City of Milwaukee files its largest nuisance lawsuit against landlord with more than 100 rundown properties in the city 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The City of Milwaukee is taking one of its most aggressive steps yet to crack down on problem landlords.

Thursday morning, March 26, marked the filing of one of the largest nuisance cases in the city, as residents brought their complaints forward against Highgrove Holdings, and its owner, David Tomblin.

“I don’t think a property owner should need to be sued to make sure they're code compliant and having a decent place for people to live,” said City Attorney Evan Goyke.

The two lawsuits cover 138 properties across Milwaukee that were cited for repeated code violations.

“He ain’t evicting us. It’s time for him to go. We’re evicting him,” said Ebony Martin, a Highgrove Holdings renter. “He does not care about our needs. All he cares about is collecting funds for rent.”

Martin lived in a property owned by Tomblin for seven years. She says historic flooding in August damaged her home and her ceiling collapsed. When she told Tomblin, she says the issue was ignored.

“I’m gonna tell you the truth. I cried about it. When I looked at this, I cried about it. I said this man really don’t care about us and we paying all this money,” said Martin. “We reached out to him and he said we’re not his number one priority. He said we’re not his number one priorities. He said he’ll get to us when he get to us, when he get time.”

DeShawn Harris, another renter, says a bullet flew through her home. She says it took Tomblin months to fix her broken window.

“It took him from July 20th to December the 23rd of 2024 to come replace that window," she said. 

Under the filing, Highgrove Holdings has 60 days to fix everything from safety hazards to unpaid taxes and long-standing repairs.

“If they want to finally invest the money and fix up 3226 N. Richards and make it a great place to live, great. Great,” said Goyke.

If Tomblin doesn’t, the city will ask a judge to appoint a receiver. The receiver would take control of those properties and use rent funds to make those repairs.

“Major corporate landlords, you either need to shape up or we’re coming for you,” said Kevin Soloman with Common Ground, a citizen-led group.

Tomblin told CBS 58 he had not been legally served yet and would have a comment at a later date.