Correction: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the items the attorney general is seeking to prevent Tain Investments from seizing as part of its foreclosure.
The Ohio Attorney General’s office is intervening to keep recently shuttered Columbus Speech and Hearing’s landlord from limiting access to or seizing “equipment and property used to serve patients” as part of the nonprofit’s eviction.
In a complaint filed in Franklin County Municipal Court earlier this month, Tain Investments, LLC, sought to evict Columbus Speech and Hearing (CSH) for failing to pay rent for January and February 2026 and inability to pay future rent after the organization’s sudden closure of all services and locations on Feb. 13.
But Attorney General Dave Yost’s office filed a motion on March 20 to stop the eviction, alleging that Tain Investments is attempting “to seize, restrain, and/or convert unlawfully the equipment and property of Columbus Speech & Hearing,” including CSH’s “sensitive and valuable” assets used for patient care.
“By seeking to expedite the eviction process, Tain Investment is risking the security and functionality of sensitive and valuable property held by Columbus Speech & Hearing, such as personal items and medical equipment,” Yost’s office said in its filing.
Until its closure, the communications nonprofit had been in operation for more than 100 years and served around 8,000 patients a year with speech therapy, American Sign Language resources, audiology services and more. Patients who spoke with The Dispatch were left reeling by its shutdown, which was not communicated to them until almost a week later. Some were still waiting for communication from CSH in early March.
The attorney general’s office did not offer more detail to the types of assets for which it wants to intervene. However, several patients who contacted The Dispatch expressed concern over reclaiming equipment like hearing aids they had sent in to be fixed, molds for new hearing aids and medical records still held by CSH.
What does the complaint say?
In the complaint, Tain Investments said it put a notice of eviction on CSH’s door on Feb. 9, just four days before the nonprofit closed.
The notice came after former CEO James O. Dye asked Tain Investments for a deferral on two months rent in January 2026, which amounted to a little over $42,000. According to emails included in the complaint, Dye did not agree to sign a promissory note, a legally binding agreement that the deferred rent would eventually be paid. Tain Investments denied the deferral and the rent was not paid.
Overall, CSH, according to the complaint, still owes Tain Investments $240,000 under the lease it signed in 2022.
But Tain Investments said it doesn’t believe that money is recoverable, since CSH shut down permanently. The limited liability company planned to file another complaint in Franklin County Common Pleas Court for money damages, according to the complaint.
However, the attorney general’s office, which is tasked with overseeing the state’s nonprofits, alleges that Tain Investments’ handling of the eviction is unlawful and the office must intervene to “protect public interest,” namely, the patients of CSH.
A hearing is scheduled for March 24 in Franklin County Municipal Court.
Columbus Speech and Hearing’s former board chair Diane Hurd did not respond to a request seeking comment March 23.
Tain Investments pushes back
Akhil Patel, a lawyer for Tain Investments, disputed in an email to The Dispatch that the property owner mishandled CSH assets in any way, whether it be equipment or patient medical records.
CSH occupied parts of multiple floors of the Clintonville office building. According to Patel, items belonging to CSH were either disposed of or donated with the nonprofit’s permission from common areas shared with other tenants or left untouched by Tain Investments.
However, trustees and employees entered the building to secure patient health information and “related equipment,” he said, and anyone affiliated with CSH was not stopped from retrieving CSH property.
Patel said that, earlier this month, Tain Investments and CSH came to an agreement outside of court that Tain Investments could take possession of the second floor. According to Patel, a business that could make use of CSH’s remaining audiology equipment expressed interest in renting the space and wanted to “come in and immediately start operations.”
As part of the agreement, according to Patel, what would happen to the equipment on the second floor was up still up for discussion between Tain Investments and CSH. But Patel said Tain was told CSH sold assets to a “buyer group” that would come to pick up patient health information and equipment. Tain Investments asked the trustee to pause removing property from the building while “the lawyers cleared things”, but “Without any observation, supervision or interference from Tain II, all PHI information and related equipment were removed,” Patel said in his email.
Patel also said Tain gave a CSH trustee packages, including hearing aids, that arrived for the nonprofit in an on-site mailroom after CSH shut down.
Why did Columbus Speech and Hearing close?
On March 3, Columbus Speech and Hearing’s board said that “after a careful review and evaluation of all viable options, ongoing financial pressures made it clear that we could no longer sustain operations.”
In December 2025, CSH closed its speech therapy services due to financial strain, but kept other services open. The nonprofit’s most recent tax forms show that CSH operated in a $1.3 million deficit in 2024.
The board said that they understand the closure “felt sudden” and “are deeply sorry for the disruption and uncertainty.”
This story was updated with a statement from Tain Investments.
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Attorney General’s office intervenes in Columbus Speech eviction
Reporting by Samantha Hendrickson, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
