Carstensen v. Allen Twp. Bd. of Trustees, 2024 Ohio 870

William J. Carstensen owned property in Allen Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, containing an old church and accessory building.
The Township Board declared the structures unsafe and ordered their demolition, detailing steps for utilities, wells, cisterns, demolition, and land restoration.
Carstensen appealed the Board's resolution, which was upheld after a hearing with testimony and documentary evidence.
Carstensen subsequently filed a complaint in the trial court seeking to enjoin the Board from taking action on the property.
The trial court dismissed the case because Carstensen failed to request a praecipe, so no transcript of the administrative proceedings was filed, leaving no record for judicial review.
Carstensen appealed the dismissal, asserting the trial court erred.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was the appeal properly before the court?	Delay excusable; equity should allow more time.	Failure to file praecipe is fatal to the appeal.	Appeal dismissed for lack of transcript.
Injunctive relief availability	Requested injunction to stop demolition/trespass.	Injunctive relief is a remedy, not a cause of action.	No independent cause of action for injunction.
Trespass claim by Board	Board would trespass if it entered to demolish.	Board followed statutory authority under R.C. 505.86.	No trespass; Board authorized under law.
Court’s authority without record	Equity should still intervene for repairs opportunity.	No record meant no authority for court to review.	Courts require record; absence is fatal.

Wikliffe Firefighters Assn., Local 1536 v. Wickliffe, 66 Ohio App.3d 681 (courts confined to administrative transcript in R.C. 2506 appeals)
Grant v. Washington Twp., 1 Ohio App.2d 84 (common pleas court has no authority to proceed without administrative transcript)
Kramer v. Angel’s Path, L.L.C., 174 Ohio App.3d 359 (elements of trespass include unauthorized entry)