Jay Carson, on behalf of Wegman client The Buckeye Institute filed a new lawsuit on April 8, 2021 in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Pennsylvania resident Dr. Manal Morsy.  The lawsuit asks the court to declare unconstitutional an Ohio law that allows the City of Cleveland to tax her income even though she does not live in Cleveland, or the State of Ohio, and has not worked in Cleveland for more than a year.     

Before the pandemic, Dr. Morsy would commute over 400 miles from her hometown of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania to her workplace in Cleveland, Ohio.  She would spend the week working in Cleveland, then return to Pennsylvania on the weekends.  Due to the pandemic, however, Dr. Morsy began working exclusively from her home in Pennsylvania in March 2020. Yet, because of an Ohio statute enacted last year, she is being forced to pay income taxes to the City of Cleveland as well as in her own hometown.    

Four similar suits have been filed on behalf Ohioans by Jay and The Buckeye Institute, including the recent victory in Denison v. Kilgore, filed in Franklin County in February 2021, where the City of Columbus acknowledged that Mr. Denison who lives in Westerville, was owed a full refund on the taxes he paid to the city while, at the instruction of is employer, was working outside of the city.  The other pending cases include Buckeye v. Kilgore filed in Franklin County in July 2020, Schaad v. Alder filed in Hamilton County in February 2021, and Curcio v. Hufford filed in Lucas County in March 2021.  An amicus brief was also filed in New Hampshire v. Massachusetts calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Granite Staters from unconstitutional taxation by Massachusetts.   

Click here to see WKYC’s coverage of the lawsuit.

Wegman Hessler specializes in business law for business leaders, applying legal discipline to solve business problems to help business owners run smarter. For more than 50 years, this Cleveland business law firm provides full-service strategic legal counsel for closely held businesses. Learn more at www.wegmanlaw.com.