing this because it is right for these 200-plus properties, and we’re doing it because we want to send a message to other property owners in this community that we’re paying attention,” Goyke said at a press conference announcing the suits on March 26.

Reached for comment, Tomblin said he would speak to his attorneys.

“I have no comment for now,” he said when reached on March 26.More: Out-of-state corporate landlords are gobbling up Milwaukee homes to rent out, and it’s changing the fabric of some neighborhoods

Landlord’s business practices in question

The filing serves as a legal notice commonly used by cities and local authorities to officially declare a property or group of properties a nuisance.

Of Tomblin’s known properties, 138 are included in the two suits as having repeated code violations that endanger public health or safety for tenants and the local community. Seven of those are eligible for tax foreclosure.

Tomblin owes roughly $355,000 in total tax debt to the City of Milwaukee.

As a part of the filing, the City Attorney’s Office has asked the court to remove Tomblin’s listed properties from his control and place them into a receivership until he abates outstanding problems. Tomblin will have 60 days to address these issues, including Tomblin paying missed taxes, taking on property repair costs associated with code violations and paying fees to the city for costs related to the legal filing.

If Tomblin does not meet the deadline, a judge could greenlight the move to place his properties into a receivership, which would see the city or judge nominate an outside entity, such as a law firm or a nonprofit organization, to manage the properties, collect rent and bring them up to code.

In an effort to protect tenants from retaliation, Goyke has requested a judge review eviction cases from Tomblin’s companies before official action to ensure they receive the necessary attention.

“This lawsuit may take time to resolve, but we’re in it for the long fight. We’re in it for the next fight, and the fight after that and the fight after that,” Goyke said.

Tomblin is facing multiple lawsuits in Milwaukee and California regarding his business practices. The most prolific is a U.S. Bank lawsuit filed in January against one of his multiple LLCs with properties in Milwaukee. The suit has requested to remove the properties from Tomblin’s control, much like the city’s nuisance order.

According to the lawsuit, Tomblin owes the bank $8 million for 86 of his rental properties – mostly located on the city’s north side.

He also faces 31 unpaid Municipal Court judgments with the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, according to the two lawsuits. One of the lawsuits specifically refers to a “chronic failure” to pay court-ordered forfeitures.

Milwaukee’s legal action comes after tenants have stepped forward to air concerns about Highgrove in recent months. Upwards of 150 tenants were surveyed by Tenants United, an organization that’s a part of Common Ground, a grassroots organization that focuses on housing and health care rights.

“Tenants on their own fall on deaf ears. Tenants together is a loud chorus. Tenants with elected officials and legal ammunition, they are screaming from the rooftops,” Kevin Solomon, senior associate organizer for Common Ground, said ahead of a March 26 press conference announcing the City Attorney’s efforts.

‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing’

According to the two lawsuits, city inspectors have conducted more than 4,000 visits on Tomblin’s properties since 2020, with more than 1,100 reported last year.

Ebony Martin, 47, remembered putting out pan after pan to collect water leaking through holes in her ceiling as Milwaukee was hit with historic flooding last August. Then one night as she was sleeping on the couch, the ceiling finally gave out, landing on top of her.

“All I know is I woke up with all that stuff on me,” she said, describing the drywall and wood that landed on her. “I never saw that coming.”

While Martin was not seriously injured, the incident was one of many unaddressed issues that escalated into bigger problems at her home on North 21st and West Chambers streets. In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Martin described a lack of help with yard work, irregular maintenance, and mildew, mold and pest issues that have riddled the property since he bought it.

Since 2022, there have been about 30 reports to the city about these problems while Tomblin has owned the property. Eight, including the collapsed ceiling report, have cited the building as being “in disrepair,” according to Department of Neighborhood Services inspection records.

All the while, Tomblin was repeatedly issuing five-day eviction notices to Martin, which she said she believes were in retaliation for her contacting the city. 

“He can’t intimidate me,” said Martin, who is now working as a tenant advocate on behalf of Common Ground’s growing efforts to highlight conditions in Tomblin properties.

She’s not alone.

The first time DeShawn Harris, 54, met Tomblin was five years ago after he had purchased her rental unit in the Franklin Heights neighborhood on the city’s north side through a portfolio sale. When Tomblin bought the house, he inherited code violations from the previous landlord, Harris said.

While initially Harris said she had high hopes that Tomblin would be a good change, many problems – new and old – took months to resolve or were never fixed.

Harris described the deep pit left under her porch from when repairs were done to a water line, a broken window left boarded up for months during the winter after a drive-by shooting, electrical wires left tangled by overgrowth in the untended backyard and dangerous electrical sockets.

“He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Harris said. “What kind of grown man – supposed to be a good guy, as he says – does that to other human beings who are paying their rent, not giving him any problems, and shouldn’t have to live below standards as far as if something needs to be fixed?”

In mid-March, Harris learned that her home had been sold to another landlord, with no notice to tenants.

Now he’s gone, but the problems persist, and Harris is left wondering who to call.

“That was a slap in the face and it put me on the spot. … How am I supposed to get in touch with the right people?” she asked. “It took me off guard and it was very unprofessional.”