Columbus mayor accused of improper talks with judge in Greyhound terminal case

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Representatives for a Greyhound bus terminal in Columbus have accused Mayor Andrew Ginther of an improper conversation with the court overseeing a case on what to do with it.

The accusation came Friday as court proceedings resumed for a lawsuit between the City of Columbus, Greyhound Lines, Inc. and Barons Bus, Inc. over a bus terminal on the city’s west side. Opened in June, nearby residents complained of safety and sanitation concerns.

City Attorney Zach Klein filed a lawsuit in August against the two groups behind the terminal at 845 N. Wilson Rd., citing multiple code violations. From there, the city wanted a preliminary injunction to declare the bus terminal a public nuisance. If granted, Klein’s office said it would force the property owners to bring the terminal into compliance or face potential closure for a year.

However, the companies behind the terminal said they had an incident on public record where an elected city official had inappropriately contacted the court without notifying any other parties in the case. During the hearing on Friday, they named that official as Ginther.

“If a party has unclean hands, that alone warrants denial of the injunction,” an attorney for Barons Bus and Greyhound Lines said before a judge. “The mayor, Mayor Ginther, improperly contacted this court without notice to anybody, urging the court to grant this injunction, undermining public confidence in the court system.”

NBC4 reached out to the mayor’s office for a response following the comments by the two companies’ legal team.

“Since this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not allowed to comment on it,” a spokesperson for Ginther’s office said.

The judge presiding over the case had yet to reach any decision as of 11 a.m.

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