Following a November 14th bench trial against the City of Uhrichsville, Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Thomakos ruled in favor of the landlords.
The case stems from the plaintiff’s arguments that a city registration fee is an illegal tax since the funds were not solely used for landlord properties. The city argued it was legal since the dollars hire a code enforcement officer.
On December 10th, a judgement entry states Ordinance 7-20 has a lack of restrictions for the assessment and use of monies collected, with a lack of services provided to landlords.
The city is prohibited from collecting further registration fees and from prosecuting landlords who do not register.
As for refunds, Judge Thomakos said it’s beyond the scope of the case and for the plaintiff, R and N Ventures, they never paid for the fee, so no money is owed to them.
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