In a court filing dated May 25, the Mill Creek MetroParks Board of Commissioners has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to reverse an earlier decision of an appeals court that ruled the park couldn't use eminent domain to acquire property for its planned third phase of bikeway from Western Reserve Road south towards Washingtonville.

MetroParks is seeking 6.5 miles of right-of-way through property owned by several landowners in Green Township, including Diane Less, who is named as the defendant in the case, and other Green Township property owners.

The 40-page document claims the lower courts erred in their decisions, which ruled in favor of Less and the other property owners on April 14.

In that ruling, the Circleville-based 4th District Court of Appeals found that MetroParks did not give a legal reason for acquiring the easement in the Less and Green Valley properties, another property that is involved in the lawsuit.

According to the court filing, the MetroParks began acquiring the property for the bikeway more than 20 years ago through the purchase of a former railroad bed. The 11-mile Phase I and II of the bike trail which runs from Niles to Canfield Township first opened in 2000.

The attorneys for Less have until about June 24 to respond to the MetroParks filing.

Mill Creek MetroPark Board of Commissioners has five members, including Lee Frey, president; and four commissioners, Germaine Bennett, Thomas Frost, Jeff Harvey and Paul Oliver.