Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Ashland Global Holdings v. SuperAsh Remainderman, calling on the Ohio Supreme Court to reject the “honest mistake” doctrine in contract law. 

“The freedom to make and enforce contracts is fundamental to advancing personal and business endeavors, and both the nation’s Founders and those establishing the state of Ohio prohibited the state from interfering with this freedom,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “Ashland Global had a contractual duty to do their job—its failure does not merit judicial intervention.”

The judicial-created “honest mistake” doctrine says that if a person or company makes an honest mistake in violation of their contract, the courts can intervene to waive contractual consequences. But in this case, Ashland Global Holdings is no small mom-and-pop business. It is a multi-billion-dollar company that, for nearly two months, failed to notify SuperAsh that it would renew its lease—as required by contract—on land owned by SuperAsh. 

“In the world of contract law, intentions are not actions, and beliefs do not bind parties,” continued Tryon.   

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