The motion to seal the settlement for the man killed in the Realty Building explosion nearly one year ago has been denied by the judge in Mahoning County Probate Court on Thursday.

According to the filing, Judge Robert Rusu denied the request to seal the settlement in the Akil Drake settlement case, stating that after listening to all parties involved in the case, he found that Drake's estate, counsel for East Ohio Gas,  did not meet the burden of proof nor present convincing evidence to grant the motion.

The court relied on the ruling of State ex rel. WBNS TV, Inc. v Dues, which was similar in that it found that due to the very public nature of the death, the probate court settlement allowed public access to disclose the settlement.

Judge Rusu gave the parties seven days from the filing to appeal his decision before making the settlement public.

Drake died in the blast after third-party workers cut a gas line under the sidewalk, which caused the explosion that killed 27-year-old Drake and injured nine others on May 31, 2024 in downtown Youngstown.