Judge gets set to hear 2 Cafaro lawsuits

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Judge Markus is no stranger to the Mahoning Valley and its controversies.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Richard M. Markus, known as one of Ohio's most distinguished judges, has his work cut out for him as he prepares to hear two Cafaro Co. lawsuits against Mahoning County commissioners. Five Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judges have removed themselves from the cases.

And the retired Cuyahoga County Common Pleas and 8th District Court of Appeals judge, who will hear these cases as a visiting common pleas judge, has already hit the ground running. .

Judge Markus conducted telephone conferences with lawyers for the parties in both matters and filed detailed written case management orders in both cases just two days after the local judges removed themselves, and the Ohio Supreme Court appointed him to hear the cases. Judge Markus said prompt issuance of such orders is "my normal procedure."

"I favor reaching decisions reasonably rapidly and try to do that, so I try to be rather well-prepared to make those decisions," Judge Markus said.

"It's typical of Judge Markus. That's how he operates, and he's a totally efficient fellow," said Charles Bannon, a retired Mahoning County Common Pleas judge, who regularly sits as a visiting judge in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

"He's quite intellectual," Judge Bannon said, calling Judge Markus "one of the best judges in Ohio." He added that Judge Markus, a leading lecturer at Ohio judges' seminars, is "extremely well thought of" in the legal community.

High-profile cases

In recent years, Judge Markus has heard high-profile cases in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, from which local judges removed themselves to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. Among them were those concerning James A. Philomena, former Mahoning County prosecutor, and Edward A. Flask and Frank D. DeJute, former directors of the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, a local water supplier.

Judge Markus doesn't comment on matters before him, and his decisions haven't always been popular. Most notably, advocacy groups criticized what they called his leniency in the MVSD cases. But, as a retired visiting judge, he doesn't have to win re-election in a popularity contest at the polls.

"He calls a case as he sees it. ... He just does what he thinks is right," Judge Bannon said.

Judge Markus, 76, who might be regarded as the dean of Ohio trial judges, wrote the "Trial Handbook for Ohio Lawyers," which could be considered the Bible of Ohio trial procedure, in 1970, revising it annually ever since. "Many lawyers have it on the trial table with them when they're trying a case," Judge Bannon said.

Born in Evanston, Ill., Judge Markus grew up on a farm in rural northern Illinois and attended a one-room elementary school. After his father enlisted for World War II Army service, the family moved frequently, causing Judge Markus to attend five high schools in four states before enrolling in a bachelor's degree program at Northwestern University.

Judge Markus recalled that Warren Burger, who later became chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, hired him for his first job as a lawyer just after he graduated from Harvard Law School in 1954. In that position, Judge Markus was an appellate attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's civil division, which Burger then headed.

Lawsuits

Judge Markus will hear a taxpayers lawsuit, which seeks to rescind the county's purchase of Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave., which is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center.

The judge also will hear a $1.1 million breach of lease suit, alleging the county has neglected maintenance and repairs at its Department of Job and Family Services in the Cafaro-owned Garland Plaza. Under the lease, the county has broad responsibility for maintenance of the premises, the suit says.

The suits were filed under the name of the Ohio Valley Mall Co., a Cafaro Co. subsidiary, shortly after the county bought Oakhill through U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The county seeks to move JFS to Oakhill.

The case management orders spell out precise deadlines for lawyers in the Cafaro cases to submit motions, witness and exhibit lists, objections and other filings and set trials for 9 a.m. July 30, 2007, in the breach of lease case, and 9 a.m. Oct. 15, 2007, in the taxpayers suit.

"The parties are entitled to a reasonably rapid response as soon as the judge can reach whatever decision is necessary, and that should follow established rules of law," Judge Markus said.

"The trial judge provides leadership, but should be responding to the requests and views of the parties through their counsel," Judge Markus said. If the parties reach an agreement on procedure, the trial judge should usually accept their wishes "unless it unduly complicates or delays the proceedings," he said.

"I enjoy coming to Mahoning County. I have found that the people are very pleasant and hospitable, and we get work done," he concluded.

Sunday, October 8, 2006