Court has jurisdiction over OHSAA's Competitive Balance Rules

The Supreme Court of Ohio issued its decision in the OSBA Legal Assistance Fund case Ohio High School Athletic Assn. v. Ruehlman. The LAF, along with BASA, OASBO, OASSA and Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, provided an amicus brief supporting OHSAA in the case. In August 2018, Roger Bacon High School and the Greater Catholic League Coed (GCL Coed) filed a lawsuit in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas claiming that they were unfairly affected by OHSAA’s competitive balance rules. The judge concluded that OHSAA’s enforcement and application of its rules and bylaws were arbitrary and capricious. In September 2018, OHSAA asked the Supreme Court for a temporary stay of the TRO and challenged whether the court of common pleas had jurisdiction to consider how a voluntary organization administered its agreed-upon bylaws and rules. The court granted the temporary stay, allowing the rules to remain in effect, and expedited consideration of the jurisdictional challenge. In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court decided that the court of common pleas does have jurisdiction over GCL Coed’s challenge to OHSAA’s rules. However, it stated that the common pleas court is the appropriate venue to consider the case brought by GCL Coed, even though the court may not be able to grant the relief that GCL Coed has requested. The dissent stated that the TRO will cause immediate harm to a large number of schools across the state and that the harm cannot be redressed because of the short duration of high school sports seasons. The case will return to the common pleas court for Judge Ruehlman to consider the merits.