In The News 1 October 2026

Supreme Court: Fourth District Court of Appeals wrongly dismissed Nguyen’s request to be reinstated to Nelsonville City Council 

The Supreme Court of Ohio today revived for a second time a Nelsonville woman’s lawsuit to remain on the Nelsonville city council.

In a unanimous per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court found the Fourth District Court of Appeals wrongly dismissed Margarita Nguyen’s request to be reinstated as a member of the Nelsonville City Council and as council president. A legal tug-of-war has resulted in Nelsonville having two competing groups claiming to be the rightfully elected city council.

In 2025, the Court rejected the Fourth District’s assessment that Nguyen and fellow council member Carol Powell waited too long to challenge their ouster from office. Today, the Court concluded that the Fourth District wrongly dismissed Nguyen’s case as moot based on the results of the contested 2025 municipal elections, which purportedly terminated her seat.

The Court ruled the Fourth District could not deem Nguyen’s case moot without first deciding the legal issues that had led to competing councils. The lower court also must assess whether Nguyen’s brief resignation justified her removal from office.

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