To reproduce: 
Add horizontal bar series bind to the following data:

myList = new BindingList<MyCustomObject>();
myList.Add(new MyCustomObject(1, "Outdoor"));
myList.Add(new MyCustomObject(0, "Hardware"));
myList.Add(new MyCustomObject(0, "Tools"));
myList.Add(new MyCustomObject(1, "Books"));
myList.Add(new MyCustomObject(1, "Appliances"));

Workaround:
LinearAxis verticalAxis = new LinearAxis();
verticalAxis.LabelFitMode = AxisLabelFitMode.Rotate;
verticalAxis.LabelRotationAngle = 0.1;
verticalAxis.Minimum = 0;
verticalAxis.Maximum = 2;