The legal team of DannLaw and Advocate Attorneys LLP scored an important victory today when the Tenth District Court of Appeals ruled that Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Holbrook erred when he denied the firms’ request for an order that would force the state to restore federally funded supplemental unemployment insurance benefits cut off by Governor DeWine in May. The decision may be viewed/downloaded here: Appeals decision
In a 2-1 decision Judges Michael Mentel and Terri Jamison denied the state’s motion to dismiss the case and sent it back to Judge Holbrook for further proceedings. According to former Ohio Attorney General and DannLaw founder Marc Dann, an evidentiary hearing has been set for Friday at 9:00 A.M. in Courtroom 5B located in the Franklin County Government Center, 345 South High Street, Columbus, OH.
“We are obviously pleased by the ruling and excited to have the opportunity to continue fighting to restore these much-needed benefits,” Andrew Engel of Advocate Attorneys LLP said. “Throughout this state thousands of people have been crushed by the pandemic and the situation is growing worse as the Delta variant spreads across Ohio. The impact of the Governor’s callous, politically motivated decision to rescind the benefits has been devastating and it should be reversed as quickly as possible.”
“While we are more than ready to continue to argue the case in court, we urge the Governor to contact the Biden Administration and ask for the benefits to be restored retroactively,” Dann said. “Not only would that be the right thing to do from a legal, moral, and ethical standpoint, it makes sense economically because it would immediately pump tens of millions of dollars into the coffers of Ohio businesses and the pockets of their employees. That means restoring the supplemental payments would help the unemployed who desperately need them and the state as a whole.”
DannLaw’s Brian Flick noted that after the state of Indiana lost a similar lawsuit, officials asked for and received retroactive benefits. “If Governor DeWine makes the request, I’m confident the Biden Administration will say ‘yes’ and the federal dollars will begin flowing. The Governor should end the legal wrangling and make the request today.”
For more information please contact Marc Dann at 330-651-3131 or email [email protected]