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Lake Erie ruling limits attorney general powers, group says
The Ohio attorney general is the ‘people’s lawyer’ only when the governor or general assembly direct him or her to get involved, according to a ruling by the 11th District Court of Appeals in an environmental case.
Attorney General Richard Cordray’s staff is reviewing the ruling and deciding whether to appeal it, said spokesman Ted Hart on Tuesday, Sept 8.
The Ohio Environmental Council, which joined the suit, plans to press ahead with an appeal, said OEC Deputy Director Jack Shaner.
The case involves the private property lines along more than 300 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie. In 2005, Lake Erie property owners filed suit to fight state Department of Natural Resources regulations over structures along the shoreline and to dispute where the property lines begin. In July 2007, Gov. Ted Strickland changed the regulatory policies and pulled the DNR from the case but then-Attorney General Marc Dann stayed active in the lawsuit, saying he would represent the public interest.
The 11th District Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court about where to set the property lines and also said the attorney general had no standing the case.
OEC Legal Director Trent Dougherty said the decision has implications about the attorney general’s ability to represent the public interest in future environmental and consumer protection cases.
Shaner said the court seemed to have an ideological bent and that they fashioned the decision to fit that point of view.
Eleventh District Appeals Court Judge Diane Grendell is married to state Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, who has vigorously rallied property owners in the case.
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