City of Milwaukee, Common Ground File Lawsuits, Launch Campaign Against Out-of-State Landlord

Highgrove Holdings owns more than 200 properties in city.

By Jeramey Jannene - Mar 26th, 2026 05:33 pm

Evan Goyke speaks at Highgrove Holdings press conference. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee is going after an out-of-state landlord in the courtroom and in the court of public opinion.

Thursday morning, in a joint press conference in front of two boarded-up homes, City Attorney Evan Goyke announced a series of lawsuits against David Tomblin and his firm, Highgrove Holdings, and broad-based community group Common Ground Southeastern Wisconsin announced a campaign focused on the firm and its leader.

The lawsuits target the alleged poor condition of more than 200 properties owned by Highgrove and its affiliates. According to the complaints, the properties have been inspected more than 4,000 times since 2020 by the Department of Neighborhood Services.

Several residents of Highgrove’s properties testified about the condition of the properties and Tomblin’s repeated failures to repair them.

“I had an incident July 20, 2024, three o’clock in the morning, a bullet came flying through my front window,” said Deshawn Harris. “The bullet hole is in my dining room wall right now today. From July 20, when I contacted David Tomblin about the situation. It took him from July 20 to Dec. 23, 2024, to come replace that window. It was cold, the hole was big enough.”

Ebony Martin said her home was already in bad shape, but the 1,000-year storm last August caused her ceiling to collapse and fall on her head. It took at least three months to be patched, but she said it still leaks.

“He does not care about our needs. All he cares about is collecting the funds for the rent,” said Martin.

Ishon Arnold said he’s been waiting for a new roof since 2020, when Tomblin told them they were seventh on the list. “As of 2026, we’re still seventh in line,” he said. “We got a whole bubble in our ceiling that’s because of the rain alone. It’s going to be broken soon, unfortunately. There’s mold growing in the house.” Arnold attributed his mother’s stroke to stress from the condition of the home and said he had to recently move back home from Minnesota to deal with the home’s condition. “She wants justice to be served.”

Similar to Common Ground’s prior campaigns against the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee and banks and investors in Sherman Park, the goal is to improve conditions for residents.

Common Ground is targeting California-based Highgrove and who it calls “Slumlord Dave” after a multi-year investigation into the firm and multiple meetings with Tomblin. Kiante Shields, a Tenants United member, said Highgrove owns 263 properties totaling 425 units in Milwaukee and has been sued by 35 of its investors, owes $652,000 in unpaid taxes, is the “number one landing in the city for lead abatement orders” and has a 40% vacancy rate. “That sounds to me like a little Ponzi scheme or something,” she said.

Highgrove is one of the three largest out-of-state landlords operating in the city and dramatically expanded its presence starting in 2020. It previously touted on its since-deleted website that it provides its investors “tremendous cash flow of 12% to 18% returns annually” and once had plans to amass a portfolio of 1,100 properties. Its holdings are concentrated in near North Side neighborhoods, primarily in older duplexes.

The lawsuits

The centerpiece of Thursday’s announcements was a series of lawsuits aimed at either making Tomblin fix up the properties within 60 days or having a judge install a receiver, who would manage the properties.

“We are asking a court to declare the business operations of Highgrove Holdings, how they operate, a nuisance in the city of Milwaukee,” said Goyke, standing in front of a home at 3226 N. Richards St. “A receiver can be appointed to essentially step into the shoes of the property owner and abate the nuisance. So, as tenants pay rent, that rent is used to fix the conditions and abate the nuisances. It’s a very powerful tool, and we are asking the court to appoint a receiver.”

A receiver, commonly used in bankruptcy filings, would focus on abating the nuisance conditions and maintaining the properties. It could result in Highgrove selling the properties or losing them via property tax foreclosure.

Goyke, in office since April 2024, said his office has filed smaller lawsuits under the “receivership for public nuisances” state statute. In 2016 and 2017, Milwaukee brought nuisance actions against Mohammad A. Choudry and Elijah Mohammad Rashaed. The Highgrove lawsuit is the largest action brought forward.

In two separate lawsuits targeting Highgrove limited liability corporations, the City Attorney’s Office is seeking receivership on 138 properties. It is also endorsing a receiver to be used in an $8 million foreclosure case already filed by lender U.S. Bank against an additional 85 Highgrove properties.

The complaints allege that dozens of municipal court cases, many with default judgments, have been undertaken against Highgrove properties.

“We’re doing this because it’s 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,” said Goyke. He encouraged residents with concerns about their properties to contact his office, the Department of Neighborhood Services or their council representative.

Common Ground is not a co-plaintiff in the lawsuits, which organizer Kevin Solomon said gives the organization the freedom to continue speaking about Highgrove publicly.

“We are a very powerful coalition today,” said Goyke. “This lawsuit may take time to resolve, but we’re in it for the long fight.”

The city, said Goyke, will also proceed with property tax foreclosure cases to seize properties where possible. State law allows the city to take possession of properties where taxes have been unpaid for at least three years, however, the property owner can reacquire the property by paying back taxes and fees. The goal, said the speakers, is to improve conditions and not acquire vacant properties that will likely need to be demolished.

In addition to Goyke, named attorneys on the lawsuit include Deputy City Attorney Julie Wilson and assistant city attorneys Meighan Anger, Nathaniel Adamson and Tyler Helsel. Goyke praised them each from the podium.

About Highgrove

Highgrove, in its since-deleted website, listed Tomblin as founder and CEO. “Highgrove Holdings Management, LLC (Highgrove) is a Woman/Minority owned, Disabled Military Veteran, ‘Special Purpose Entity,’ formed in 2012, specifically for acquiring value added distressed real estate within the United States of America for investment purposes,” said the website.

Its corporate headquarters were listed as 7826 W. Florist Ave., a warehouse owned by a Highgrove affiliate. Highgrove’s assessment records list the tax bills as being sent to an office in a strip mall in Torrance, California. Tomblin is a longtime California resident.

Its website pitched potential investors on the potential of investing in Opportunity Zones, state-designated areas, and Milwaukee’s unspecified “friendly-to-landlord” policies. “Highgrove offers two types of Opportunity Zone Funds. One is a no-debt fund and the other is a fund with 50% debt, each with specific advantages to fit an investor’s needs. Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs) allow investors to defer tax on capital gains by investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs), which in turn make investments in QOZ real estate,” said the website.

Tomblin declined to comment, citing that he has not been served.

Photos

Selected Highgrove Homes

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