Employers who paid into a workers' compensation fund in Ohio runby the state were granted $860 million in refunds Wednesday by ajudge who ruled that the fund had overcharged some employers from2001 to 2008.

Judge Richard J. McMonagle of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court(Cleveland) ruled that an earlier decision be made final “withoutdelay.”

More than 270,000 of the 300,000 employers in the class definedby the court would get refunds if the decision is sustained,according to plaintiffs' lawyers and spokesmen for the statefund.

The judge acted after rejecting the state workers' compensationfund's efforts to have the judgment amount altered using differentcalculations.

Officials of the state Workers Compensation Bureau responded bysaying they were “disappointed” in the judge's order, “and we doplan an appeal.

“We maintain our actions were lawful and restitution is notwarranted in this case,” OBWC officials said.

“Justice has prevailed,” said James DeRoche, a partner at SeamanGarson L.L.C., Cleveland, and a principal lawyer for the employersin the class-action lawsuit.

DeRoche said, “We are thrilled for all of the Ohio businesseswho are owed restitution after suffering years of unlawfulovercharges at the hands of the Ohio Bureau of Workers'Compensation.”

He added, “As the judge found, the BWC knew for years that itwas imposing excessive annual premiums on thousands of businesses,and also destroying many businesses with huge rate increases.”

DeRoche continued, “Now is the time for the BWC to do the rightthing and immediately reimburse these businesses. If the BWCis truly business friendly it will not further delay payment sotens of thousands of small businesses can reinvest those dollarsinto creating and protecting Ohio jobs.”

The decision ends one chapter in a lawsuit first filed in2007.

In his final decision March 3, Monagle confirmed a ruling hefirst made Dec. 28.

In that decision, he held that the Ohio Bureau of Workers'Compensation knowingly charged inequitable rates to someemployers.

He found that by charging non-group employers excess premiumsthat the BWC knowingly created inequity, and that “the BWC engagedin a course of conduct that it knew violated the very purpose ofthe statute.”

In arguing that the court decision was wrong, BWC officials saidin their statement, “We believe the dollars we've collected havebeen spent appropriately and that all Ohio businesses havebenefitted and continue to benefit from BWC programs andservices.”

They also said that under Ohio's current governor, John Kasich,“BWC has worked to maintain low and stable rates. Ohio's privateemployers have saved an estimated $210 million in premiums over thepast two years, during which time BWC reduced base rates andreduced its administrative budget.”