Steubenville Heritage Place Lawsuit: Receivership and Court Order

The Steubenville Heritage Place lawsuit is a tenant action filed by Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio in January 2025 after residents of the 100-unit affordable housing complex lost heat during the winter and lived through repeated utility shutoffs. In May 2025, Legal Aid escalated the case by asking Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese to appoint a receiver to take control of the property away from its owners. A hearing on that request has been pushed to September 26, 2025.¹

What Went Wrong at the Complex

Boilers serving Heritage Place began failing in October 2024, and management was told about the problem then. A critical component broke, on-site maintenance could not repair it, and a promise from management that heat would be restored before Christmas came and went.² By early December 2024, piped-in heat was out entirely. Tenants used space heaters and ovens to stay warm.

By late January 2025, all 32 units of one building and roughly half the units of a 40-unit building were still without heat, affecting around 64 apartments. Many of those tenants were elderly, had serious health conditions, or were families with children. Some residents were on oxygen, and at least one was paraplegic.³

The heat was not an isolated failure. According to Legal Aid’s filings, the owners repeatedly failed to pay vendors for water, gas, and common-area electricity. One tenant reported at least seven utility shutoffs over an 18-month period. Trash and water services were also suspended at various points. By mid-May 2025, gas and electricity had been shut off in two of the four buildings, leaving those tenants without hot water. County records showed that the ownership entity missed the January 2024 property tax deadline as well.⁴

Tenants pay their own electricity. Water, gas, refuse, and common-area power are the complex’s responsibility.⁵ Legal Aid’s managing attorney, Pam Bolton, said the conditions fell “below the minimum standards required by Ohio law.”⁴

The January 2025 Lawsuit and an Ignored Court Order

Legal Aid filed suit on January 13, 2025, in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court, naming three defendants: Green National (the parent company), WG Heritage Place Ohio (the titled owner), and ABC Management (the management company then running the property).³ Eleven tenants were named as plaintiffs.⁶

Four days later, Judge Bruzzese issued a temporary restraining order giving the owners five days to restore heat and requiring them to either rehouse affected tenants in furnished apartments in Steubenville or pay for hotel rooms and food until repairs were done.⁷ By January 30, none of that had happened. Legal Aid attorney Alex Vance told reporters the owners had made no repairs and offered no alternative housing.⁸

A second lawsuit followed at the end of January to address new damage from the prolonged cold: burst pipes, water pouring from ceilings and walls, and flooding in some apartments.⁸

The Motion to Put Heritage Place in Receivership

On May 19, 2025, Bolton filed an emergency motion asking the court to appoint Dublin, Ohio-based Intercept Management Corp. as receiver. Under the request, the receiver would take over the complex, keep basic services running, make repairs, and pay outstanding bills. The motion cited “continuous neglect by the defendants in managing and maintaining the property” and argued that the owner had “abandoned its proprietary duties under the law.”⁹⁵

Bolton put it plainly in a statement: “Residents of Heritage Place have endured unacceptable neglect for far too long.”⁴

The Judge’s Warning

Judge Bruzzese held a hearing on the receivership motion on May 22, 2025, but did not rule. The owners’ attorney, Kristopher Haught, sought more time to subpoena witnesses and argued that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the property’s lender, Greystone Servicing Company, needed to be notified before the court acted. Heritage Place operates under a Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract with HUD covering all 100 units, which puts federal notification into any ownership change.¹⁰¹¹

The judge granted the delay, but not quietly. Addressing the property manager, Bruzzese said, “I’m done with things breaking because you have junk in the building.” He told the defense that “a damage claim is coming” and that “it’s going to be ugly,” making clear his frustration was aimed at the ownership for failing to give on-site staff what they needed to fix problems.¹⁰

In the meantime, Bruzzese ordered the owners to send Legal Aid copies of all utility and repair bills, along with proof of payment, as they came in.¹² Kristen Lewis, Legal Aid’s advocacy director, said the order reinforced “that the owners must be held accountable.”¹³

Who Owns Heritage Place

Heritage Place is owned by WG Heritage Place Ohio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Green National. Defense filings say the company bought the property roughly three years before the May 2025 hearing for $3.7 million. Day-to-day management has changed hands during the case: ABC Management was described by February 2025 as the “now-former” manager, and by May 2025 MMS Group was running the site, with Kelly Zadansky as on-site property manager.¹²⁶

Green National has been through similar litigation in New York. The state Attorney General secured a court order against Troy Green and his company over conditions at Syracuse properties, including inoperable smoke alarms, broken elevators, plumbing leaks, and poor security. Green National paid a $300,000 penalty in 2022 as part of an agreement to fix code violations and was sued again that year for failing to comply. In July 2023, a court held Troy Green and Green National in civil and criminal contempt, ordered Green to pay $152,000 in criminal contempt fines or face 30 days in jail, ordered the company to pay $299,000 for uncorrected violations plus $5,000 for deceptive business practices, and permanently banned Troy Green from owning, operating, or managing affordable housing in New York.¹⁴

Where the Case Stands

The receivership hearing has been continued more than once. It moved from June 16, 2025, to July 16, and is now set for September 26, 2025. The court has not yet ruled on Legal Aid’s motion to install a receiver, and the damages portion of the tenants’ case is still open.¹⁶

1
WTOV9. Hearing on Heritage Place Apartments Conditions Postponed to Appoint Receiver
2
WTOV9. Tenants Left Cold as Repair Delays at Heritage Apartments Spark Legal Proceedings
3
The Intelligencer. Residents of Heritage Place in Steubenville Still Without Heat as Lawsuit Is Stalled
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LASCO. Legal Aid Moves to Take Over Neglected Ohio Apartment Complex
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Times Leader. Heritage Place Apartment Tenants Take Some Legal Action
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Herald-Star. Relief for Heritage Place Residents Could Be Near
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Herald-Star. Heat Issue Plagues Heritage Place Apartments
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WTRF. Second Lawsuit Filed Against Ohio Apartment Complex Owners, Residents Still Without Heat Since Early December
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The Intelligencer. Attorneys Ask Judge to Appoint Receiver for Heritage Place Apartments in Steubenville
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Herald-Star. Judge’s Patience Wearing Thin With the Owners of Heritage Place
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Ohio Housing Finance Agency. Heritage Place Apartments
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The Intelligencer. Judge Has Strong Words for Owners of Heritage Place in Steubenville
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WTOV9. Tenants of Heritage Place Urge Court Action as Utility Issues Persist, Hearing Postponed
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New York Attorney General. Attorney General James Secures Court Order Against Syracuse Landlord Green