Court favors landowners in prominent eminent domain case

Ohio Farm Bureau and the Union County Farm Bureau have been involved in a court case, Columbia Gas of Ohio versus Bailey Family/Arno Renner Trust, with potential impacts to farmland preservation programs. A long awaited decision in that important eminent domain case came out this week and The 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled that Columbia Gas of Ohio did not demonstrate that taking of the property was a necessity, and that further review was warranted of the agricultural easement issue.Please attribute the following statement to Ohio Farm Bureau.“This is a very important outcome for not only the Bailey Family and the Arno Renner Trust, but anyone who enters into agricultural easements with the intention for their land to remain in agriculture and not just for their family, but for future generations. Ohio Farm Bureau got involved to not only highlight the significance of the state’s Farmland Preservation Program in this case, but also to emphasize the need for broader eminent domain reform that our organization is currently advocating for on behalf of landowners across the state.”