Moundbuilders' appeal of court ruling likely delays jury trial to determine property value
NEWARK − The marathon case of Moundbuilders Country Club versus Ohio History Connection has apparently hit another delay.
Moundbuilders has appealed a 5th District Court of Appeals decision to the Ohio Supreme Court and is seeking a delay to the jury trial to determine the value of the country club's lease on the property, scheduled for Feb. 20 in Licking County Common Pleas Court.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in December 2022 the Ohio History Connection could take Moundbuilders Country Club by eminent domain and transform the golf course property, which includes the Newark Earthworks’ Octagon Mounds, into a public park. The remaining issue is how much Ohio History Connection must pay Moundbuilders for the property.
The Octagon Earthworks, part of an eight-site Ohio grouping called Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, received the coveted designation of a World Heritage site Sept. 19 at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The World Heritage designation puts Newark Earthworks in the same category as Yellowstone National Park, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and the Acropolis.
Moundbuilders appealed to the 5th District Court of Appeals an October pretrial ruling by Licking County Common Pleas Judge David Branstool on who could provide expert testimony at the trial. The 5th District stated it did not have jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal.
Joe Fraley, attorney for Moundbuilders, explained the technical reason why the case was appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court:
“It’s not really on the merits of whether witnesses should be allowed or not,” Fraley said. “It’s whether it’s a final appealable order. If (the Supreme Court) finds it is a final appealable order, then it should go back to the 5th District to decide the merits of excluding witnesses.
“If they don’t find it’s a final appealable order, then it goes to the trial court and a jury trial. Then, it would go to the 5th District, and they’ll decide if witnesses should have been excluded.”
So, Fraley said, the 5th District will be asked to rule on the exclusion of Moundbuilders’ witnesses, either before or after the trial.
“Our contention is that you can’t have a trial with only one side having witnesses,” Fraley said.
But Moundbuilders wants the decision on the witnesses before the trial and not risk forcing a retrial, when the first trial result could influence the second outcome, he said.
“Allowing a jury to render a verdict as to the value of the leasehold appropriated from Moundbuilders likely would taint the jury pool for a re-trial,” Moundbuilders stated in its court filing.
In its Friday response, the Ohio History Connection agrees the Feb. 20 trial must be delayed but states both sides had been preparing for trial and Moundbuilders did not reveal its plans.
“Just last week, counsel for both parties were actively preparing for trial,” Ohio History Connection states in its response. “The country club served subpoenas on three witnesses on Feb. 2. It gave no indication that it intended to file a notice of appeal, which it did just five days later.”
The case was originally scheduled for a trial Oct. 20 to determine the property valuation.
“Ohio History Connection has suffered harm from the delay in these proceedings,” it states in its response. “Among other things, it must pay its expert witnesses compensation for time spent in preparation for trial that twice has not gone forward.
“Beyond the additional expense caused by delay, Ohio History Connection is prejudiced by the delay of this case because it is not able to take possession until the amount of compensation is determined and paid.”
In April 2019, final arguments were made in the OHC's civil lawsuit against the country club, intending to buy back its lease on the Newark property, which has been operated as a golf course since 1910.
The Ohio History Connection, previously the Ohio Historical Society, filed the lawsuit in November 2018.
740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Moundbuilders' appeal likely delays trial to determine property value
