Music Centers, Inc. v. Cuyahoga Falls

In Music Centers, Inc. v. Cuyahoga Falls, Ninth Dist. No. 21802, 2004 Ohio 3703, the plaintiff argued that Cuyahoga Falls was engaged in a propriety function when an underground utility vault collapsed during a construction project. Cuyahoga Falls argued that it was filling the vault as part of a sidewalk repair on top of the vault, which made it a governmental function. The Music Centers court held that "the city has shown that, when it filled the fault, it acted with a purpose to repair the sidewalk. The city's purpose to repair the sidewalk was wholly unrelated to the establishment, maintenance, or operation of its electrical utility. That a vault which may or may not have belonged to the city's electrical department was necessarily involved in this undertaking does not transform the sidewalk repair project into a utility venture."