Associated General Contractors of Ohio, Inc. v. Drabik

Associated General Contractors of Ohio, and Associated General Contractors of Northwest Ohio ("Plaintiffs-Appellees"), representing Ohio building contractors, sued to stop the award of a construction contract for the Toledo Correctional Facility to a minority-owned business ("MBE"), in a bidding process from which non-minority-owned firms were statutorily excluded under Ohios Minority Business Enterprise Act ("MBEA"). Plaintiffs-Appellees claimed the MBEA is unconstitutional, in that it violates the Fourteenth Amendments Equal Protection Clause. The district court agreed, and permanently enjoined the state from awarding any construction contracts thereunder. Defendant-Appellant Sandra Drabik, Director of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services ("DAS"), which coordinates and manages state construction projects, and other Defendants-Appellants, appeal the district courts order. We affirm.