Diehl, Inc. v. Ohio Department of Agriculture

Francis E. Sweeney, Sr., J.

{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant, Diehl, Inc., is a milk processor licensed by defendantappellee, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (“ODA”), with its principal place of business in Defiance, Ohio. Diehl purchases raw milk from milk producers to manufacture evaporated-milk products. It purchases approximately 50 to 60 percent of the milk it uses from out-of-state producers.

{¶ 2} Beginning in September 1998, the ODA’s Milk Sanitation Board required milk processors to pay monthly fees, as permitted by R.C. 917.031. From September 1998 until February 1999, the ODA invoiced…