An Ohio state court on Monday denied a request for a preliminary injunction from Antioch University’s advisory board of governors aimed at protecting it from being abolished by the Coalition for the Common Good.
Antioch conceived of the coalition and co-founded it with Otterbein University in 2023 as a way for universities with similar missions to share services and other resources. Antioch serves as the graduate education provider for the system, which to date still only consists of Antioch and Otterbein.
To meet regulatory requirements, Antioch agreed to reincorporate as the Coalition for the Common Good, with the university operating as a division of the organization. Otterbein, meanwhile, is a subsidiary of CCG.
Otterbein President John Comerford is also president of CCG.
After a monthslong dispute between Antioch’s board of governors and CCG leaders, the CCG board voted in late August to dissolve the Antioch board and take over the university’s financial accounts. Antioch’s board of governors quickly sued and won a temporary restraining order against the coalition to halt those actions.
The board also asked for a preliminary injunction to block CCG from taking over Antioch’s governance and finances while litigation played out. The state court in mid-September extended the restraining order through Monday.
The court overseeing the case ruled on procedural grounds, determining that Antioch’s board was not a party to the coalition’s bylaws and thus lacked standing to sue for breach of contract over alleged bylaw violations.
In an emailed statement after the decision, Antioch described the ruling as a “procedural setback” and said that “the dispute is not over.”
“The court did not say anything about whether the lawsuit itself is meritorious,” the university added. “Today’s court decision does not resolve whether CCG’s proposed actions comply with the governing documents.”
In an emailed statement, CCG’s board said it welcomed the ruling and that it allowed the coalition to move forward with its August vote, “including the dissolution of the non-fiduciary Antioch Advisory Board.”
