West Price Hill holds the distinction of having the largest number, nearly 30%, of Vinebrook Homes properties in the city, according to 2022 data. The city’s most recent lawsuit against VineBrook highlights West Price Hill as a “victim” of the single-family home operator.
Vinebrook is a notorious “institutional investor” in residential rental housing. In January 2023, the city filed a lawsuit that portrayed Vinebrook as a poster child for negligent, heavy-handed, and uncooperative institutional investors.
The researcher reported that Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said in filing the lawsuit, “We will not tolerate investors coming to Cincinnati, letting their properties deteriorate and exploiting tenants,” adding that the city “will fight back with everything we have to protect our residents.” The tough talk was certainly welcomed by Vinebrook residents and their neighbors.
The city’s 175-page complaint sought a wide range of orders and actions. It asked for an order placing Vinebrook into “conservatorship,” under Ohio law; a judgment requiring Vinebrook to pay “all unpaid assessments and bills”; payment of punitive damages for Vinebrook’s alleged breach of a 2021 settlement agreement; payment of damages for civil conspiracy, including punitive damages; and an order requiring Vinebrook to pay all court costs and the city’s legal fees.
Even Senator Sherrod Brown was in the city’s corner. As chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, he wrote a scathing letter to Vinebrook in December 2022 and called a press conference with the headline: “Brown to Vinebrook: Stop Exploiting Cincinnati Families.”
The city seemed to have a lot of influence. There were many very incriminating facts in the complaint. The complaint was heard in the city’s home county before a judge of the same political party as the mayor and city council. The city won the motion to dismiss the case and the matter had the attention of Senator Brown. However, the city and Vinebrook settled the case and agreed to wipe the slate clean and start over. Let bygones be bygones.
There will be no damages paid for anything. All “costs and fees” (allegedly owed) are considered “fully paid and resolved.” There was no civil conspiracy and no punitive damages were assessed. The parties agreed to a “mutual release” which forgives and forgets everything that has happened in the past for both parties. There will be no conservatorship. Instead, a “monitor” has been appointed, which is a major step down from a conservatorship, and the city itself has even agreed to be monitored. The city has also agreed to train city employees on how “not” to discriminate against Vinebrook.
Don’t expect any more harsh words. The parties have agreed to very detailed and enforceable non-disparagement and non-discrimination clauses. The city and Vinebrook have an acrimonious and dysfunctional relationship that needs to improve. That will require commitment and leadership from someone higher up in City Hall.
The city should also make a public effort to explain why it settled the case and what it means for the city’s other lawsuits against institutional investors. For example, it appears that the city’s response to Vinebrook’s counterclaim was to simply settle and not fight.
Still, the city could list all of the specific allegations in its complaint, and even include Senator Brown’s allegations, and publicly explain how each of those allegations and allegations will be addressed in the settlement. In other words, show the public why this is a good deal for the neighborhoods. The “victims,” like West Price Hill, at least deserve that.
Todd J. Zinser was born in Cincinnati and lives in West Price Hill. He retired as Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce after 31 years of conducting audits and investigations of federal officials, programs, and operations. He remains a certified fraud examiner.
This article originally appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Owes Public an Explanation on Vinebrook Homes Settlement
