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DannLaw asks court to compel Governor DeWine to reverse decision to cut off federal unemployment benefits for workers devastated by pandemic

Marc Dann

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Marc Dann and Brian Flick of DannLaw, one of the nation’s leading consumer protection law firms and Attorney Andrew Engel of Advocate Attorneys, LLP, today filed suit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to force Governor Mike DeWine and Matt Damschroeder, Director of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services to rescind their decision to terminate Ohio’s participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA),  Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs. The first hearing in the case has been set for July 21, 2021 at 1:30 P.M. before Judge Michael P. Shaughnessy in Courtroom 16 C in the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, 1200 Ontario St, Cleveland, OH.

DeWine and Damschroder announced on May 13, 2021 that the federally-funded benefits would be cutoff on June 26, 2021. Ohio is one of 27 states governed by Republicans that decided to terminate the benefits early.

“Along with jeopardizing the personal and financial well-being of Ohioans who are struggling to recover from the pandemic, DeWine and Damschroder’s callous and politically-motivated decision to terminate the federal benefits represents a willful and blatant violation of Ohio law,” Brian Flick said.

According to the lawsuit, Ohio Revised Code Section ORC 4141.43(I) requires Damschroder to

“…cooperate with the United States department of labor to the fullest extent…[and] take such action…as may be necessary to secure to this state and its citizens all advantages available under the provisions of the “Social Security Act” that relate to unemployment compensation…”

The mandamus action asks the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to:

  • Declare Governor Dewine and Director Damschroder to be in violation of their statutory duties under R.C. 4141.43(I) by terminating Ohio’s participation in PUA, PEUC, and FUPC benefits as of the week of June 26, 2021;
  • Enjoin Dewine, Damschroder, their officers, employees, and agents, from withdrawing the State of Ohio from unemployment benefits offered through the CARES Act;
  • Order Dewine and Damschroder to immediately notify the United States Department of Labor of Ohio will participate in the programs for their duration;
  • Issue a peremptory writ of mandamus requiring the Defendants’ perform their statutory duties required by ORC 4141.43(I) and immediately take all action necessary to reinstate Ohio’s participation in all federal unemployment insurance benefit available from the United States Department of Labor.

DannLaw and Advocate Attorneys are also seeking a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction enjoining Dewine and Damschroder from denying Ohioans

the right to receive FPUC benefits.

The mandamus action may be viewed here: Bowling Candy 2021 07 06 First Amended Complaint TO FILE

The motion for a temporary restraining order may be viewed here: Bowling Candy 2021 07 05 Motion for TRO Final

Similar suits have been filed in three other states: Indiana, Maryland, and Texas. On June 25 Indiana Superior Court Judge John Hanley ruled that the state must continue paying the benefits and said “Indiana law recognizes the importance of these benefits. Indiana law requires the State to accept these benefits.” Court action is pending in Maryland and Texas.

“Indiana’s statutory language is very similar to Ohio’s,” Atty. Dann noted. “We believe we are right on the law an absolutely right as it relates to public policy that protects the interests of the people of the state of Ohio.”

For more information, please contact Atty. Marc Dann at 216-373-0539 or by emailing [email protected]

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DannLaw founder Marc DannBlue Line Solutions, LLC, co-defendant with Girard, Ohio in a class-action lawsuit filed by DannLaw and Zimmerman Law Offices PC on behalf of 7,700 motorists wrongly cited for speeding while traveling through the city on Interstate 80, has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle claims made against the speed camera company according to DannLaw founder and former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann. The city of Girard has not settled and remains a party to the suit.

The $175,000 payment from Tennessee-based Blue Line will be distributed after all class members have been notified that the settlement has been reached and when the remaining claims in the suit against Girard have been resolved. Those eligible for compensation will automatically receive checks unless they choose to opt-out of the settlement and pursue legal action against the city and company on their own.

DannLaw and Zimmerman Law Offices PC filed the class action in July 2018 after being approached by a number of motorists who were erroneously ticketed by the city and Blue Line between December 7, 2017 and January 7, 2018. “The speed limit on the stretch of I-80 that passes through Girard had been reduced to 55 miles per hour while The Ohio Department of Transportation was repairing the road,” Atty. Dann explained. “The limit was raised to 65 when work was completed on December 7, but for the next month the city and Blue Line continued to cite people for speeding through a construction that no longer existed.”

“As a result, thousands of people paid fines of $100 to $150 they did not owe, many were charged substantial late and collection fees and those who appealed the citations were hit with an additional fee of $25 even though they had done nothing wrong,” Atty Dann said. “The entire situation was inexcusable and outrageous.”

55 mile per hour sign“Filing the class action was the only way to secure justice and obtain compensation for motorists victimized by Girard and Blue Line,” Atty. Dann said. “City officials won’t admit they were wrong, continue to falsely claim they were not aware of the fact that construction had been completed and the speed limit raised to 65 MPH, and refuse to refund money they essentially pilfered from innocent people. Now that Blue Line has settled, we are going to focus our efforts on holding city officials accountable for their actions—no matter how long that may take.”

Atty. Dann noted that there is also a public policy aspect to the case. “Our suit and the evidence we developed in the course of pursuing justice, shines a spotlight on the dangers that accompany privatizing important public services like law enforcement,” he said. “Blue Line, which does not answer to voters or taxpayers, could care less that bogus tickets were being issued and unfortunately, city officials were more than willing to abdicate their responsibilities as long as the dollars were rolling in.”

“This sordid affair makes it easy to understand why the General Assembly has repeatedly attempted to rein-in the speed camera racket,” Atty. Dann said. “Hopefully the information we’ve uncovered while litigating this case will advance that cause.”

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DannLaw founder Marc DannDannLaw and Advocate Attorneys founder and former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and Andrew Engel of Advocate Attorneys LLP are hailing a recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that will enable them to continue fighting against Ohio’s unconstitutional  Board of Revision (BOR) tax foreclosure process in Federal District Court. The suit alleges that Montgomery County has used BOR foreclosures to steal millions of dollars in equity from property owners. A Federal District Judge in Cleveland has already found that Cuyahoga County is liable to a property owner for equity stolen in a similar manner.

The ruling in Harrison v. Montgomery County reverses a Federal District Court judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Dayton, Ohio resident Alana Harrison after the county seized her late mother’s home in 2017 via a BOR foreclosure due to a $20,000 property tax delinquency. (   ) The home’s fair market values of $22,600 was roughly $3,000 more than the taxes owed. Ms. Harrison never received the surplus equity because the BOR statute provides no way to pay it. You may read more about the case and view an interview with Ms. Harrison and Atty. Engel conducted by the Dayton Daily News here.  The Sixth Circuit ruling and all documents related to the case may be viewed and downloaded here.

In the suit Attorneys Dann and Engel contend that BOR foreclosures violate the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment, and sections of the U.S. Code because they do not give property owners the opportunity to seek and receive the equity that remains after a residential or commercial parcel is sold and the taxes, interest, and penalties due are paid.

“It’s well established that government has the power to take properties via public domain,” Atty. Dann said. “But government has never been permitted to do so without compensating the owner for its value until states began authorizing the use of administrative foreclosure procedures like the one we are challenging on behalf of Ms. Harrison, property owners across Ohio, and American Homeowner Preservation LLC (AHP), a company that specializes in offering ‘micromortgages’ to low-income families who want to enter the housing market.”

OH Foreclosure Timeline“This has happened to thousands of Ohioans,” Atty. Dann said. “The BOR process is a systematic taking that, according to a study by the by the Ohio Center for Journalism, robbed Ohio property owners and banks of more than $77 million in equity in 2019 alone. And because BOR foreclosures wipe out the tax debt that is owed, millions of dollars that should to school districts, local communities, and other taxing entities also vanish into thin air. Somewhere along the line what seemed like an efficient way to eliminate blight and improve neighborhoods has gone badly off the rails.”

According to Atty. Engel that view of the BOR process is gaining traction in the courts and the legal community. A number of legal journals and blogs, including JDSupra, inversecondemnation.com, and Reason reported on the Sixth Circuit decision and noted that the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in  Knick v. Township of Scott  and the Michigan Supreme Court’s finding in Rafaelli LLC v. Oakland County make it likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the issue sometime in the next five years.

In the meantime, the legal team at DannLaw and Advocate Attorneys will continue to aggressively represent clients like Ms. Harrison, AHP, and other victims of BOR foreclosures and other unconstitutional takings elsewhere. “We are eager to speak to anyone who has been impacted by this process,” Atty. Dann said. “Thousands of people have and will continue to lose millions of dollars until these illegal takings end. We won’t stop fighting until we achieve that goal.”

To arrange a no-cost consultation to discuss a BOR foreclosure contact DannLaw TODAY by calling 877-475-8100 or using the contact form on our website: dannlaw.brmcstaging.com/contact

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The consumer protection team at DannLaw and Advocate Attorneys, along with Atty. Nathan Lloyd Gess are investigating reports that TitleMax has repeatedly violated Pennsylvania’s lending laws by charging borrowers interest rates that would make a loan shark blush. If you or someone you know has borrowed from TitleMax in the Keystone State in the past four years we urge you to contact DannLaw TODAY by calling 877-475-8100 or using the contact form on our website: www.dannlaw.brmcstaging.com/contact to arrange a no-cost consultation.

Here is what we know and why you should act immediately to protect yourself: Even though PA law caps the annual interest rate on title loans at 6%, TitleMax is reportedly charging as much as 132% which adds thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars in finance charges to title loans. They pull off this scam by refusing to allow consumers to view loan documents on computer screens before borrowers sign them electronically and using other tricks to conceal the true interest rate.

The outrageous and illegal interest rates TitleMax is charging often cause borrowers to miss payments. When they do, TitleMax quickly repossesses the vehicle that is securing the loan.

If you or someone you know has borrowed from TitleMax in Pennsylvania in the past four years you may be a victim of this scam. You should contact DannLaw today even if your loan has been paid off or your vehicle has already been repossessed. We will examine your loan documents and help you fight for justice.

And, because TitleMax may be violating state and federal lending laws, you may also be entitled to monetary compensation.

Don’t delay, contact DannLaw today at 877-475-8100 or www.dannlaw.brmcstaging.com/contact so we can begin fighting for you!

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On Monday, May 24, 2021, Attorneys Marc Dann and Andrew Engel of Advocate Attorneys LLP filed a mandamus action that asks the Ohio Supreme Court to compel officials of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) and consulting firm CEM Benchmarking to comply with Ohio’s public records law and release financial information for the STRS pension fund, including returns achieved, expenses incurred by the funds, fees charged by outside fund managers, and comparisons of STRS’s performance with those of similar public pension funds in other states.

The documents in question were first requested by Edward “Ted” Siedle, President of Benchmark Financial Services, the firm retained by the Ohio Retired Teachers Association in October 2020 to perform a forensic investigation of STRS. Seidle’s request, submitted on February 19, 2021, sought all contracts between STRS and CEM Benchmarking, all reports and analysis produced by CEM Benchmarking related to STRS’s investment management fees, costs, and expenses, and all reports and analysis produced by CEM Benchmarking related to alternative investments.

More than two months later STRS turned over only heavily redacted copies of some the requested documents and failed to provide a copy of the system’s contract with CEM.

“STRS’s response is contrary to law, but it is not surprising,” Dann said. “The system and CEM are stonewalling and denying active and retired teachers as well as Ohio taxpayers vital information about the fund’s performance, the fees it pays advisors, and its overall management and operations. The public has a right to know what the fund and CEM are hiding and why.”

Attorney Dann, Engel, and Seidle discussed the lawsuit during a Zoom news conference at 2:00 P.M. on Monday, May 24. A recording of the event may be viewed at News Conference 5-24-21.

The mandamus action and supporting documents are available for viewing and download here:

STRS mandamus

STRS affadavit 1

STRS affadavit 2

STRS affadavit 3