Is School District an ‘Organization’ Barred From Seeking Attorney Fees From State After Winning Court Judgment?
Cincinnati City School District Board of Education v. State Board of Education of Ohio and Ohio Department of Education, Case no. 2008-1480 1st District Court of Appeals (Hamilton County) ISSUE: Does a provision of state law that bars an “organization” with more than 500 employees from recovering its attorney fees after successfully suing the state apply to a local school district? BACKGROUND: Ohio’s Equal Access to Justice Act, R.C. 2335.39, provides that under specified circumstances a party that successfully pursues a civil claim against the state may also recover its attorney fees incurred in that litigation. The statute enumerates several categories of litigants that are excluded from eligibility to recover attorney fees. Among those excluded are the owner of an unincorporated business or “a partnership, corporation, association or organization” that has a net worth exceeding $5 million or employs more than 500 people. In this case, based on a change in the way it calculated the a
