Yesterday, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray filed an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
OLG replied in a statement by President Tony Yankel saying:
I am disappointed that Mr. Cordray would follow in the footsteps of former Attorney General Marc Dann and continue to steal 15,000 parcels from Ohioans that have held deeds to this land since before Ohio even became a state. Like Marc Dann, Mr. Cordray is pursuing a course that in the last five years has been overwhelmingly rejected by one Federal Judge, a Lake County Common Pleas Judge and now the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Despite Ohio law, the Governor’s position, the Lieutenant Governor’s 1993 Attorney General Opinion and three Court decisions, Mr. Cordray foolishly marches on.
In his appeal, Mr. Cordray primarily rejected the Appeals Court decision giving the AG no standing in the case. His key points in the brief:
- The Appellate Court mangled the doctrine of appellate standing
- Impaired the ability of the State to protect the public interest
- Hobbled the State’s ability to protect State’s interests
Mr. Cordray actually recognized that littoral owners have special rights, but continued the worn out mantra that Ohio has held the public trust to the ordinary high water mark since statehood. He casually equates the law defining the public trust, ORC 1506.10 that reads “to the southerly shoreâ€, as meaning the ordinary high water mark. He continues to cite the same cases as cited and rejected in the lower courts.
OLG President Tony Yankel concludes in his statement:
The Ohio Supreme Court has a strong record defending property rights guaranteed by the Ohio Constitution. Should the Ohio Supreme Court agree to hear the case – which is within their discretion – we are confident that we will prevail. Any reasonable person, who ignores the rhetoric, reads the facts of the case and understands Ohio law would come to the same conclusion.
The full appeal is here.