State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine

Ohio Supreme Court·Decided August 21, 2026·No. 2025-1055·Published

Opinion

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine, Slip Opinion No. 2026-Ohio-3208.]

NOTICE

This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published.

SLIP OPINION NO. 2026-OHIO-3208 THE STATE EX REL. BOWLING ET AL., APPELLEES, v. DEWINE, GOVERNOR, ET AL., APPELLANTS.

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine, Slip Opinion No.

2026-Ohio-3208.]

Cause dismissed as moot, and judgments of court of appeals and trial court vacated. (No. 2025-1055―Submitted May 20, 2026―Decided August 21, 2026.)

APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Franklin County, Nos. 25AP-191 through 25AP-193, 2025-Ohio-2313.

The below judgment entry of the court was joined by KENNEDY, C.J., and WILKIN, DETERS, HAWKINS, and SHANAHAN, JJ. FISCHER, J., dissented, respectfully disagreed with the court’s decision to dismiss this matter as moot, and would have resolved the case on the merits. BRUNNER, J., dissented, with an

SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

opinion. KRISTY S. WILKIN, J., of the Fourth District Court of Appeals, sat for DEWINE, J.

{¶ 1} Sua sponte, the cause is dismissed as moot, and the judgments of the Tenth District Court of Appeals in State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine, 2025-Ohio- 2313, and of the trial court in State ex. rel. Bowling v. DeWine, Franklin C.P. Nos. 21CVH07-4469, 21CVH08-5524, and 21CVH08-5525 (Feb. 12, 2025), are vacated.

BRUNNER, J., dissenting. {¶ 2} To obtain federal funds to support unemployed workers, the General Assembly enacted R.C. 4141.43(I), which requires the director of Ohio Job and Family Services (“ODJFS”) to “take such action . . . as may be necessary to secure to this state and its citizens all advantages available under” certain federal laws relating to unemployment compensation. R.C. 4141.43(I)(1). The statute specifies that the director “shall cooperate with the United States department of labor to the fullest extent.” Id. The question presented in this case is whether the version of R.C. 4141.43(I) that was in effect in June 2021 required the director of ODJFS to maintain Ohio’s participation in a federal program that provided additional unemployment-compensation payments to people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

{¶ 3} Unfortunately, this court sidesteps this question and dismisses the cause as moot, without explanation. I agree that the mandamus claim at issue in this appeal, raised by Candy Bowling, Shawnee Huff, David Willis, Zachary Dunn, Sebastian Nash, James Parker, and Sarah Russell (collectively, “Bowling”), is moot. But on the record before us, it appears the federal benefits Bowling seeks may still be available to Ohioans who were receiving unemployment compensation during the pandemic—benefits that Bowling estimates could be valued at upwards

January Term, 2026

of $900 million, see 2025-Ohio-2313, ¶ 13 (10th Dist.). Bowling’s claims for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief therefore are not moot.

{¶ 4} I would reverse the portion of the Tenth District Court of Appeals’

judgment regarding Bowling’s claim for mandamus relief and remand the matter to the trial court with instructions to dismiss that claim as moot. I would affirm the Tenth District’s judgment with respect to the claims for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, but only as it relates to the director of ODJFS, because the version of R.C. 4141.43(I) that was in effect in June 2021 required the director to maintain Ohio’s participation in the federal program that provided additional unemployment-compensation payments to Ohioan’s during the COVID-19 pandemic. But I would reverse the Tenth District’s judgment as it relates to the governor and would remand the matter to the trial court with instructions to grant the governor’s request for summary judgment.

I. Background

{¶ 5} In July 2021, Bowling1 filed a complaint in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas raising claims for mandamus and injunctive relief and seeking a declaratory judgment. At the same time, Bowling filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against appellants, Governor Mike DeWine and Matt Damschroder, the director of ODJFS (collectively, “the State”). Bowling’s claims concern the governor’s termination of Ohio’s participation in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“FPUC”) program, see 15 U.S.C. 9023, which Congress enacted in March 2000 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, 15 U.S.C. 9001 et seq.

{¶ 6} The FPUC program initially provided eligible persons an additional $600 in weekly unemployment benefits. 15 U.S.C. 9023(b)(3)(A)(i). That amount

1. The initial complaint was filed by Bowling and two others. The complaint was later amended, and additional plaintiffs were added.

SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

later decreased to $300 a week. 15 U.S.C. 9023(b)(3)(A)(ii). The additional benefits were to be paid “as if [the] State law had been modified in a manner such that the amount of regular compensation . . . payable for any week . . . equal[ed] . . . the amount determined under the State law . . . plus [the FPUC amount].” 15 U.S.C. 9023(b)(1). Congress left to the individual states the choice whether to participate in the program, and on March 28, 2020, Governor DeWine executed the necessary agreement with the United States Department of Labor for Ohio to do so.

{¶ 7} The agreement required ODJFS to “apply the methods of administration required by section 303(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(a)(1)) to the functions undertaken pursuant to [the] Agreement.” Congress made clear that the states were to treat FPUC benefits “in the same manner as if those benefits were regular compensation,” 15 U.S.C. 9023(g)(1), and Congress defined “compensation” as having the same meaning used in 26 U.S.C. 3304 et seq., the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, see 15 U.S.C. 9023(i)(1). The Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 defines “compensation” as “cash benefits payable to individuals with respect to their unemployment.” 26 U.S.C. 3306(h).

{¶ 8} Under the agreement, the governor was permitted to terminate the agreement “with respect to any of the provisions” therein “on thirty days’ written notice.” On May 24, 2021, Governor DeWine provided written notice to the United States Department of Labor that Ohio intended to end its participation in the FPUC program as of the week ending June 26, 2021. Bowling sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the State from withdrawing from the program and denying Bowling the additional unemployment- compensation benefits that Bowling had been receiving under the FPUC.

{¶ 9} The trial court applied the four-part test stated in Procter & Gamble Co. v. Stoneham, 140 Ohio App.3d 260, 267 (1st Dist. 2000), and determined that a preliminary injunction was not warranted, because Bowling had failed to pass the

January Term, 2026

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine, (Ohio 2026).

State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine (State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State ex rel. Gaylor, Inc. v. Goodenow
2010 Ohio 1844 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Quarterman (Slip Opinion)
2014 Ohio 4034 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2014)
Procter Gamble Company v. Stoneham
747 N.E.2d 268 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2000)
State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine
2021 Ohio 2902 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine
2022 Ohio 4122 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2022)
State v. Logan
2025 Ohio 1772 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2025)
State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine
2025 Ohio 2313 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
Maurent v. Spatny
2025 Ohio 5002 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2025)
State ex rel. Cincinnati Enquirer v. Baker Ross
2026 Ohio 510 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2026)