Court Filings

The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s orders adopting an independent auditor’s recommendations about the Power-Purchase-Agreement (PPA) Rider for AEP Ohio for 2018–2019. OCC and OMAEG argued the commission erred in finding the PPA Rider costs prudent, violated due process by denying a subpoena for a commission staff member, and applied the wrong standard for auditor independence. The Court held the commission reasonably credited evidence that a must-run strategy for OVEC coal units was prudent when chosen, that denial of the subpoena did not prejudice the parties because other witnesses covered the issues, and that the commission properly found no undue influence on the auditor.

The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth District Court of Appeals' dismissal of inmate Robert Bates’s mandamus complaint seeking the names of certain prison officers under the Public Records Act. The appellate court dismissed the case because Bates’s accompanying affidavit of prior civil actions did not strictly comply with R.C. 2969.25(A): he failed to list the name of each party to several prior lawsuits. The Supreme Court held that R.C. 2969.25(A) is mandatory, requires strict compliance, and permits sua sponte dismissal for noncompliance, so dismissal was proper and the merits were not reached.

Kent Elastomer sought a refund of its 2018 workers’ compensation premium under the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s group-retrospective-rating program. The bureau denied the request because it had already issued a one-time COVID-19 dividend equal to 100% of each employer’s 2018 premium. The Tenth District issued a limited writ compelling the bureau to administer the group-retro program calculations for the 2018 policy year. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed, holding the bureau must follow the administrative rule governing the group-retro program and could not suspend those duties merely by issuing the dividend.