Former Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich is not letting the Browns’ planned move out of the city go without a final legal blitz. On Monday, he filed a notice of appeal after a Cuyahoga County judge tossed his lawsuit that tried to keep the team from shifting to a new stadium in Brook Park. Kucinich says he is pressing ahead on behalf of taxpayers, arguing that the city’s settlement with the team shortchanged residents and that more legal action is still on the table.
Judge’s order and the new appeal
Judge Hollie L. Gallagher dismissed the case, writing that “this court no longer has subject-matter jurisdiction” because the city’s settlement with the Browns effectively ended the controversy, according to FOX 8. The FOX 8 I-Team reported that Kucinich responded by filing a notice of appeal in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and signaling that he intends to keep litigating on behalf of city taxpayers.
Why the court tossed the case
Bloomberg Law reported that Gallagher concluded the city had already taken the very steps Kucinich demanded, and that the December agreement between Cleveland and the Haslam Sports Group made his challenge essentially academic. The outlet noted that the record showed Cleveland had pursued the legal and contractual actions Kucinich urged, undercutting his argument that the court still had jurisdiction. Bloomberg Law reported the ruling in late February.
Background: The Modell Law and the $100M deal
Cleveland’s attempt to enforce the state’s Modell Law, which Kucinich helped craft decades ago, ran straight into a rewritten version of that statute and a settlement worth roughly $100 million that City Council approved in December, as reported by News 5 Cleveland. That reporting also noted that state lawmakers had amended the Modell Law, and that a separate legal fight is still brewing over a proposed $600 million transfer from unclaimed funds to help cover the Brook Park stadium project.
Kucinich says he will keep fighting
In an emailed statement, Kucinich said he is “considering an appeal to either the 8th District or the Ohio Supreme Court” and argued that the term sheet with the Browns wiped out years of public investment, according to Cleveland 19. He said he filed the original suit in August 2025 after sending taxpayer demands to city officials and remains concerned that the City Council never formally approved key lease changes tied to the deal.
What this means for Cleveland
Contractors are already at work on the Brook Park site, and the Browns are targeting the 2029 season for their first kickoff there. That timeline, however, could get messy. News 5 Cleveland reported that the challenge to the state funding plan from unclaimed funds remains active, and Bloomberg Law noted that the combination of the amended Modell Law and the city’s settlement could invite more appeals and fresh filings before this stadium saga is finally settled.
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