5838-84 Support HB 482 Municipal immunity from suit

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RESOLUTION 5838-84 BY: Brown, Chinnock, Gallagher, Graham, McBride, Salmon, Wendling A RESOLUTION in support of the passage of State House Bill No. 482_ at the earliest time possible providing municipal immunity from suit. WHEREAS, Article I, Section 16, of the Ohio Constitution expressly provides that suits may be brought against the State of Ohio "in such courts and in such manner, as may be provided by law"; and WHEREAS, the Ohio Legislature has never enacted a law to permit lawsuits for damages against cities or school boards, as subdivisions of the State, except in limited and specifically defined circumstances, and WHEREAS, in a long and unbroken line of cases, the Ohio Supreme Court has held that, by virtue of the Ohio Constitution, specific statutory authority is required as a prerequisite to the bringing of suits against the State or its subdivisions; and WHEREAS, as recently as 1977, the Ohio Supreme. Court specifically found that Article I, Section 16, of the Ohio Constitution is not self-executing and that the Legislature had never enacted a law permitting general liability lawsuits against political subdivisions; and WHEREAS, notwithstanding the foregoing, the Ohio Supreme Court has determined to abrogate and overrule this rule of law which has been established in Ohio from 1854 through 1977 and beyond; and WHEREAS, This judicial abrogation of the well-reasoned doctrine of governmental immunity is expected to open the floodgates of litigation in an onslaught of plaintiffs, rushing to the courthouse steps to fule petitions against municipalities and schoolboards alike; and WHEREAS, this is a matter of the most profound importance in the public policy of this State which has been deprived of the benefit of the Legislature's consideration, debate, and deliberation; and WHEREAS, the Ohio Legislature now has before it House Bill 482, sponsored by Representative Cook, which would publicly establish ground rules, boundaries, and defenses with respect to liability of political subdivisions of the State, which would restore governmental immunity to school districts, and which would promulgate a rational procedure for the filing and payment of those claims allowable under the statutes. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, STATE OF OHIO: SECTION 1. That the Council of the City of Lakewood, Ohio hereby endorses proposed House Bill 482 and respectfully urges the Legislature of the State of Ohio to enact House Bill 482 into law.