Butler

Environmental Review Appeals Commission did not err by granting motion to dismiss appeal for lack of standing where appellant failed to establish that it would suffer injury in fact from issuance of permit-to-install on-site sewage treatment system.

Ohio Environmental Review Commission erred when it granted appellee's motion to compel production of three e-mails that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency sought to withhold from discovery due to a claim of attorney-client privilege. De novo review of the three e-mails reveals that an EPA employee involved in the investigation of appellee's verified complaint sent the e-mails in confidence to EPA's in-house legal counsel seeking legal advice or assistance with regard to the EPA's review of appellee's verified complaint. Accordingly, all three e-mails are privileged attorney-client communications. We, therefore, reverse the commission's judgment with regard to e-mails A, B, and C, but we remand this matter for the commission to hold a hearing to determine whether EPA waived the attorney-client privilege with regard to e-mail A by inadvertently producing it in discovery. Judgment reversed and cause remanded with instructions.