Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court denied Appellant's request for a writ of mandamus ordering Police Chief Michael Kilbane and the City of Independence (collectively, the City) to produce documents relating to the City's implementation of a traffic-ticket quota, holding that Appellant failed to show her entitlement to the writ.In addition to the writ, Appellant sought statutory damages, attorney fees, and costs. The Supreme Court denied Appellant's request for the writ, denied her requests for attorney fees and costs, and awarded her $1,000 in statutory damages, holding (1) the writ must be denied as to all of Appellant's requests; (2) because the City's delay in producing certain documents was unreasonable, Appellant was entitled to $1,000 in statutory damages; and (3) Appellant was not entitled to attorney fees or costs. View "State ex rel. Horton v. Kilbane" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that the General Assembly-district plan (the plan) adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission in September 2021 to be effective for the next four years was invalid under Ohio Const. art. XI, 6(A) and 6(B).The complaints in these three cases alleged that the plan was invalid because the Commission did not attempt to draw it to meet the standards of partisan fairness and proportionality. The Supreme Court agreed, holding that the plan was invalid because the Commission did not attempt to draw it to meet the proportionality standard in article XI, section 6(B) and did not attempt to draw it to met the standard in section 6(A) that no plan shall be drawn primarily to favor a political party. View "League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Committee" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant's motion for an award of statutory damages under the Ohio Public Records Act, Ohio Rev. Code 149.43, holding that Appellant was entitled to statutory damages.Appellant, an inmate, sent a request to the Cleveland Police Forensic Laboratory (CPFL) for three categories of public records. When CPFL did not respond to his request, Appellant filed a mandamus action and sought statutory damages under section 149.43(C)(2). The court of appeals granted a writ of mandamus compelling the production of some of the requested records and denied Appellant's request for statutory damages. The Supreme Court reversed and granted Appellant's application for an award of statutory damages, holding that, given the length of time during which the CPFL failed to respond, Appellant was entitled to the maximum amount permitted under the statute. View "State ex rel. Ellis v. Cleveland Police Forensic Laboratory" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's complaint for a writ of mandamus against the Portage County Board of Revision for lack of standing, holding that the court of appeals properly dismissed the complaint for lack of standing.Appellant brought his complaint asking the court to issue a writ of mandamus compelling the Portage County Board of Revision to create hearing boards, to record the name of the board member assigned to each board, and to revoke any and all designations of alternates made by the board. The court of appeals granted the board's motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant lacked standing to bring this mandamus action. View "State ex rel. Ames v. Portage County Board of Revision" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied as moot Alexander Maxwell's request for a writ of prohibition to prevent the village of Brice from adjudicating an alleged traffic violation through an administrative hearing, holding that the prohibition claim was moot.In support of the village's contention that this case was moot, the village's mayor attested that the village was no longer holding administrative hearings. After the village filed its merit brief, Maxwell moved to strike portions of the brief and the village's evidence. The Supreme Court denied Maxwell's motion to strike, granted his motion for leave to submit supplemental evidence, and denied the writ of prohibition as moot, holding that the evidence supported the mayor's testimony that the village had ceased conducting administrative hearings on traffic citation and that this prohibition action was moot. View "State ex rel. Maxwell v. Brice" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Tenth District Court of Appeals compelling the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) to reverse its denial of Appellant's application for disability benefits, holding that there was no error.After sustaining a fall while working for the state as a highway technician Appellant applied to OPERS for disability benefits. OPERS denied Powell's application. Appellant then filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus asking the Tenth District to issue a writ compelling OPERS to reverse its denial of his application. The Tenth District found that OPERS's decision was supported by some evidence in the record and denied the writ. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that some evidence supported OPERS's decision, and Appellant did not establish that any evidence should have been excluded from OPERS's consideration. View "State ex rel. Powell v. Ohio Public Employees Retirement System" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying a writ of mandamus compelling the Ohio Industrial Commission to vacate its orders rejecting a proposed settlement between Employee and Employer, holding that the court of appeals correctly denied the writ.Employee suffered a work-related injury, and his workers' compensation claim was allowed. Employee applied for an award of additional compensation due to Employer's alleged violation of specific safety requirements (VSSRs). Employer and Employee subsequently submitted a proposed settlement for approval by the Commission. A staff hearing officer rejected the settlement as neither fair nor equitable and then granted Employee's request for a VSSR award. Employer sought a writ of mandamus compelling the Commission to vacate its orders and approve the settlement, but the court of appeals denied the writ. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Employer's three propositions of law are rejected. View "State ex rel. Zarbana Industries, Inc. v. Industrial Commission" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court dismissing Plaintiffs' complaint seeking an injunction halting their execution and a declaration that the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's (DRC) written execution protocol was invalid, holding that there was no error.Plaintiffs were two condemned inmates who challenged the DRC's written execution protocol setting forth the specific process by which DRC personnel are to carry out death sentences by lethal injection. Specifically, Plaintiffs argued (1) DRC may adopt the execution protocol only by following the procedures for promulgating it as an administrative rule, in accordance with Ohio Rev. Code 111.15(B); and (2) until these procedures were followed, the protocol was invalid and could not be used to carry out death sentences. The trial court granted summary judgment for the State, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the execution protocol was neither a rule having a general and uniform application nor an internal management rule; and (2) therefore, the protocol was not subject to the rule-making requirements of Ohio Rev. Code 111.15. View "O'Neal v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) granting certification to FirstEnergy Advisors, a competitive retail electric service provider, holding that the order in this case fell short of the requirement set forth in Ohio Rev. Code 4903.09 that PUCO file "findings of fact and written opinions setting forth the reasons prompting the decisions arrived at."Two organizations in this case intervened in the PUCO proceedings and objected to the certification. Despite the objections, PUCO granted the certification request and issued a "barebones" order offering no explanation as to how FirstEnergy Advisors met the applicable legal requirements. The Supreme Court reversed PUCO's certification decision and remanded the matter to PUCO for further proceedings, holding that PUCO's order violated action 4903.09 because it failed to explain the reasoning and factual grounds for granting FirstEnergy Advisors' application. View "In re Application of FirstEnergy Advisors for Certification as a Competitive Retail Electric Service Power Broker & Aggregator" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Tenth District Court of Appeals granting a writ of mandamus ordering the Industrial Commission of Ohio to vacate its order granting temporary total disability (TTD) compensation to Bridget Moss and then granted a limited writ, holding that the Commissioner must reconsider this case under the proper standard, as articulated in this opinion.Moss's employer, Ryan Alternative Staffing, Inc. (Ryan) sought a writ of mandamus ordering the Commission to vacate its order and deny TTD compensation because Moss had refused an offer of alternative employment within her medical restrictions. The Tenth District granted the writ. At issue on appeal was whether the Commission may award TTD compensation if an employee refuses an offer of alternative employment in good faith based on family circumstances. The Supreme Court vacated the Tenth district's judgment and granted a limited writ, holding that the Commission's orders exhibited confusion about the correct standard under which the employer's good faith standard was to be determined. View "State ex rel. Ryan Alternative Staffing, Inc. v. Moss" on Justia Law