Ohio justices' 4-3 rulings go against business

6/30/2001

COLUMBUS - Twice this week, business groups saw a familiar one-vote majority rule against them.

First, it was the 4-3 decision released Wednesday that struck down a state law that sought to prevent injured workers from collecting workers' compensation benefits and damage awards from civil lawsuits.

Then on Thursday, the court ruled that consumers should get a refund or another vehicle if their new car is out of service for 30 or more days - even if the new car was repaired beyond that 30-day period.

On that main issue, the vote again was an identical 4-3 - with Justices Andy Douglas, Paul Pfeifer, Alice Robie Resnick, and Francis Sweeney in the majority. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Evelyn Stratton, and Deborah Cook dissented.