White's Landing Fisheries, Inc. v. Ohio Dep't of Nat. Res. Div. of Wildlife

── White's Landing Fisheries, Inc. v. Ohio Dep't of Nat. Res. Div. of Wildlife ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 22, 2026 Category: General RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 26a0119p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ WHITE’S LANDING FISHERIES, INC., │ Plaintiff, │ │ DEAN KOCH, > No. 25-3345 │ Plaintiff-Appellant, │ │ v. │ │ │ OHIO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, DIVISION │ OF WILDLIFE; MARY COLE MERTZ, Department of │ Natural Resources, sued in both her individual and │ official capacities; KENDRA WECKER, Department of │ Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, sued in both │ her individual and official capacities; UNITED STATES │ FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; DEB HAALAND, │ Secretary of the Interior, Department of the Interior, │ Fish and Wildlife Service, │ Defendants-Appellees. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Toledo. No. 3:24-cv-01371—James G. Carr, District Judge. Argued: December 10, 2025 Decided and Filed: April 22, 2026 Before: GIBBONS, STRANCH, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: George Katchmer, Bloomingburg, Ohio, for Appellant. Casey Chapman, OFFICE OF THE OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbus, Ohio, for State of Ohio Appellees. ON BRIEF: George Katchmer, Bloomingburg, Ohio, for Appellant. Casey Chapman, OFFICE OF THE OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbus, Ohio, for State of Ohio Appellees.  No. 25-3345 White’s Landing Fisheries, Inc., et al. v. Ohio Dep’t of Page 2 Nat. Res. Div. of Wildlife, et al. _________________ OPINION _________________ JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff-Appellant Dean Koch appeals the dismissal of his complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). Koch is a commercial fisherman in Erie County, Ohio, and the owner of White’s Landing Fisheries, Inc. Koch and White’s Landing, which is not a party to this appeal, brought this suit after the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife, amended a rule to limit seine commercial fishing licensees’ ability to catch yellow perch. Koch and White’s Landing asserted claims under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, as well as breach of fiduciary duty and civil conspiracy claims, against ODNR, ODNR Director Mary Mertz and Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker in their individual and official capacities, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Deb Haaland in her now-former official capacity as Secretary of the Interior. The district court dismissed with prejudice Koch’s claims against Ohio and the state officials. It dismissed his takings claims, reasoning that the Takings Clause does not protect the value of his fish