Court recuses itself from hearing appeal

A visiting trial judge urged the local appellate panel to recuse itself.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — All four judges of the Seventh District Court of Appeals have removed themselves from considering an appeal that stemmed from the Ohio Valley Mall Co.’s taxpayer lawsuit against Mahoning County.

In a terse two-sentence journal entry dated Tuesday, Judges Gene Donofrio, Joseph J. Vukovich, Cheryl L. Waite and Mary DeGenaro removed themselves from considering the appeal, without explanation. They said a visiting panel will be assigned by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court.

The appellate judges’ action is consistent with the recusal last year of all five Mahoning County Common Pleas trial judges from the Ohio Valley Mall taxpayer and breach of lease suits to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Last year, Judge James C. Evans, then administrative judge of that court, said the Youngstown-based Cafaro Co., parent company of OVM, was a party in many civil cases before the common pleas court and that all five judges had ruled for and against Cafaro on many cases.

When he ruled against OVM at the end of a four-day nonjury trial of the taxpayers suit in July, visiting common pleas Judge Richard M. Markus said “it would be wise” for the four local appellate judges to remove themselves from considering an appeal concerning that case and allow a visiting panel to be appointed from outside the appellate district.

Background

OVM is the former landlord for the county’s Department of Job and Family Services at Garland Plaza on the city’s East Side. JFS moved from Garland Plaza, where it had occupied leased space for 19 years, to the county-owned Oakhill Renaissance Place in July. Oakhill is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center.

OVM’s taxpayers’ lawsuit against the county commissioners and other county officials sought unsuccessfully to rescind the county’s purchase of Oakhill in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last year on the grounds that unknown costs associated with buying, operating and renovating Oakhill could bankrupt the county. The breach of lease case, which is still pending, alleges the county didn’t fulfill its maintenance obligations under the Garland Plaza lease.

The appeal the four judges recused themselves from was filed by OVM in April against a pre-trial order by Judge Markus that called for unsealing of notes made by Cafaro officials and of correspondence between Cafaro officials and various county officials.

In that order, Judge Markus said documents pertaining to public business could be disclosed, but attorney-client communications could not. No appeal has been filed concerning Judge Markus’ verdict in favor of the county at the end of the trial.