By Cheryl Splain, KnoxPages.com Reporter
MOUNT VERNON — On Tuesday, Knox County Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel dismissed Brian Farmer’s most recent petition to block the sale of the former Bladensburg Elementary School.
Wetzel based his ruling on the fact that Farmer’s 2017 petition is nearly identical to his 2016 petition, which was dismissed by former Common Pleas Judge Otho Eyster. The Fifth Appellate District Court and the Ohio Supreme Court also dismissed Farmer’s 2016 petition on appeal.
Wetzel noted that although Farmer’s 2017 petition has technical defects, he did not base his ruling on those defects. He dismissed Farmer’s petition based on the principle of res judicata, which means that once an issue has been judged on its merits, it cannot be relitigated.
The closed Bladensburg school building on Tuesday – KP Photo
The grounds for Eyster’s 2016 dismissal of Farmer’s claim was Farmer’s failure to state a claim for which he was entitled to relief. Farmer had the chance in an oral hearing on Monday to state how the 2017 petition differed from the 2016 petition but did not do so. Because Farmer’s 2017 claim is virtually identical to the 2016 claim and presented no new information, res judicata applies. Under res judicata, Farmer is barred from any and all claims in this matter.
Farmer’s recent petition also requested the court to prohibit the sale of the school property to the Bladensburg Community Heritage Foundation. Wetzel ruled that the court does not have the jurisdiction to prohibit such a sale.
The school closed in 2015. In July of that year, the East Knox Board of Education approved the sale of the property to the foundation. Plans are to develop the building as a community center.
