On Jan. 1, Ohio can start transferring as much as $1.9B in unclaimed funds into a new fund, from which the state will pay $600M toward the Cleveland Browns’ new domed stadium in Brook Park. But a federal judge ruled the lawsuit over the plan can continue.
U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. heard arguments in the lawsuit over the proposal to move unclaimed funds the state has held since 2016 into the Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund, which was created in the state budget signed earlier this year. The $600 million the state pledged to the "transformational major sports facility mixed-use project" in Brook Park that will be the home of the Cleveland Browns will come from that fund.
Sargus ruled the transfer of the funds can go on as scheduled on Jan. 1, but he also rejected the state's request for a dismissal of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by Democratic former state lawmakers Jeffrey Crossman and Marc Dann, who’s also the former state attorney general. Crossman and Dann had asked for a timeout on that transfer, in the form of a temporary restraining order. Dann noted people who believe they are owners of unclaimed funds can still make claims until 2036.
“I think that's why the judge found that there wasn't an urgency," Dann said in an interview. "We disagree and we're looking at our options relating to that.”
But Dann said he's pleased the lawsuit over the constitutionality of the state taking those funds—which he said is being done without due process—to continue. The state has said it’s legal.
“We haven't given up yet on getting that order in place between now and Jan. 1," said Dann in an interview. "But even if we don't, that money can always, the Browns can always pay it back. The state can reimburse the unclaimed funds account."
The Browns' stadium is part of a development project that is expected to cost $2.4 billion. The state and local governments will each put in $600 million, with the Browns' owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam contributing the rest. The facility is expected to open in 2029.
The state has about $4.8 billion in the unclaimed funds account. In her testimony, Division of Unclaimed Funds Finance Manager Amy Schellhammer said there's been a flood of claims following news coverage of the plan to use the money for the Browns stadium, and that's delaying the processing of those claims. The state's unclaimed funds website has a banner informing those filing claims to allow 120 days, or four months, for a claim to be reviewed.
