State ex rel. Patton v. Rhodes
Annotate this CaseAppellant Michael Patton sought a writ of mandamus directing Dusty Rhodes, the county auditor, to provide him with access to the county's financial reports for several years pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code Ann. 149.43, Ohio's public records act. The court of appeals dismissed Patton's mandamus action as moot in that Patton received access to the requested records when the records were posted on the county auditor's website. The appellate court also denied Patton's request for statutory damages and attorney fees. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the court of appeals correctly held that the county auditor satisfied Patton's request by posting copies of the records online within a reasonable period of time pursuant to Section 149.43; and (2) because Patton failed to establish that the county auditor failed to comply with an obligation in accordance with Section 149.43, he was also not entitled to an award of statutory damages.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.