COLUMBUS, Ohio - A legal challenge to Ohio's plan to fund a portion of the new Cleveland Browns stadium with money from the state's Unclaimed Funds Account has moved to federal court.

The class action suit was filed by a group of Ohio residents, represented by attorneys including former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann. It argues that the state's use of $600 million in unclaimed funds for the team's proposed $2.4 billion stadium in Brook Park is an unconstitutional seizure of private property.

The state’s two-year operating budget, signed into law on June 30, 2025, allocates $600 million from the Unclaimed Funds Account to help finance the new stadium. Historically, the money in this account, which includes things like uncashed checks and dormant bank accounts, has been held by the state as a custodian for the rightful owners.

Recent state legislation changes this arrangement, allowing the state to assume ownership of a portion of the funds starting on Jan. 1, 2026.

Those who filed the lawsuit contend that the money remains private property and cannot be appropriated by the state for a private venture like the Browns' proposed suburban stadium. They allege the plan violates the Fifth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantee due process and just compensation for private property taken for public use. They also cite provisions of the Ohio Constitution.

The first complaint, filed in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court in July, named state officials, including Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague and Commerce Director Sheryl Maxfield, as defendants.

State officials filed a motion to dismiss that case, arguing the plaintiffs failed to first use the existing administrative process to claim their money. The officials also moved to strike the class-action allegations, claiming that the individual nature of each unclaimed fund deposit means the claims are too unique to be consolidated into a single class.

The lawsuit filed in Franklin County has been withdrawn by the plaintiffs.

The total Unclaimed Funds Account holds nearly $5 billion. The state budget’s provision on unclaimed funds transfers $1.7 billion into a special fund for sports and cultural facilities, with the $600 million for the Browns being the first intended grant from this new funding stream.

The team’s owners, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, are seeking approximately $1.2 billion in public funding to help cover the construction costs for the domed facility. The Browns’ plan to move to Brook Park also involves a separate federal lawsuit against the city of Cleveland over the so-called Modell Law, which governs the relocation of professional sports teams in the state.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that the shift in the state’s approach to unclaimed funds fundamentally alters the property rights of Ohio residents.

Former state Representative Crossman described the funding mechanism as an attempt to divert private property to a private venture without providing proper notice to the owners whose money is at stake.

The state’s defense of the funding plan is that it provides a way to help finance sports and culture projects without relying on the state’s general fund or increasing taxes on Ohioans.

The defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the latest lawsuit, claiming that attorneys missed an extended deadline to respond to motions in Franklin County Court, filing the federal complaint one day after the deadline passed.

A Preliminary Pretrial Conference in the case is set for November 4 before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers.

The outcome of the litigation could affect the timeline and financing structure of the proposed Brook Park stadium, as well as the nature of unclaimed property law in Ohio.