State ex rel. Kerns v. Simmers, 153 Ohio St. 3d 103, 2018-Ohio-256

Summary

Landowners sought a writ of mandamus compelling Ohio officials to commence appropriation proceedings for property included in an oil-and-gas drilling unit. The Ohio Supreme Court denied the writ, holding that the landowners had an adequate remedy through an appeal to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas under R.C. 1509.37, despite their failure to timely pursue that appeal.

Holdings

1. An appeal under R.C. 1509.37 was a complete, beneficial, and speedy remedy because the common pleas court could review the unitization order for lawfulness and reasonableness and invalidate it if the order or R.C. 1509.28 violated constitutional requirements.
2. A party's failure to timely pursue an otherwise adequate appellate remedy does not make that remedy inadequate for purposes of mandamus.
3. Mandamus does not lie because the landowners failed to establish the absence of a plain and adequate legal remedy.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the landowners were entitled to a writ of mandamus compelling commencement of appropriation proceedings for an alleged unconstitutional taking.
2. Whether an appeal to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas under R.C. 1509.37 constituted a plain and adequate remedy at law.
3. Whether the landowners' failure to timely pursue the statutory appeal rendered that remedy inadequate.

Disposition

writ_denied