Brian Ames has spent the last decade filing upwards of 160 lawsuits against local governments.
鈥淚 go find public bodies that are not following the Open Meetings Act, and I bring cases against them that require them to comply with the law,鈥� he explained.
He鈥檚 sued school boards, budget commissions, boards of elections and village councils 鈥� everywhere from Hamilton County to Ashtabula 鈥� for failing to comply with the state鈥檚 , which are meant to ensure government transparency.
It's garnered him a nickname 鈥� the Open Meetings Act Bounty Hunter 鈥� and drawn the ire of local governments across the state.
Ohio鈥檚 open government laws have two key parts: the Public Records Act requires government bodies to make records available to the public and the Open Meetings Act ensures governing bodies deliberate in public.
There are some exceptions for both, but Ames says many local governments aren鈥檛 in compliance.
鈥淎 lot of public bodies take the approach that, 鈥榃e should exclude the public at every opportunity,'鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat's a sneaky approach.鈥�
Lawsuits against local governments
A former software engineer, Ames designed a system to find open government violations. When one comes up, he says he often tries to talk through the issue to help the public body follow the law.
Otherwise, he sues them. And normally, he says the body of government settles or he wins in court.
鈥淚 have, I would say, at least a 95% win rate,鈥� he said.
Ames鈥� motivation for filing so many lawsuits is twofold.
For one, he says he doesn鈥檛 want local governments dishing out tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees if someone else catches the violation. Ames caps settlements $500 or $1,000 dollars depending on the offense.
For two, he says this work is in the public鈥檚 best interest.
鈥淭he public body itself benefits from complying with the law because they can be more trustworthy. They're perceived to be more involved.鈥�
But some public bodies don鈥檛 see it that way.
Critics of the lawsuits
The Ohio Newsroom reached out to half a dozen superintendents and local representatives on boards that Ames has sued. Most didn鈥檛 respond or said they didn鈥檛 want to speak on the record for fear of being targeted in a future lawsuit.
The conversations, along with reporting in local publications, point to a few common themes.
For instance, many public bodies like the , in Trumbull County, and the have said it鈥檚 cheaper to settle with Ames than to litigate, so that鈥檚 why so many are choosing that route.
Some do admit missing nuances to open government laws and have made small changes accordingly.
A commissioner in Lorain County, for example, told that its budget commission is paying more attention to procedures now.
But others maintain they鈥檝e done nothing wrong.
In a settlement agreement, West Geauga Schools鈥� Board of Education denied allegations of wrongdoing. And Superintendent Richard Markwardt told the that while he welcomes objective criticism, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that accusations that are unfounded are welcomed.鈥�
Either way, people say they didn鈥檛 set out to break the law, and that these lawsuits ultimately come at a cost to constituents. In the case of school boards, for example, they take away from a pool of money otherwise used to educate kids.
Ames鈥� response
Ames has heard these criticisms, but says complaints with the law should be taken up with legislators, not in court.
鈥淭hey go into court and say, 鈥楾his is so unfair. Mr. Ames is bounty hunting when we're just trying to do our job,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淲ell, nobody got nailed by a bounty hunter that wasn't doing anything wrong. So it doesn鈥檛 excuse their wrongdoing.鈥�
Ames has taken all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court. Just a few months ago in October, in his favor that Crestwood Local Schools, southeast of Cleveland, was required to release the results of a staff mental health survey.
Earlier this month, Ames filed a new case against West Geauga Local Schools. He says the district isn鈥檛 correctly providing notices for its board meetings.
And he doesn鈥檛 plan on stopping these lawsuits any time soon.
鈥淭he public doesn't know a lot of this stuff,鈥� he said, 鈥渟o, it's like, what can I do to raise the awareness out there?鈥�
He already has an eye out for his next case.