CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The judge assigned to the Ohio unclaimed funds lawsuit, which could have a big effect on funding for the Browns’ new Brook Park stadium, recused himself from the case.
According to court records, District Judge Algenon L. Marbley recused himself from the case, and the case was reassigned to Judge Edmund A. Sargus for all further proceedings.
Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann continues his fight to try and keep Ohio’s Unclaimed Funds from being used on projects like the Brown’s Brook Park stadium project.
When Ohio’s budget was signed earlier this year, it included a plan to take $1.7 billion in unclaimed funds to be used for a new Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund and Unclaimed Funds.
$600 million of that would go towards the proposed Cleveland Browns project.
Unclaimed funds come from a variety of sources, including dormant bank accounts and unclaimed class action lawsuit payouts.
The state is required to hang on to them until claimed.
At the time the budget was under debate, Republican lawmakers tried to reassure the public that only money that had sat dormant for more than 20 years would be used for the new project fund.
Originally, Dann filed a lawsuit with the Franklyn County court saying this is an unconstitutional use of taxpayers dollars claimed or not.
“The money doesn’t belong to the state and so they are not entitled to spend it on new stadiums or anything else unless they undertake a constitutional process to take the funds from the rightful owners,” Dann said.
Dann has since asked the local lawsuit be dismissed because he has now elected to take this fight to the federal level, filing a new lawsuit.
According to Dann, he believes this fight will have to be taken up by the Supreme Court as Ohio is not the only state trying to use these funds for public and private projects.
“There have been some favorable decisions regarding the misuse of unclaimed funds in other states that are currently in front of the US Supreme Court making the federal court a better forum for our claims,” said Dann.
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