Judge issues mixed ruling in eminent-domain case

NORWOOD, Ohio (AP) — A couple who blocked the city’s attempt to take their property in a landmark Ohio Supreme Court case must repay a developer $96,062 but also are entitled to compensation for any damage to their property, a judge has ruled.

The money was taken for the $96,062 mortgage that Sanae Ichikawa-Burton and Matthew Burton owed on their property and was taken from money that developer Rookwood Partners had set aside to purchase the property.

Rookwood Partners had expected to buy the Burtons’ property and that of other Norwood property owners for its $125 million planned development of a complex of shops, restaurants and offices in this Cincinnati suburb.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last July that a city cannot take private property for economic development purposes under eminent domain laws.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Beth Myers ruled Tuesday that any money that developer Rookwood Partners or Norwood will have to pay the Burtons will be determined after a court hearing. No hearing date has been set.

Myers ruled that the Burtons are entitled to be in the position they were before the taking and to get their property back in substantially the same condition it was in before they were forced off the property in April 2005.

Tim Burke, attorney for the city and the developer, said there’s no guarantee that the couple will be awarded any money for damages and said they shouldn’t be paid for damage they caused by removing fixtures or failing to maintain the property after the court returned it to them.