×

Court says quit it

Three barred from taking more legal action in Moore Road issue

LISBON — The trio behind the Moore Road controversy in St. Clair Township lost their appeal challenging a ruling that stops them from continuing to take legal action against Columbiana County.

The Ohio 7th District Court of Appeals this past week upheld a lower-court ruling that determined Charles and Laura Bramel and Chester Channels were vexatious litigators and barred them from taking any further legal action in Columbiana County courts without the judge’s permission.

A vexatious litigator is someone who repeatedly takes other legal action that has little or no basis in law and serves merely to “harass or maliciously injure” another party.

Between 2014 and 2016, the Bramels filed four administrative appeals in county Common Pleas Court and two more with the appeals court, sometimes acting as their own attorneys. This was in addition to several petitions for action they filed with county commissioners. Channels, who is neighbors with the Bramels on Moore Road, joined them in three of the appeals and he initiated a fourth on his own.

The four unsuccessful appeals and petitions were in response to a 2014 decision by county commissioners to officially close a 30-foot wide undeveloped and unused section of Moore Road that existed only on paper in a farmer’s field. This was done at the request of affected property owners and in response to efforts by the Bramels to use the path to gain access to the bridle paths at nearby Beaver Creek State Park via Ware Road.

The Bramels and Channels continued the fight by filing various appeals and petitions, and commissioners responded by asking the prosecutor’s office to file a lawsuit to have them declared vexatious litigators. In February 2017, Common Pleas Court Judge C. Ashley Pike ruled in favor of county, with the Bramels and Channels appealing that decision.

The appeals court, in a 3-0 decision, agreed with Pike, saying the actions taken by the Bramels and Channels met the definition of a vexatious litigator. The appeals court said the trio continued to file more appeals even after the judges in the previous cases ruled each time the courts lacked jurisdiction.

The appeals court ruled in December 2015 the Bramels had only one chance to properly appeal the commissioners’ decision in a timely manner and they failed to do so, and this prevented them from continuing to file repeated “corrected” versions.

This is just the latest chapter in a dispute that dates back to 2012, when the Bramels first moved to Moore Road and began seeking access to the state park’s bridle trails. The trio later filed a lawsuit against Moore Road residents Michael and Karla Holden asking the court to declare that a public easement existed over their property. This would have given them access to Ware Road, but county Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam dismissed the lawsuit last June after neither the plaintiffs nor their attorney showed up for a pretrial hearing.

An email message for comment was left with Mr. Bramel.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today