The Ohio Supreme Court were heard oral arguments in our class action lawsuit on Tuesday February 1. Three buses of lakefront property owners never got to Columbus due to the snowstorm Monday night. Instead, many watched the proceedings via a live video stream from the Court. The video is still available on the Court archives. (Watch video).
The Justices questioned both sides and asked each to describe the place that they would place the public/private boundary on Lake Erie.
OLG’s attorney James F. Lang stated that it should be as the Common Pleas and Appellate Courts decided, at the water’s edge, the boundary where the land and water normally meet at rest when undisturbed by short term natural forces.
Homer S. Taft, co-joined plaintiff in the lawsuit, stated that the boundary should be at the low water mark of Lake Erie.
Assistant Attorney General, Stephen P. Carney stated that the boundary should be at a place somewhere between the water’s edge and the ordinary high water mark. This was a change for the State who had previously argued that the boundary is at the ordinary high water mark.
The media around the State has picked up the story and published their accounts. The links to each of the stories are listed below.
Please note that some newspapers change their hyperlinks daily, so it is advised that articles of interest be read today as they might not be accessible later.
Justices weigh rights to beachfront access – Columbus Dispatch (Feb. 2)
Lake Erie property line dispute reaches the Ohio Supreme Court – Cleveland Plain Dealer (Feb. 2)
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/02/lake_erie_property_line_disput.html
Ohio high court hears case on Lake Erie property lines – Toledo Blade (Feb. 2)
http://toledoblade.com/article/20110202/NEWS16/102010374/0/SCHOOLCLOSURES
Ohio high court hears arguments in case involving state’s interest in lakefront property – Associated Press (Feb. 1)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-oh-lakefront-dispute,0,644313.story
Lakefront case battled before Supreme Court – Lorain Morning Journal (Feb. 2)
http://morningjournal.com/articles/2011/02/02/news/doc4d48d3b53d220545257754.txt
Ohio Supreme Court hears lakefront case – Willoughby News-Herald (Feb. 2)
http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2011/02/02/news/doc4d483cc1d3fcb077039492.txt
The news articles are compiled by the Supreme Court of Ohio, Office of Public Information as a service to the judicial branch of Ohio government. The purpose of this service is to keep judges, court staff and other interested parties informed of the latest developments affecting the practice of law in Ohio, the administration of justice and public perceptions of the judiciary. News stories in the daily articles are selected after the consideration of certain criteria, including the following: the article contains specific search terms (such as “Ohio Supreme Court†or the name of a Justice), concerns a case before the Supreme Court, concerns a case of great general interest to the judicial and legal community, references major events or trends in law and comes from a publication of general circulation. News stories will not be included if they contain profanity or vulgarity or come from a publication that defines its circulation and audience in terms of a special interest. Exclusively political stories will not be included, except stories about the announcement of a candidacy for judicial office, major editorial endorsements of candidates for judicial office, and the outcome of judicial elections.