Nobody ever said free money is easy.
The Browns’ effort to build a new stadium with public funding has hit a significant roadblock, in the form of a court challenge to the manner in which the politicians plan to pick the taxpayers’ pockets.
Via Laura Hancock of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Magistrate Jennifer D. Hunt issued a preliminary injunction blocking the effort to siphon unclaimed funds.
Preliminary injunctions are rarely awarded; they keep the status quo in place until the lawsuit can be resolved. In this case, it means that Ohio can divert none of the billions in unclaimed funds for the new Browns stadium until a final ruling is issued.
The legal challenge to using unclaimed funds is simple — it arguably violates the takings and due process clauses of the Ohio Constitution.
To get a preliminary injunction, the plaintiff must show, among other things, a substantial likelihood of success as to the merits of the claim. Getting a preliminary injunction, then, is a key stepping stone toward winning the case.
The Ohio Attorney General’s office is planning its next steps. Obviously, there will be appeals that could lead all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court. For now, however, Ohio can’t touch a single penny of unclaimed funds while the case proceeds.
Which puts the entire project on hold, unless Ohio comes up with another way to come up with its subsidy for the new stadium.
