Staff photo / Ed Runyan Sharnette Crite-Evans, mother of Akil Drake, sits in Mahoning County Probate Court on Monday for a hearing on a motion by her attorney, Patrick McFarland, right, to seal records related to a settlement over the death of her son in the Realty Tower explosion May 28, 2024.

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Probate Court Judge Robert Rusu Jr. twice told the attorneys in his courtroom Monday it was their burden to convince him that he should seal the records related to the dollar amounts of the settlement reached between the family of Akil Drake and the defendants in their lawsuit.

Rusu will rule later on whether to seal the records, he said at the end of the hearing.

Drake, 27, of Youngstown, was at work in the J.P. Morgan Chase Bank branch on the first floor of the Realty Tower in downtown Youngstown on May 28, 2024, when a natural gas explosion caused devastating damage to the first floor and basement. Drake was killed, and several other people suffered serious injuries. The 13-story building was later demolished.

Drake’s family, including his mother and sister, sued YO Properties 47, the company that owns Realty Tower; LY Property Management, the company that managed it; Greenheart Properties of Boardman, the company that was relocating utilities in the basement of the Realty Tower just before the explosion; and several natural gas related companies such as Enbridge Gas Ohio and Enbridge Elephant Holdings.

The June 2024 lawsuit is still pending in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court with Visiting Judge W. Wyatt McKay presiding. The settlement involving Drake was announced in March, and McFarland asked April 11 for the terms of the settlement to be sealed. Monday’s hearing was to hear arguments about whether the terms should be closed to the public.

He first addressed the question to Attorney Patrick McFarland, who represents Drake’s mother and sister and others. Four other attorneys attended the hearing, but three of them would not identify the client he or she represented.

Rusu told the parties that he had not “made my decision” and turned to McFarland to explain why the records should be sealed.

“As part of our resolution with the (defendants in the lawsuit Drake’s family filed), “all asked for confidentiality,” McFarland, of Parkersburg, W.Va., said. He added that Sharnette Crite-Evans of Pittsburgh, Drake’s mother and administrator of Drake’s estate, prefers that the public not know how much money she will receive after the probate court approves the settlement. She was sitting beside McFarland during the hearing.

Next, Attorney Richard Cline, who represents the Enbridge natural gas defendants, cited a rule he said allows the judge to seal the records. He noted that no person had filed an objection to McFarland’s motion, saying, “I think it should be granted.”

Attorney Nils P. Johnson Jr. of Canfield spoke next, saying he represents an unidentified client and also mentioned that the judge is “authorized to seal any and all documents.” He noted that the judge can also select specific documents to seal and allow others to become public.

Rusu said the reason for the hearing was for the parties to convince him to close the documents to the public, but “I am not hearing anything to convince me of that.”

Cline then said that if the details of the settlement were revealed, it might “disincentivize” the remaining parties to settle. He said eight cases are still pending.

When another of the attorneys mentioned that no one had come to the hearing to argue against sealing the records, Rusu said: “It’s not for them to argue against it. It’s for you to argue for.” Cline handed the judge details on two court rulings he said relate to the matter.

After Rusu determined that none of the attorneys had any other remarks to give, he acknowledged a Vindicator reporter who asked to speak on behalf of the public, but Rusu would not allow him to do so because he was not a Mahoning County resident and because he was also there covering the hearing. He said he would have allowed an attorney representing The Vindicator to speak.

The Vindicator obtained a 2004 Ohio Supreme Court ruling in which TV station WBNS in the Columbus area challenged a judge’s decision to seal probate court records. It related to a settlement involving a child who was killed when she was struck by a hockey puck at a professional hockey game. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the settlement being public, ordering the judge to turn over the records to the TV station.

The Vindicator also intended to tell Rusu that the Realty Tower explosion, the National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the explosion, the tragic loss of life, other injuries and disruptions to the downtown caused by the explosion were of great public interest.

The employees of The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle ranked it the the No. 1 story of the year in both Mahoning and Trumbull counties.