State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 2313

Syllabus

After this court addressed the merits of an interlocutory appeal, and after the Supreme Court of Ohio dismissed a subsequent appeal as moot, the trial court did not err in proceeding to final judgment on the underlying action for declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and mandamus. Because the Supreme Court of Ohio did not address the merits of the interlocutory appeal or the merits of the underlying claims that were not at issue in the interlocutory appeal, the Supreme Court of Ohio's dismissal based on mootness did not require the trial court to dismiss the entire case on remand. The trial court did not err in applying the law of the case from our previous appellate decision holding that R.C. 4141.43(I), along with Article II's exclusive reservation of legislative power to the General Assembly, did not allow the Governor to prematurely terminate Ohio's participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (\FPUC\) program, 15 U.S.C. 9023, which was part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The trial court properly ordered the Governor to rescind his early termination of the FPUC program and attempt to obtain the federal benefits that would have been paid to Ohio citizens from June 26 to September 6, 2021. The Governor failed to establish that it would be impossible to recover the benefits, and therefore failed to establish that the action was moot based on the impossibility of meaningful relief. Judgment affirmed.