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Hearing is critical juncture in the battle to secure benefits owed to 300,000 Ohioans

In a hearing scheduled for 1:30 PM today in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, the attorneys who represent thousands of Ohioans unjustly denied nearly $1 billion in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits by the state will ask Judge Michael Holbrook to deny the state’s motion to stay his February 12 ruling in favor of the plaintiffs and order Governor Mike DeWine to immediately take steps to reinstate Ohio’s participation in the FPUC program. The motion, filed by DannLaw and Zimmerman Law Offices may be viewed and downloaded here.

“It is difficult, if not impossible, to understand why the state continues to fight a battle it lost decisively in both the trial and appellate court,” Marc Dann said. “The governor’s stated reason for pulling out of the program, that the benefits would serve as a disincentive for people to rejoin the workforce, was specious when he asserted it in 2021 and no longer exists in 2025.”

“There is absolutely no legal or policy reason why nearly $1 billion in federal funds should be sitting dormant in an account in Washington, D.C. when they could and should be flowing into the hands of Ohio families and fueling this state’s economy,” Dann continued. “Our motion asks Judge Holbrook to end the state’s defiance of his order as well as the delaying tactics that put the funds at risk of being repurposed by Congress and the Trump administration.”

In the motion, the legal team asserts that state and federal law governing the unemployment system trump the state’s right to a stay under Ohio’s Civil Rules of procedure:

Ohioans’ right to those benefits are created, defined, and regulated by statute–both federal and state. And as set forth in R.C. 4141.28(I), part of that right is to receive payment of employment compensation benefits promptly after a court renders a determination of entitlement to those benefits.

In its Order And Entry, this Court stated: “There is no question that plaintiffs were eligible

for FPUC benefits at the time defendants terminated its FPUC termination [sic].” Order And Entry, p. 10. The Court went on to state “there is also no question of fact and that plaintiffs are entitled to a writ of mandamus restoring Ohio’s participation in the FPUC program and resulting benefits as a matter of law.” Id., p. 11. In other words, this Court’s Order and Entry constitutes a determination that Plaintiffs were entitled to receive the available FPUC benefits after the State withdrew from the program.

 Pursuant to R.C. 4141.28(I), the State is under an affirmative statutory duty to immediately

pay those benefits notwithstanding its appeal. The State cannot rely on a Civil Rule of Procedure to curtail Plaintiffs’ substantive statutory right to prompt payment.

DannLaw, Zimmerman Law Offices file motion after state appeals Common Pleas Court ruling ordering the state to secure and distribute $900,000,000 in federal FPUC funds

Reacting to the state of Ohio’s decision to appeal Judge Michael Holbrook’s ruling in favor of thousands of Ohioans unjustly denied nearly $1 billion in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits, attorneys from DannLaw and Zimmerman Law Offices today asked the Tenth District Court of appeals to order Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Jobs and Families Services (ODJFS) to take all action necessary to obtain the funds from the U.S. Department of Labor and deposit them with the Clerk of Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The motion is designed to ensure that the funds will continue to be available as the state’s appeal proceeds. You may read and download the motion here: Bowling Candy 2025 02 20 Motion for Injunction WITH EXHIBITS

“Once the funds are deposited with the Clerk of Courts, they will be available for distribution to Ohioans who need and deserve them when we ultimately prevail,” Marc Dann said. “If, for some reason, our victory is overturned, the money will simply be sent back to the federal government. Given the current status of the case, what we are proposing is the most equitable path forward.”

In the motion the plaintiff’s argue that “time is of the essence and there is a compelling need for this Court to grant injunctive relief to prevent manifest injustice because federal policymakers have publicly expressed their intent to use unspent pandemic emergency money for other causes.”

“Congress is already talking about using unspent COVID relief dollars as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling and the DOGE crew is turning over rocks to find and repurpose unspent money,” Dann explained. “The governor can preserve the FPUC funds with the stroke of a pen by signing a letter to the Department of Labor requesting the money.”

“Of course, he could use the same pen to abide by the orders Judge Holbrook issued on February 12. Even though he and the Tenth District Court ruled that the Governor has a legal obligation to secure and distribute these funds to eligible Ohioans, he continues to fight against the people he was elected to serve,” Dann said. “Because he refuses to do the right thing voluntarily, we are forced to protect our clients by asking the Court of Appeals to order him to do so.”

The motion notes that the Appellate Court has “…the power to issue an ‘affirmative injunction’ as necessary to “prevent manifest and extreme injustice where all or some part of those rights [obtained by the trial court’s judgment] will otherwise be irrevocably lost to appellee, and the appellant has little or nothing to lose.”

“That certainly applies in this case. Our clients could lose $900,000,000 while the state has no real interest in the FPUC funds and are merely the conduit that passes the money from the federal government to Ohioans,” Dann said. “The state’s continued defiance of court orders and refusal to abide by their legal obligation to secure these funds makes injunctive relief appropriate and absolutely necessary.”

In their motion the plaintiffs ask for an order that directs the Defendants to:

(1) take all action necessary to reinstate Ohio’s participation in the FPUC program from June 26, 2021 through its expiration;

(2) to take all action necessary to obtain Ohio’s share of FPUC program benefits from the U.S. Department of Labor;

(3) deposit the FPUC program benefits with the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, Franklin County Ohio, pending resolution of this appeal; and

(4) for all other relief this Court may deem just and proper.

For additional information please contact Marc Dann at 330-651-3131

Franklin County Judge rules Governor DeWine violated Ohio law when he rejected fully federally funded Federl Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments

In a landmark and long-awaited decision, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Holbrook today ordered Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) to immediately reinstate Ohio’s participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program and take all action necessary to obtain Ohio’s share of FPUC program benefits  from the United States Department of Labor (DOL). A copy of the decision is available here.

Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, whose law firm, DannLaw, originally filed suit in July of 2021 on behalf of thousands of Ohioans who were denied $300 in weekly supplemental unemployment benefit payments due to Governor DeWine’s unwarranted decision to end the state’s participation in the fully-federally funded program on June 26, 2021, hailed the ruling as a major victory for his clients and the state of Ohio.

“Today, Judge Holbrook validated our contention that Governor DeWine and ODJFS were required by Ohio law to accept and distribute the FUPC payments to Ohioans devastated by COVID-19,” Dann said. “The Governor’s decision to deny federal aid to families in crisis was arbitrary and unconscionable, and illegal. It is our sincere hope that he will now honor his obligation to obey the law without delay.”

According to Dann, eligible Ohioans will receive an estimated $900,000,000 in FUPC benefits as a result of Judge Holbrook’s ruling. “The payments will both enable people still reeling from the effects of the pandemic to rebuild their lives and significantly boost the state’s economy,” he said. “We’ve never understood why the Governor would leave nearly a billion dollars sitting in an account in Washington, D.C. rather than allowing that money to flow into Ohio’s 88 cities, townships, and villages where it will fuel sales for local businesses and generate tax revenue. Aside from being cruel, refusing funds made no sense from an economic standpoint.”

“We’ve been assured the money is there, it’s far past time for the state to ask for it on behalf of citizens who desperately need it,” Dann continued.

Judge Holbrook’s Judgement Entry reads as follows:

1, Pursuant to  State  ex  rel Candy Bowling  v. Mike DeWine,  2021-Ohio-2902, FPUC is one of the “available advantages” described in R.C. 4141.43(I) that the General Assemble requires Defendants “secure” to the citizens of the State of Ohio.

2. Defendants acted  in  violation  of  R.C.  4343.41(I) when  they  terminated participation in the FPUC program prior to its expiration.

3. Defendants are hereby ORDERED pursuant to R.C. 4343.41(I) to take all action necessary to reinstate Ohio’s participation in the FPUC program from June 26, 2021 through its expiration; and

4. Defendants are hereby ORDERED pursuant to R.C. 4343.41(I) to take all action necessary to obtain Ohio’s share of FPUC program benefits  from the United States Department of Labor.

Dann acknowledged that decision could be appealed, but noted the 10^th District Court of Appeals had already ruled against the state. “The law, Judge Holbrook’s ruling, and the opinion from the 10^th District Court of Appeals are crystal clear: the state is required to obtain and distribute these funds. But, as we’ve now proven multiple times, if the Governor refuses to abide by the law, we will fight and we will win,”

Over the Weekend President Trump fired Rohit Chopra the Director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) and today replaced him with Treasury Secretary (and hedge fund oligarch)  Scott Bessent.

Within hours Bessent directed the Agency to halt all work on pending regulations and enforcement actions.

While many of our clients, friends, family and neighbors voted for President Trump, I’m pretty sure that their primary objective in supporting him was not to allow debt collectors, payday lenders, credit card companies, banks and mortgage companies to be given license to cheat them.

This is sad to watch because the CFPB has established itself as a strong independent regulator of financial services companies, mortgage companies, small business lenders, banks and non-bank lenders.

This is particularly important right now because most of the contracts offered by many of these financially predatory companies force their customers to private arbitration and prohibit participation in class action lawsuits against them.  This means that if companies choose to cheat a little bit from a lot of people it’s even more difficult for private lawyers like those at DannLaw  to hold them accountable in a meaningful way.  If the CFPB is gone as a line of defense companies will have more license to cheat.

The consumers protected by the CFPB include all of us, even the CEOs and shareholders of the bad acting financial institutions.   But it is critical to remember that the lack of accountability for bad actors in the financial services world also punishes ethical businesses who are trying to compete with the businesses that  are cheating their customers.  It’s often more expensive and less profitable to follow the law than to find ways to avoid doing so.

Actions to scale back the CFPB’s enforcement and rulemaking efforts are going to cost millions of consumers billions of dollars over the next four years and limit the remedies available to consumers who are wronged. This is not a political opinion. This is a fact.

Fortunately for homeowners and many of our clients, federal law still prohibits arbitration provisions in mortgage contracts.  And for those who are subject to arbitration agreements we have been a leader among lawyers in using the arbitration process to protect our clients.

In light of this week’s news our Lawyers, Paralegals and support staff are committed to doubling down our efforts to use the courts and the law to hold financial predators accountable and seek justice for consumers who they victimize. Our job in protecting consumers is more important than ever and I know we are up to the challenge.

DannLaw provides representation to consumers in the following fields:

Foreclosure Defense

Mortgage Servicing Litigation

Consumer Protection Claims

Consumer Class Actions

Student Loan Litigation

Data Breach Class Actions

Lender Liability

Bankruptcy Litigation

Consumer Arbitration

Business Litigation

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