Check out the Ohio Supreme Court's 6-1 opinion in State ex rel. Ohio History Connection v. Moundbuilders Country Club Co., No. 2020-0191 (Dec. 7, 2022), in which the court held held that the taking of the Country Club's lease for the property served a public use.
Court News Ohio beat us to the punch is summarizing the case and the dissent, so instead of us repeating, we suggest you go check it out:
The Ohio History Connection can proceed with its efforts to transform the Octagon Earthworks of Newark into a public park by extinguishing the Moundbuilders Country Club lease on the land, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today.A Supreme Court majority affirmed a Fifth District Court of Appeals decision allowing the History Connection to take the land through eminent domain. The state agency wants to convert the Octagon Earthworks into a public park so that it can nominate the structures to the World Heritage list as part of the interconnected Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.
Writing for the Court majority, Justice Michael P. Donnelly stated that establishing the earthworks as a public park will “help preserve and ensure perpetual public access to one of the most significant landmarks in the state of Ohio.”
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices R. Patrick DeWine, Melody Stewart, and Jennifer Brunner joined Justice Donnelly’s opinion. Justice Patrick F. Fischer concurred in judgment only.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sharon L. Kennedy wrote that under Court precedent, if the public use of the land is “contingent and prospective” and the private use is “actual and present,” then taking the land by eminent domain is not lawful. She wrote the History Connection presented that its ownership of the land would only allow for the federal government to nominate the earthworks to the World Heritage list, and there are no assurances it will be named a heritage site.
Please do read the entire story: "State Can Acquire Octagon Earthworks From Country Club."
That, and the opinion. And the dissent which argued that Norwood v. Horney, 853 N.E.2d 1115 (Ohio 2006) (a case most readers of this blog will be familiar with) required that the Country Club's allegations needed to be resolved by the trial court, and not disposed of by law-and-motion.
The ultimate reason for the appropriation, however, is more than a nomination. The History Connection stated in its resolution, “The Ohio History Connection strongly desires the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, including the Newark Earthworks, be approved for inclusion on the World Heritage List. Such an inclusion would provide historical and educational benefits to all Ohioans, as well as future generations.”
Op. at 19.
More here ("Ohio Supreme Court rules against Moundbuilders Country Club in Newark Earthworks case") from the Columbus Dispatch.
