ESTATE OF DONOVAN L. LEWIS, by and through its Administrator, Rebecca Duran v. CITY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, et al., FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, CAPITAL CITY LODGE #9 - Articles

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ESTATE OF DONOVAN L. LEWIS, by and through its Administrator, Rebecca Duran v. CITY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, et al., FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, CAPITAL CITY LODGE #9

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Nov 7, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Lathan J. Lipperman, HARSHMAN, WANNEMACHER, TIPTON & LIPPERMAN, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Barton R. Keyes, COOPER & ELLIOTT, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Lathan J. Lipperman, HARSHMAN, WANNEMACHER, TIPTON & LIPPERMAN, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Barton R. Keyes, Rex H. Elliott, C. Benjamin Cooper, Kaela J. King, COOPER & ELLIOTT, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellee.

Judge(s): TRANCH, THAPAR, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus

DAVIS, Circuit Judge. The Fraternal Order of Police, Capitol City Lodge #9 appeals the district court’s denial of its motion to intervene as of right and permissively in this civil rights action brought by the Estate of Donovan Lewis against the City of Columbus and its police chief. The complaint alleges that the city’s police department maintains a policy or custom of using excessive force against Black people and that this policy or custom resulted in Lewis’s death. The underlying § 1983 claim is not before us. Rather, in this appeal, we are tasked with determining whether the district court erred in denying FOP’s motion to intervene in the lawsuit either as of right or permissively. Because FOP has satisfied the requirements to intervene as of right, we REVERSE the district court’s denial of intervention.

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