Miller Quoted in Columbus Dispatch Story Titled “Eminent Domain Can Be Used By School Districts, But That's Rare”

Joe Miller, a partner in the Columbus office, was quoted in a Columbus Dispatch story about the use of eminent domain by school districts in Ohio to take private property.  According to the story, it is not common for school districts to do this.

The story states:

“Yes, school districts can take property, though that doesn't appear to be common. In 1999, Mansfield schools used eminent domain to take 50 houses so the district could build a new high school. In 2005, Milford schools near Cincinnati filed an eminent domain suit to purchase land, but ended up reaching a settlement with the owner. In 2011, Dover City Schools near New Philadelphia talked about taking 86 acres to build a high school, but voters that November rejected a bond issue to fund the new building.

Dublin schools are attempting to deal with a crowding problem in a creative and less-expensive way than building a fourth high school for $75 million, Superintendent Todd Hoadley said. Officials settled on the vacant, 125,000-square-foot Verizon building at 5175 Emerald Parkway but lost in a bidding war even though the district's offer was $1 million more than the winning offer.

The Dublin Board of Education has given its blessing to take the property if a price can't be settled upon. It has given the owner, Emerald Parkway Valley Equity, 30 days to accept $7.4 million before the district files suit. Joe Miller, a lawyer at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease who represents Valley Equity, called the taking ‘unbelievable and unprecedented’ and the district's offer ‘grossly inadequate.’”

To read the entire story, visit the Columbus Dispatch website. (Subscription may be required).