CLEVELAND — Ohio’s plan to use unclaimed funds to help fund construction of a new domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns was temporarily blocked in court on Monday.

In her preliminary injunction, Franklin County Magistrate Jennifer Hunt found that plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann are substantially likely to win their case on the merits. Her order pauses the plan while the case is heard.

The class-action lawsuit argues that provisions of Ohio’s two-year, $60 billion budget that took $1 billion from the state’s Unclaimed Funds Account to pay for the stadium that Haslam Sports Group is planning for suburban Brook Park, south of Cleveland, violate constitutional prohibitions against taking people’s private property for government use, as well as citizens’ due process rights.

The strategy was among several hotly debated topics during Ohio’s budget planning last year.

Dann and former state Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, both Democrats, filed the legal action on behalf of three named Ohio residents, as well as all other individuals whose unclaimed funds were being held by the state as of June 30, 2025.

The litigation challenges specific budget provisions that diverted more than $1 billion in unclaimed funds to create an Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund and designate $600 million for the Browns as its first grant.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office said it was reviewing the decision and determining next steps.

Before ending his bid for governor last year, the Republican spoke out against using unclaimed funds for such a purpose, having gone so far as to urge DeWine to veto it. However, the state’s top lawyer has further said that he believed the plan was legally sound.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A Cleveland mother was charged with two counts of murder after her daughters were found in suitcases partially buried in a park near E. 165th and Midland Ave last week.

In the days that followed, we spoke with DeShaun Chatman, who is the father of 8-year-old Mila Chatman.

He said he’s been trying for years to get access to his daughter but felt the courts and Child Protective Services (CPS) weren’t working with him.

There is a law in Columbus working its way through the process trying to clarify parenting roles and rights.

Senate Bill 174 (SB174) was passed in November and is currently sitting waiting in a House committee.

At the time the bill was passed one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) said, “No one is a winner in parenting disputes. But if anyone is, it should be the kids. By passing this legislation, the Ohio Senate is taking the first step toward encouraging cooperation between separated parents.”

The bill has a number of provisions looking to make it easier for a judge to give equal rights to both the mother and father.

For example, it would prohibit a judge from giving preference to a father or a mother based on a person’s financial status or gender.

It also requires a parenting plan be filed that shows parenting and decisions will be a shared responsibility regardless of marital status.

There is also a prevision that would allow unmarried parents to file a complaint at no charge, requesting the allocation of parenting rights and responsibilities upon the father establishing parentage and provides an expedited hearing and temporary orders.

Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.

Buy ticket