Ohio landowner ordered to pay $126K after blocking farm drains, then suing neighbour

An Ohio landowner who admitted putting shoes, rocks, and number plates into holes near a farm drainage pipe before suing his neighbour over water runoff has been ordered to pay more than $126,000 in legal fees and expenses. An appeals court has upheld the penalty against him. The decision by the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Ohio confirmed an earlier ruling that James Helfrich had engaged in frivolous conduct during his long-running legal dispute with his neighbours, Foor Family Investments, LLC.The appeals court decision, filed under case number 2026 CA 00024 in the Licking County Court of Common Pleas, is the latest development in a legal battle that lasted several years. The dispute involved farm drainage pipes and damage to neighbouring properties. According to court documents published on Justia Law, Helfrich originally sued his neighbours, claiming that water running off their land had damaged his farm. However, during court testimony under oath, Helfrich admitted that he had personally filled holes above the underground drainage system with household rubbish and scrap materials. Instead of repairing the damaged pipe or contacting his neighbours, he chose to block the holes himself."When they asked what I put in there, I said, 'I don't care what it was. I filled the hole with shoes, with rocks, license plates, anything.