Want to sue the government? There's a court for that!

Question: Isn’t the government protected by immunity?
Answer:  Many actions are protected by sovereign immunity (also called civil immunity), but in 1975 the Ohio Court of Claims Act was passed creating the Ohio Court of Claims.   “The Court of Claims has original jurisdiction to hear and determine all civil actions filed against the state of Ohio and its agencies.”  The Court of Claims Act created a “limited waiver” of immunity and permits certain types of law suits.  Source 

Question:  What kinds of law suits are now permitted? 
Answer: Suits against officers and employees of the state:

1. Arising from the operation of a motor vehicle
2. Actions in which the state is a plaintiff
3. Actions where the officer/employee acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in wanton or reckless manner of whose conduct was manifestly outside the scope of employment. 
   Source:  here and Ohio Revised Code   9.86 Civil immunity of officers and employees; exceptions.

Question:  What are some examples of these types of claims? 
Answer:  Typical claims can involve:

●Contract disputes
●Property damages
●Personal injury
●Immunity issues of state officers and employees
●Discrimination
●Wrongful imprisonment

Question:  How does the Court of Claims work? 
Answer: The Court of Claims handles cases two ways, depending on the dollar amount of the claim.

1.  $2,500 or less – are determined administratively by the clerk pursuant to R.C. 2743.10. ("Administratively" means solely on the contents of the case file.)
2. Claims of more than $2,500 are determined by a judge.

Question:  How do you bring a case in the Court of Claims?
Answer: Below are links to helpful information:

1. Practicing in the Court of Claims- provides detailed instructions.     This link takes you to the web version of a book and there is a PDF version on the web page that allows you to download this 70 page book for FREE.
2. Special court forms for this court 
3. Rules and procedures for this court
4. Search cases and see actual complaints filed.   You can search by an individual’s name, case number, or search by the state agency, state commissions and boards.  You can find all the cases filed against various state agencie such as, the State Lottery, the Civil Rights Commission, the State Medical Board, various state universities, and even cases filed against the Office of the Governor!  After opening a case file, clicking on the PDF icons opens the documents filed in the case.

Contact Information:
website http://www.cco.state.oh.us/index.php
Phone 1-800-824-8263

Want more information? 
Ohio Revised Code sections about the Court of Claims

 Next week we will look at how victims of crime can use the Attorney General and the Court of Claims for compensation.