Crook, Claypool File Amended Complaint in NOACA Lawsuit

March 11, 2026 by Allison Wilson

Jay Crook, attorney for Skip Claypool, filed an amended complaint March 2 in the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas in Claypool’s ongoing lawsuit over bylaw changes to the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

Claypool originally filed complaints in early January alleging Geauga County commissioners Jim Dvorak and Carolyn Brakey violated Ohio’s Open Meetings Act.

The lawsuit stems from the commissioners’ decision to ratify changes to NOACA’s bylaws that prevented Claypool from serving as an alternate on the agency’s board and replaced Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri with Geauga County Engineer Andy Haupt.

Claypool filed his original lawsuit before the county ratified the changes, but withdrew it after commissioners voted so he could revise the requested relief.

While Claypool’s original lawsuit named Dvorak and Brakey individually, the amended complaint names the board of commissioners as an entity.

According to the complaint, commissioners’ vote regarding NOACA has harmed the county through Spidalieri’s removal and through use of county tax dollars to pay NOACA dues “under circumstances not contemplated or approved prior to the expenditure of funds.”

Like the original lawsuit, the amended complaint alleges the request to change NOACA’s bylaws in order to seat the county engineer came from two of the three commissioners.

Claypool requested a variety of public records related to communications between commissioners and NOACA, Crook said, adding that none of the documents show Brakey or Dvorak asking any NOACA official to change the bylaws.

Spidalieri has also sworn under oath that commissioners never held a public meeting to discuss replacing one of the commissioners’ seats with the county engineer, Crook said. He added the actions leading up to the request for the bylaw change, as well as the request itself, violate Ohio’s Open Meetings Act.

Crook also argued the county’s original contract with NOACA required all three commissioners to serve on the board.

That contract has not been revoked or repudiated, he said, adding the bylaws cannot overrule the contract.

Federal authorizing statute requires 75% of an area’s voters be represented on a board organized under it, Crook said.

Two out of three commissioners would equate to 66%, while the engineer is “not an authorized participant of the NOACA board under the authorizing federal statute,” he said, adding any resident who voted for Spidalieri but not for Brakey or Dvorak now lacks representation on the board.

“Mr. Claypool and every other voter in Geauga County has suffered injury in the loss of their duly-elected representative (Spidalieri) being allowed to be a member of the NOACA board. This injury will continue so long as the changed regulations remain in place,” Crook said.

He further argued commissioners approved an illegal change to NOACA’s bylaws and then stripped Spidalieri of his seat.

He also said county funds previously approved for NOACA membership were based on bylaws stating the county would be represented by three commissioners and, therefore, the bylaw change should render those expenditures invalid.

“This expenditure is now improper and as such constitutes an injury to the Geauga County taxpayers, including but not limited to Mr. Claypool,” Crook said.

Crook asked the court to issue an order declaring both the bylaw changes and Spidalieri’s removal from NOACA null and void. He also requested the defendants reimburse the cost of litigation.

Commissioners declined to comment on the pending litigation.

NOACA pushed back on Claypool’s accusations.

“NOACA is disappointed Mr. Claypool continues to make these claims,” Director of Public Affairs Danielle Render said March 10. “We deny the allegations in full and welcome the opportunity to refute them in court.”