Tony Yankel on the Big Outdoors radio show – WLW AM 700 Cincinnati
Ohio Lakefront Group President Tony Yankel recently discussed the group’s ongoing legal battle over the state’s improper taking of their deeded land on the Big Outdoors radio show, WLW AM 700 Cincinnati.
During the interview, Yankel and program hosts Chip Hart and Rick Combs discuss how the Ohio Lakefront Group’s case – currently before the Ohio Supreme Court – could impact property rights along Ohio lakes, rivers and streams. The program aired on November 27, 2010.
Listen to the interview here:
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Lorain Morning Journal: State of Ohio, again, claims control of Lake Erie shoreline
State of Ohio, again, claims control of Lake Erie shoreline
Thursday, November 11, 2010
By RICHARD PAYERCHIN
rpayerchin@MorningJournal.com
COLUMBUS — State nature officials are reasserting their control of Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray this week filed the state’s third merit brief to the Ohio Supreme Court arguing why the land up to the high water mark is state land. The case has generated statewide interest, particularly in Ohio’s shoreline counties, including Lorain and Erie counties.
The high court is considering the dispute between the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and shoreline property owners who each claim ownership of land between Lake Erie’s ordinary high and low watermarks — essentially Ohio’s beaches.
Cordray’s 46-page brief argued the state’s approach to Lake Erie’s boundary balances public rights and lakefront property owners’ rights.
“Under the traditional view, protecting the public’s rights up to the ‘ordinary high-water mark’ allows private owners and the public to have overlapping rights in the same physical space … ,” the state’s brief said.
The state also accused the shoreline property owners of an “extreme position” that “would fully eject the state from any inch of the lake’s bed that is temporarily dry, even for a day.”
Homer Taft, a Sandusky attorney who has filed a cross appeal in the case, will have a chance to respond to the latest brief, but the Ohio Lakefront Group will not, said Jim Lang, attorney for the shoreline property owners.
All sides will get a chance to plead their cases in oral arguments at the Ohio Supreme Court, Lang said.
“Our briefing is done but our next opportunity to address whatever’s raised in these briefs that were filed yesterday will be at oral arguments,” Lang said.
“They stick with their same arguments,” Lang said about Cordray’s brief. “They’re fighting for the high water mark.” Continued…
The Ohio Lakefront Group members take a common sense view that they own dry land next to the lake, Lang said. Their claim is based on Ohio law, he said.
Lang predicted the oral arguments likely will take place in 2011. Next year, Ohio will have a new attorney general because voters last week chose Mike Dewine for the post.
Several supporters in northern Ohio mentioned the lakefront case while Dewine was on the campaign trail, but it did not become a major point of dispute in the political race, said John Hall, Dewine’s campaign manager.
“It’s not anything we have really taken an affirmative position on one way or another,” Hall said.
Once he takes office, Dewine and his staff will analyze all pending cases and consult with the client state agencies on future actions, Hall said.
The state’s latest brief is available at www.sconet.state.oh.us/tempx/676017.pdf.
View all of yesterday’s brief here.
Lake Erie Residents Defend Property Rights Before Ohio Supreme Court
Former Attorney General Betty Montgomery; 13 Groups Side With Property Owners in Court Filings
Sheffield Lake, OH – The Ohio Lakefront Group, a coalition of over 7,000 Lake Erie property owners, yesterday filed written arguments in the Ohio Supreme Court in its ongoing action against the state of Ohio’s unlawful and uncompensated taking of privately owned land. The property owners were joined by former Attorney General Betty Montgomery and 13 independent groups, who filed amicus briefs in support of the property owners’ legal arguments.
The property owners asked the Ohio Supreme Court to affirm the decision of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals, which restored their legal property rights and rebuked the state. The appeals court – upholding nearly 200 years of legal precedent – ruled that shoreline residents’ deeded property claims are valid. In many cases, the deeded property extends to the water’s edge and pre-date Ohio statehood. Further, the appeals court said the state acted improperly and without legal authority in taking deeded land without properly compensating property owners.
“We respectfully ask the high court to end the injustice created by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ and Attorney General Richard Cordray’s rejection of our private property rights,” said Ohio Lakefront Group President Tony Yankel. “Mr. Cordray and state officials have refused to accept prior court rulings and the written legal opinions of former Ohio attorneys general Betty Montgomery and Lee Fisher. The state is trying to rewrite our deeds at the expense of our legal rights and without legislative approval.”
Former Attorney General Betty Montgomery advised the high court that during her tenure as attorney general she issued an opinion addressing the state’s ownership of Lake Erie lakeward of the “natural shoreline,” which moves with the water’s edge – bolstering the property owners’ legal arguments. “I have an interest in ensuring that the opinions issued by the Attorney General’s office are given due weight as persuasive authority in Ohio, and also in protecting the private property rights of Ohio’s citizens,” former Attorney General Montgomery wrote in her amicus brief.
In addition, Ms. Montgomery noted that former Attorney General Lee Fisher’s opinion issued in 1993, as well as her current amicus filing, is consistent with the Eleventh District Appellate Court’s ruling.
Joining Attorney General Montgomery in filing amicus briefs were: the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation; National Federation of Independent Business; Cleveland Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 8 jointly with the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association; the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law; Brookwood-Cresthaven Beach Club, Inc. jointly with the Linwood Park Company; Ohio Association of REALTORS, jointly with the Willo-Beach Park Association, Inc; Geauga Constitutional Council; Pacific Legal Foundation; Save Our Shoreline (Michigan); and Southeastern Legal Foundation, Inc.
Ohio law and past legal precedents say the state’s interest in the waters and submerged lands of Lake Erie does not extend beyond the water’s edge. However, under a controversial action initiated by former Gov. Bob Taft and pursued by former Attorney General Marc Dann, the state sought to claim the land along the Lake Erie shoreline for its own purposes. Property owners brought legal action against the state and were successful in federal court, common pleas court and the court of appeals. Former Attorney General Dann appealed the case to the Court of Appeals. Attorney General Cordray is continuing the Dann case.
“Mr. Cordray wants us to pay rent to the state for land our deeds say we already own,” said Yankel. “If he is successful, what will the state attempt to take next?”
Also filing Merit Briefs as individuals whose cases were combined with the OLG Class Action were Homer S. Taft;
L. Scot and Darla J. Duncan
Following are copies of filings made with the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday in support of the Ohio Lakefront Group.
Ohio Lakefront Group merit brief
L. Scot and Darla J. Duncan Merit Brief
Amicus Briefs:
Former Attorney General Betty Montgomery
National Federation of Independent Small Business
Senator Tim Grendell on the Robin Swoboda Show – WJW Fox 8 Cleveland
State Senator Tim Grendell does an excellent job of explaining the Ohio Lakefront Group’s ongoing legal battle with the state over the taking our deeded land without compensation on WJW Fox 8 Cleveland’s Robin Swoboda Show. The discussion occurs 3:44 into the segment. Sen. Grendell appeared on the show on Tuesday, August 3, 2010.
It’s residents vs. AG over property rights
Friday, July 16, 2010
It’s residents vs. AG over property rights
By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Lakeshore property owners are squaring off against Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray.
At issue is whether the state Attorney General’s Office has legal standing in bringing suit regarding public access to shoreline property along Lake Erie.
That includes property many owners say is theirs and thus is private.
The Ohio Supreme Court is being asked to render a decision on the matter.
This follows a decision by the 11th District Court of Appeals which said the attorney general has no standing in the matter.
That ruling pleased the Ohio Lakefront Property Group, but disappointed Cordray.
The state claims the public has the right to access shoreline property up to the high-water mark.
That position does not sit well with the Lakefront group, which claims the matter starts and stops at the water line.
“This case is not about public access or public rights to the waters of Lake Erie, all of which are secure and none of which are under attack,” Ohio Lakefront Group President Tony Yankel said.
“This case is about private property, and the unjust effort by the state to strip it away from thousands of Ohioans without compensation.”
Yankel charges that Cordray says he is attempting to protect the important resource of Lake Erie for the good of all.
“However, opening all of this privately held land along Lake Erie to uncontrolled public use — which means bonfires, litter and increased crime — will only harm Lake Erie, not protect it. The individuals who choose to live along Lake Erie have the strongest interest in protecting it, not bureaucrats in Columbus,” Yankel said.
Cordray’s brief before the Ohio Supreme Court discusses the legal authority and the traditional duty of the attorney general to defend the state of Ohio when it is sued, which dates back to the 19th century, Cordray says.
“The brief recognizes that private landowners have special rights that should not be unduly restricted by the state, but indicates that those rights should be balanced with the public’s overlapping rights in the territory of Lake Erie,” Cordray said.
Also filing amicus briefs were former Ohio Attorneys General Betty Montgomery, Jim Petro and Nancy Rogers. The former attorneys general outline in their briefs their agreement concerning the current attorney general’s authority and duty to represent the state of Ohio when it is sued.
Additional briefs were filed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the National Wildlife Federation and Ohio Environmental Council.
Additional amicus briefs were filed by the states of Michigan and Pennsylvania as well as by a coalition that includes several former directors of the ODNR and several conservation and sportsmen’s groups.
Michigan Aids Cordray in Ohio Supreme Court Dispute Over Private Property Rights Along Lake Erie Shore
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
MICHIGAN AIDS CORDRAY IN OHIO SUPREME COURT DISPUTE OVER PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS ALONG LAKE ERIE SHORE
Michigan and Pennsylvania have come to the aid of Attorney General Richard Cordray is his bid to overturn an appeals court ruling that said landowners along the 262 miles of Lake Erie shore hold title to property all the way to the water’s edge, a changing boundary.
Attorneys general in the two bordering states filed friend of the court briefs at the Ohio Supreme Court in support of Mr. Cordray’s position that private ownership extends to the lake’s ordinary high water mark, making the dry land to the water’s edge available for public use.
Michigan and Pennsylvania said that if the decision from the 11th District Court of Appeals were allowed to stand, it would place Ohio law at odds with that of the other Great Lakes states.
“While each of the Great Lakes states has a different way of describing the respective property interests of lakefront property owners and the public in the shoreline of the Great Lakes, each of the states recognizes the principle that the public has rights in the bottomlands of the Great Lakes below the ordinary high water mark,” they said.
The Supreme Court voted 5-2 in March to accept the case for review at the request of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Mr. Cordray, and two environmental groups.
Justices Paul Pfeifer and Terrence O’Donnell dissented from the decision to hear the case, effectively voting to let the appellate court decision stand. Read more
Lakefront group slams ODNR in high court case
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Lakefront group slams ODNR in high court case
By RICHARD PAYERCHIN
rpayerchin@MorningJournal.com
COLUMBUS — An Ohio Lakefront Group slammed the state’s latest arguments in a shoreline property dispute that is pending at the Ohio Supreme Court.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is arguing Lake Erie and its shoreline should be open for the people of Ohio, according to a brief filed by Attorney General Richard Cordray.
However, the 7,000-member Ohio Lakefront Group said the case is about private property not public access.
“This case in Ohio is not about public access or public rights to the waters of Lake Erie, all of which are secure and none of which are under attack,” OLG President Tony Yankel said. “This case is about private property, and the unjust effort by the state to strip it away from thousands of Ohioans without compensation.” Read more
Ohio law spells out lakefront property owners’ rights
Cleveland Plain Dealer Letter to the Editor Published Monday, July 12, 2010
In a recent Plain Dealer article, environmental activists tried to connect a U.S. Supreme Court decision about property rights along Florida’s coast to an ongoing Ohio legal battle. They argued the court’s decision affects the property rights of Ohioans who own land along the Lake Erie shoreline.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that state law is paramount in matters of private property rights. The governing law and circumstances surrounding each case are different. Read more
Cordray Wrong About State Law in Lake Erie Shore Dispute
Sheffield Lake, OH – The Ohio Lakefront Group, a coalition of over 7,000 Lake Erie property owners, today responded to a legal brief filed by the Ohio Attorney General in its pending case before the Ohio Supreme Court. The property owners are disputing the improper taking of deeded land.
Ohio law says the state’s interest in the waters and submerged lands of Lake Erie does not extend beyond the water’s edge. However, the Attorney General claims ownership of the dry shorelands of Lake Erie, which in many cases are the privately-owned backyards of property owners. He believes these property owners should pay rent to the state for land contained in their deeds.
“This case in Ohio is not about public access or public rights to the waters of Lake Erie, all of which are secure and none of which are under attack,” Ohio Lakefront Group President Tony Yankel said. “This case is about private property, and the unjust effort by the state to strip it away from thousands of Ohioans without compensation.”
“The Attorney General claims he is attempting to ‘protect the important resource of Lake Erie for the good of all,’” Mr. Yankel said. “However, opening all of this privately-held land along Lake Erie to uncontrolled public use – which means bonfires, litter and increased crime – will only harm Lake Erie, not protect it. The individuals who choose to live along Lake Erie have the strongest interest in protecting it, not bureaucrats in Columbus.”
In his filing, the Attorney General argued a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision based on a Florida coastal dispute bolsters the his case. However, the two cases deal with distinctly different issues and are grounded in differing state laws. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in the Florida case that issues of private property rights are to be decided in accordance with appropriate state law. Florida law deals with “tidal” water, and Florida’s private property extends only to the “mean high tide mark.” Ohio law deals with non-tidal water, and Ohio law says private property extends at least to the “water’s edge.”
Under a controversial action initiated by former Gov. Bob Taft, the state sought to claim the land along the Lake Erie shoreline for its own purposes. The property owners brought legal action against the state and were successful in federal court, common pleas court and the court of appeals. Former Attorney General Marc Dann appealed the case to the Ohio Supreme Court. Attorney General Richard Cordray is continuing the Dann case.
The Ohio Lakefront Group is a non-profit association of Lake Erie property owners and other concerned citizens committed to the protection, preservation and enhancement of private property rights. More information on the group can be found at www.ohiolakefrontgroup.com.
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Maurice Thompson Addresses Ohio Lakefront Group Annual Meeting
Maurice Thompson, Executive Director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, spoke at the Ohio Lakefront Group Annual Meeting on May 13, 2010. Mr. Thompson spoke of several cases settled by the Ohio Supreme Court that favored private property owners. He gave a good history of private property law in Ohio and how his center strongly supports our efforts in this lawsuit.
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