Class action lawsuit regarding appropriation proceedings

Represented the State of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and its director in a class action lawsuit brought by all Lake Erie lakefront property owners regarding appropriation proceedings for more than 10,000 parcels of land. The question before the court was whether the State’s claim of public trust ownership to the ordinary high water mark (which was rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court) — whether made through general public statements, in specific lease negotiations or by other means — constitutes an unconstitutional taking of private property.