A high-profile lawsuit targeting one of Milwaukee’s top problem landlords now names two of the lending companies that provided localized funding, including one tied to billionaire former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.
In late March, the Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office hit Highgrove Holdings Management LLC, one of the city’s biggest out-of-state rental companies, with a lawsuit naming the company and its associates as a public nuisance. The lawsuit followed investigations into widespread property neglect, code violations, unpaid property taxes, and safety and security concerns.
Its owner, David Tomblin, is believed to have started buying up properties in Milwaukee as far back as 2020 and had an estimated 260 properties, most of which have been left vacant and dilapidated, at the time the original suit was filed.
In an amended complaint filed on April 14, Highgrove Holdings and its complex network of business entities and associates received loans from Brighton Asset Management LLC, a Florida-based private investment lender, and with Gary Prince as its registered agent. The company lists Lasry as one of its investors and strategic advisers.
The second lending company listed is F Streets Investment LLC, a Milwaukee-based commercial real estate development and investment firm owned by Scott Lurie. His company has invested in developments in Brown Deer and Oak Creek, including Lakeshore Commons near the shoreline of Lake Michigan.
F Street Investment previously received money from Lasry’s firm as early as 2023, to enable F Street “to enhance [its] portfolio further and pursue new avenues of growth,” the lawsuit says.
Both F Street and BAM’s goal is to “fund the acquisition and rehabilitation of homes” and aim to “maximize returns, wealth creation, and maximize value for its stakeholders.”
It is unclear how much money Brighton Asset Management and F Street Investment have given to Highgrove Holdings. Neither lender has filed a foreclosure action against Tomblin and his company.
According to the new filing, it is believed that F Street and BAM’s funding is secured by four mortgages for roughly 102 of Highgrove Holding’s properties in Milwaukee as well as providing funding for Tomblin’s companies that fall under his umbrella of Highgrove Holdings on multiple occasions within the last six years.
Both Lurie, on behalf of F Street and Brighton Asset Management, and Lasry declined to comment.
Milwaukee City Attorney Evan Goyke said the lenders were named in the lawsuit because they helped Highgrove build its Milwaukee real estate portfolio.
“We expect there may be more and will add them when appropriate,” Goyke said. “The city remains committed to achieving relief and hopes the defendants choose a collaborative path to right their wrongs.”
Tomblin’s properties and his business model were both described as a nuisance to the city, tenants and the local community in the city’s legal action. As a recent example, one of his properties, which had been left vacant, was damaged in a raging fire.
The legal action by the city is not unprecedented. However, it is the first time Goyke has filed a large-scale lawsuit against a landlord due to chronic nuisance behavior since he was elected to office in 2024.
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. Starting on March 26, Tomblin had 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.
Common Ground, a grassroots organization focused on housing and health care rights, worked with Goyke’s office by sharing concerns aired by upward of 150 tenants who were surveyed in the lead-up to the lawsuit.
The city’s lawsuit against Highgrove and Tomblin is not the only legal action over their business practices. U.S. Bank has an ongoing lawsuit against Tomblin asking a court to remove properties from his control over a roughly $8 million debt for 86 properties, mostly on Milwaukee’s north side.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee landlord nuisance lawsuit names company tied to Marc Lasry
Reporting by Vanessa Swales, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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