Columbus, OH – On Thursday, Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals handed The Buckeye Institute and its clients a victory in Wos v. Cleveland, ruling that the lower court erred in dismissing the case. The appeals court ordered the case returned to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for further proceedings consistent with the appeals court’s ruling. 

“While this case is not over, this ruling is good news for The Buckeye Institute’s clients and taxpayers in Cleveland,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and an attorney representing Ms. Wos and Mr. Steffes. “Buckeye is pleased that the appeals court agreed with our argument that the trial court erred by relying on evidence outside of the pleadings, in this case, an affidavit from the law director of a neighboring city.”

In its ruling, Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s dismissal of Wos v. Cleveland, finding that “it was not necessary to consider materials outside the complaint to determine the City’s motion to dismiss,” and “even if the trial court considered the [city’s] affidavit, it did not support dismissal.” 

The appeals court noted that “The City’s core argument, expressed in its affidavit, can be boiled down to ‘just ask for the interest; if we turn you down, we will send you a notice and tell you how to appeal.’” However, as the appeals court noted, The Buckeye Institute’s complaint “in essence says, ‘[W]e already asked for it [interest on the tax refund] and you refused.’” 

Wos v. Cleveland is The Buckeye Institute’s class action lawsuit on behalf of all nonresidents of Cleveland who filed a municipal income tax return with the city and received their refund more than 90 days after filing their return. 

To stay up-to-date on the case and learn more about the case and The Buckeye Institute’s clients, visit BuckeyeInstitute.org/WosvCleveland. 

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