Lawsuit asks U.S. Supreme Court to stop Ohio funding plan for Browns stadium

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that the funds are still the private property of Ohioans and “not property of the State of Ohio to use as it deems fit.”

A legal firm representing plaintiffs announced on Tuesday a formal request for the nation’s top court to review a similar case in California, where a recent decision from a federal appeals court upheld the state’s power to seize and liquidate private property “without providing direct notice to owners and without compensating them at the time of the taking.”

The firm said the California case offers “direct parallels” with Ohio’s plan.

“This isn’t about football or California or Ohio,” former Ohio Attorney General and DannLaw managing partner Marc Dann said in a press release, “It’s about whether our most basic property rights mean anything when the government decides it wants what’s ours. If states can take money held in trust for citizens and spend it on private ventures, no one’s property is safe. We’re asking the U.S. Supreme Court to make clear that due process and just compensation are not optional.”

The firm warned that “millions of Americans will remain vulnerable to losing their property without even knowing it was at risk” unless the Supreme Court uses the California case to ”establish clear national standards for notice and compensation in unclaimed property programs."

Defendants in the Ohio case — a series of state officials tasked with either overseeing the state’s unclaimed funds account or carrying out the state’s new plan — have until Sept. 4 to respond to the plaintiff’s complaint.

Ohio’s Unclaimed Funds Account consists of money and other assets whose rightful owners cannot be located. This can include unused bank accounts, rent or utility deposits, uncashed checks or insurance policies that must be turned over to the Ohio Department of Commerce, which is tasked with helping the rightful owner find their money.

This outlet reached out to the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Unclaimed Funds but did not immediately receive a response.

For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It’s free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening.

Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.