Supreme Court of Ohio Decisions 2016

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with three counts of violating Ohio Rev. Code 2923.13. The statute makes it illegal for a person to possess firearms when the person is under indictment for or has been convicted of certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ross Linert sustained severe injuries when Adrien Foutz, an intoxicated driver, struck Ross’s vehicle from behind, triggering a fuel-fed fire. At the time of the accident, Ross, a veteran police officer, was on patrol in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Employee was terminated from his employment after failing a routine drug test administered soon after a workplace accident in which he was injured. Employee’s drug use did not cause the accident. Employee’s workers’…

Justia Opinion Summary: Matthew Shaughnessy, an attorney who requests and reviews police incident reports, alleged that, on five different occasions, the City of Cleveland failed to produce copies of police incident reports in a reasonable…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence (OVI) of a drug of abuse. After a trial, Defendant was convicted. The court of appeals vacated the trial court’s judgment, finding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jill Stevenson failed to stop at a stop sign at an intersection and collided with Gary Bibler. A police officer determined that the stop sign was significantly obstructed from a distance as a driver approached it. Bibler…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this real property valuation case was the proper valuation for tax year 2009 of sixteen unsold units of a twenty-unit condominium development. The auditor assigned a value of $5,986,400 to the units. Before…

Justia Opinion Summary: As part of an independent investigation into the murder conviction of Adam Saleh, Donald Caster, an Ohio attorney engaged by the Ohio Innocence Project, requested police records related to the arrest and investigation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this real property valuation case was the proper valuation for tax year 2012 of an unused office warehouse property. The county auditor assigned a value of $1,388,700 to the property. The property owner…

Justia Opinion Summary: Property owners challenged the Lorain County auditor’s valuation of their single-family residence for tax year 2012, alleging that their 2011 purchase of the property was a recent arm’s-length sale that established a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ernest and Louann Giddens resided in Missouri but paid Ohio income tax as owners of shares in a corporation that did some of its business in Ohio. In 2008, that corporation was an S corporation, and therefore, its income…

Justia Opinion Summary: The T. Ryan Legg Irrevocable Trust appealed a tax on the trust’s 2006 income. The tax commissioner moved to dismiss, arguing that the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal because the trust…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendants alleging three civil claims brought under Ohio Rev. Code 2307.60. Plaintiff sought recovery for damages arising out of Defendants’ alleged violation of a criminal statute.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Kenney Company, LLC, contested the auditor’s valuation of fourteen office condominium parcels for tax year 2009. The auditor valued the units at approximately $2,512,000. Before the Delaware County Board of Revision…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident allegedly caused by a high-speed police chase. Appellant filed a negligence action against certain police officers, alleging that the officers engaged in a high-speed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was indicted on eight counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Appellant pleaded no contest to all nine counts. Appellant was sentenced to a separate…

Justia Opinion Summary: During a bar fight, Defendant knowingly killed Antwon Shannon. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated murder and felony murder. Defendant appealed, arguing that his aggravated murder conviction was not…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1988, Father was ordered to pay child support for his two children until the children were emancipated. In 2006, judgment entries were issued stating that the children were emancipated and ordering Father to pay…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of possession of cocaine. The jury found that the amount of cocaine involved equaled or exceeded 100 grams. Defendant was sentenced to a mandatory term of eleven years…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of three counts of aggravated robbery, three counts of rape, and other offenses. Defendant was fifteen years old at the time he committed the crimes. The trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: A complaint was filed in the juvenile court alleging that Appellant engaged in conduct that would be considered aggravated robbery if committed by an adult. Appellant was sixteen years old at the time of the alleged…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of two counts of murder. The trial court sentenced Appellant to death. The Supreme Court affirmed. Appellant later filed an amended application for postconviction DNA…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relators filed this original action in mandamus seeking the release of video from a camera worn by an officer who shot a motorist after a traffic stop. Relators asserted that Respondent, the prosecuting attorney,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother gave birth to a child while serving a prison sentence. Crawford County Department of Job and Family Services (the Agency) filed a complaint requesting permanent custody of the child. The juvenile court terminated…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated murder, among other crimes. Defendant was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and sentence, holding (1) defense…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee pled guilty to a fourth-degree-felony charge of receiving stolen property. The trial court sentenced Appellee to two years of community control and required him to comply with the court’s standard…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jessica Simpkins and her father, Gene Simpkins, (together, Appellants) sued Grace Brethren Church of Delaware, Ohio for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of Brian Williams, a senior pastor at Sunbury Grace…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas convicted Appellant of two counts of vehicular assault. The judgment entry sentenced Appellant to a term of imprisonment and ordered him to “pay restitution in an amount to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the juvenile court granted permanent custody of R.L., Appellant’s biological son, to the Hamilton County Job and Family Services (Family Services). In 2015, Appellant filed a second petition for writ of habeas…

Justia Opinion Summary: Eleven captains and one battalion chief in the Cleveland Fire Department (collectively, Relators) alleged that each of them was eligible for promotion in the fire department but was deprived of the opportunity to take a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant injured her knee while working, and a worker’s compensation claim was allowed for a medial meniscus tear of her right knee. When arthroscopic surgery was later performed on Appellant’s knee and no evidence of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder and other offenses. The trial court sentenced Appellant to death for the murder conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was an eighteen-year-old high school student when he allegedly committed criminal acts that led to his conviction of attempted robbery and attempted complicity in the commission of intimidation. Appellee later…

Justia Opinion Summary: Betty Lunn, the owner of a single-family residence, challenged the Lorain County auditor’s valuation of the property for tax year 2012. Lunn appealed, arguing that her 2011 purchase of the home was a recent arm’s-length…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cynthia Musto owned property that the Lorain County auditor valued at $547,260 for the tax year 2012. Musto filed a complaint requesting a reduction in value to $405,000. The Board of Revision (BOR) retained the county…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of eleven counts of aggravated murder, each containing death-penalty specifications. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death on each of the eleven counts. The Supreme…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was injured at work. The Industrial Commission awarded Appellee permanent total disability compensation benefits, concluding that Appellee was unable to perform any sustained remunerative employment due solely…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees, a real estate investor and her company, filed a legal malpractice claim against Appellants, an attorney and his law firm, based on part on Appellants’ failure to assert a legal malpractice claim against third…

Justia Opinion Summary: Darlene Burnham brought a personal injury action against the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Health System (collectively, Clinic). During discovery, Burnham requested certain documents that the Clinic alleged were…

Justia Opinion Summary: During the course of grand jury proceedings, the state issued eight grand jury subpoenas seeking documents and testimony to individuals associated with Appellants. Appellants moved to quash the subpoenas, arguing that…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Appellee was sentenced to thirteen years in prison on various drug and weapons charges. The district court granted Appellee’s writ of habeas corpus and ordered the state to release Appellee or grant him a new…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Cincinnati Enquirer requested the disclosure of recordings from cameras mounted on the dashboards of two Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) cars. The OSHP denied the request in its entirety. The Enquirer subsequently…

Justia Opinion Summary: Marilynne Earles was injured in the course and scope of her employment with BF Goodrich Company, Specialty Chemicals Division (Goodrich). Earles returned to work with certain restrictions. Later, Earles find an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was the defendant in a criminal case in which he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and found to be a mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order. In 2014, Appellant filed a motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Defendant was convicted of felonious assault on a police officer. After being released on parole, Defendant pleaded guilty in 2011 to resisting arrest, was given a suspended sentence, and was placed on community…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a legal resident of the United States, was indicted on two counts of robbery. Defendant admitted sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilt in order to enroll in a diversion program. Defendant later moved…

Justia Opinion Summary: The tax commissioner issued commercial-activity tax (CAT) assessments against the Crutchfield Corporation on revenue it earned from sales of electronic products that it shipped from the state of Ohio. Crutchfield, whose…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this companion case to Crutchfield Corp. v. Testa, the Supreme Court considered Newegg, Inc.’s appeal from the imposition of Ohio’s commercial-activity tax (CAT) on revenue it earned from sales of computer-related…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mason Companies, Inc., a company based in Wisconsin, appealed from the imposition of Ohio’s commercial-activity tax (CAT) on revenue it earned from its sales of goods through orders received via telephone, mail, and the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Inge Fox injured her left arm and hand in the course and scope of her employment with Manpower of Dayton, Inc. Fox’s workers’ compensation claim was allowed for several medical and psychological conditions. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: Scott and Dawn Smith (together, Insureds) filed an insurance claim with Erie Insurance Company (Insurer) seeking uninsured-motorist coverage as a result of injuries suffered by Scott in a no-contact accident allegedly…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants in this case were Dr. Abubakar Atiq Durrani and several medical providers and hospitals. Plaintiffs in the underlying cases were more than fifty of Dr. Durrani’s former patients. Judge Robert Ruehlman of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated and one count of murder in connection with the killing of Darian Polk. The trial court ordered the convictions merged for the purposes of sentencing. The State elected…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dynamic Industries, Inc. (DI) owned real property on which stood a building that DI claimed was unsalvageable. After an application was filed to have the building designated a historic landmark, DI filed an application…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of burglary and other offenses and has been released on parole and convicted of new crimes at least five times. Appellant has filed at least three habeas corpus petition over the years, all of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition and was sentenced to sixteen months’ imprisonment. In addition, the trial court imposed five years of mandatory postrelease control. In 2014, Appellant pleaded guilty…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a petition in the court of appeals seeking a writ of mandamus against Judge Christopher Gee and the Miami County Court of Common Pleas. Specifically, Appellant sought a writ of mandamus ordering Judge Gee…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose after the City of Cleveland granted a production company a permit to close a portion of a street in downtown Cleveland for sixteen consecutive days so that the company could film scenes for a movie. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: New York Frozen Foods, Inc. filed its Bedford Heights income-tax returns on a separate-entity basis for tax years 2005 through 2007. In 2010, Frozen Foods and its affiliates filed consolidated amended returns for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents filed a lawsuit against Petitioners, asserting a claim for negligent misidentification. Petitioners filed motions for judgment on the pleadings or, alternatively, to certify questions of state law to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio first approved a corporate separation plan for Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company, now known as Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. Over the next decade, the Commission approved a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents, landowner-lessors, filed a putative class action in federal court claiming that Petitioner, the lessee, underpaid gas royalties under the terms of their leases. Under each lease, the lessee must bear all the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Albany Commons Ltd., the owner of a 240-unit apartment complex, filed a complaint for tax year 2005 seeking a reduction from the auditor’s valuation of $13,600,000 to $9,720,000. At a hearing before the Franklin County…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to aggravated murder with firearm specifications. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction. Appellant later filed a petition for postconviction relief, which was denied. Appellant then made a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The tax commissioner, in a final determination journalized on June 8, 2010, reduced to $927,513 the almost $17 million amortizable amount that International Paper Company had reported. The tax commissioner’s letter to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Appellant pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping. Appellant filed this action in mandamus seeking a writ ordering Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Matia to vacate his sentence under…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1983, Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated robbery, and two counts of felonious assault. Appellant’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Appellant was indicted on one count of aggravated murder with firearm specifications. The jury did not find Appellant guilty of aggravated murder but found him guilty of the lesser offense of murder. In 2015,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1979, Appellant was convicted of aggravated burglary and attempted murder. In 2015, Appellant filed a motion to vacate the attempted-murder conviction. Judge John D. Sutula denied the motion. Thereafter, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in state court alleging medical malpractice and derivative claims against Defendants for medical care Plaintiffs received in 2008. Plaintiffs dismissed their claims without prejudice…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Appellant was found guilty of several offenses. Prior to trial, Appellant had filed a motion to represent himself, but the trial court never ruled on it. On appeal, Appellant, who was represented by…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder. The court of appeals affirmed. The amended death certificate listed the time of death as “morning,” as had been indicated in the original death certificate. In 2008,…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the proper valuation for the tax year 2010 of an undeveloped tract made up of three noncontiguous parcels that was purchased in 2007 for the development of ranch condominiums. The county auditor…

Justia Opinion Summary: M.S., a minor child, was in the temporary custody of the Allen County Children Services Board by order of the Juvenile Division of the Allen County Common Pleas Court. At that time, the Allen County Children Services…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a complaint against D.S. in the juvenile court, alleging that D.S., who was seventeen years old, was delinquent for approaching a couple about to enter their home, brandishing a firearm, and robbing them…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of attempted murder and several other offenses. Appellant now filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that he was convicted of attempted felony murder and that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, among other offenses. Appellant was sentenced to two life terms of incarceration, to run consecutively. Appellant filed in the trial court in his criminal…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was convicted of creating nudity-oriented material involving a minor, in violation of Ohio Rev. Code 2907.323(A)(1), and possession of criminal tools, in violation of Ohio Rev. Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jefferson Industries Corporation filed a complaint challenging the valuation for tax year 2011 of a plant involved in manufacturing and stamping car frames. The Madison County Auditor valued the property at $34,500,000.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sensible Norwood was a political-action committee established to support an initiative proposing an ordinance to decriminalize hashish and marijuana in the City of Norwood. The Hamilton County Board of Elections voted…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Schottenstein Real Estate Group filed a rezoning application seeking a mixed-use designation for three parcels of land, two owned by Paul and Mary Jacquemin and a third owned by Arthur and Elizabeth Wesner. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In March 2016, Mike Schadek, an Upper Arlington City Council member, resigned his council seat, and in May, 2016, the Upper Arlington City Council appointed Sue Ralph as Schadek’s replacement. Omar Ganoom filed an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a declaratory-judgment action against Defendant, seeking to quiet title to a mineral interest. At issue between the parties was whether the 1989 version of the Dormant Mineral Act or the 2006 version of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed this action against Defendants seeking to quiet title to oil and gas rights under his surface lands and requesting a declaratory judgment, a permanent injunction, and compensation for conversion. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Nile and Katheryn Batman claimed to hold an interest in minerals underlying the properties owned by Wayne Lipperman and the estate of James Albanese (“Albanese”). Albanese and Lipperman filed separate actions seeking to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Defendant was indicted for murder. After a series of mistrials that were declared in Defendant’s case during the fourteen years since his arrest, Defendant moved to dismiss his indictment, alleging a violation…

Justia Opinion Summary: Paul Bunting sought a writ of mandamus ordering Tuscarawas County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Styer to prosecute Thomas Weaver for theft of a motorcycle. The court of appeals sua sponte dismissed the complaint after the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sought a writ of procedendo requiring Judge Kelly Cottrill to rule on his motion to vacate or set aside the judgment of his conviction. Judge Cottrill had ruled on Appellant’s motion but failed to issue…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, Defendant was indicted of several offenses. Before trial, the prosecuting attorney obtained a second indictment. The trial court subsequently granted the State’s motion to dismiss the first indictment. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder and aggravated murder. After the mitigation phase and the jury recommendation, the trial court sentenced Defendant to death for the aggravated murder. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator submitted a public-records request to the records clerk for the police department of the City of Avon Lake relating to a police report about a skate-park incident. Relator claimed that he hand-delivered a written…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relators filed petitions proposing the adoption of county charters in Athens, Meigs, and Portage Counties. Each of the boards of elections reviewed the petitions and, while determining that the petitions contained…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this mandamus action Relators sought a writ of mandamus to compel Secretary of State Jon Husted to restore more than 21,000 previously invalidated signatures in part-petitions supporting the Ohio Drug Price Relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the Supreme Court affirmed an order of the Ohio Power Siting Board granting a certificate to Buckeye Wind, LLC to construct a wind farm in Champaign County. Buckeye subsequently filed an application to amend the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Meigs County Homes Rule Committee and its members (collectively, the committee) sought to place a proposed charter for Meigs County on the November 2016 ballot. The committee submitted the petition to the Meigs…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relators filed a petition with the Medina County Board of Elections proposing the adoption of a county charter. The Director of the Board of Elections voted on whether to certify the proposed charter petition to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Victoria Ullman filed an action requesting a declaration that the JobsOhio Act, which authorized the creation of a nonprofit corporation for the purposes of promoting economic development, was unconstitutional. Ullman,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Following a mistrial, Appellant was convicted of aggravated burglary and rape. Judge Ethna Cooper presided over the mistrial and the retrial. The convictions were affirmed on direct appeal. Appellant later filed a motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dennis Carter sustained serious injuries when Larry Reese attempted to move a tractor-trailer that had pinned Carter’s leg between the trailer and a loading dock. Carter and his wife sued Reese. Reese asserted Ohio’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Defendant was convicted of first-degree-felony rape and kidnapping for offenses he committed in 1993. The trial court sentenced Defendant in accordance with the sentencing law in effect at the time of the 1993…

Justia Opinion Summary: After he retired, Robert Marmaduke filed a disability-benefit application with the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F). Finding that Marmaduke was permanently and partially disabled, the Disability Evaluation Panel…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Jeffrey Keith was found guilty of arson and grand theft. In 2015, after a long procedural history, Keith petitioned the Court of Appeals to order the original judge in his case, Judge Gaul, to rule on his motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: Julie Steinle filed a complaint for divorce against Garrette Steinle, and the case was assigned to Judge John Dewey. Garrette filed three motions for partial summary judgment dealing with various assets at issue in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Hand entered no-contest pleas in Montgomery County to first-degree felonies (aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping) and two second-degree counts of felonious assault. Each count had a three-year firearm…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dayton Public Schools notified Cox of its intent to terminate her employment for allegedly striking a student. An arbitration award, finding just cause for her termination, was handed down on December 10, 2013. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was entered a guilty plea to charges of murder, domestic violence, and aggravated murder with capital specifications for the murders of his former girlfriend, their two-year-old son, and his girlfriend’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder with two death-penalty specifications. The trial court sentenced Appellant to death. On appeal, the court of appeals vacated the death sentence, concluding…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Shawn Valentine was elected trustee of Spencer Township in Lucas County. In 2015, Valentine, who serves in the Ohio Army National Guard, told the two other trustees of his military deployment but that he did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: On December 22, 2015, Respondents submitted part-petitions in support of an initiative to enact the "Ohio Drug Price Relief Act." On February 29, 2016, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and others commenced this…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a police officer, was charged with one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and one count of sexual battery. A bench trial resulted in Defendant’s conviction for sexual battery under Ohio Rev. Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was property owned by Innkeeper Ministries, Inc. that contained two large residential buildings and various recreational amenities. Innkeeper’s mission was to invite religious leaders to stay at the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was charged with rape and kidnapping. Appellee filed a motion to dismiss the indictment based on unconstitutional preindictment delay. The court of common pleas dismissed the charges, concluding that the State’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus arguing that his aggregate sentence had expired and that he was entitled to immediate release. Appellee, Warden Brigham Sloan, moved to dismiss the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed two legal actions. Appellant filed a complaint in federal court alleging violations of his due process and equal protection rights. The federal district court dismissed the complaint, and Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sustained injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident involving a Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI) utility pole. Plaintiff and his wife sued CEI, FirstEnergy Service Company (First Energy), and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Manuel Perez was injured while working in the construction industry and was awarded temporary-total-disability compensation. Prior to his injury, Perez owned and was operating an auto-repair business. Years later, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: School Choice Ohio, Inc., a private nonprofit corporation that informs parents about educational opportunities for their children, sent a public-records request to Springfield City School District seeking information…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Michael Onderko was terminated from Sierra Lobo, Inc. for his “deceptive” attempt to obtain workers’ compensation benefits for a “non-work-related injury,” Onderko filed a complaint against Sierra Lobo, alleging…

Justia Opinion Summary: As the result of an audit, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation reclassified some of Aaron’s Inc.’s employees for purposes of workers’ compensation premiums, applied the reclassifications retroactively, and billed Aaron’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a property owner, applied to exempt real property used as a public community school for tax year 2010. The tax commissioner denied the exemption to the property that Appellant leased to the community school.…

Justia Opinion Summary: During Husband and Wife’s divorce proceedings, the trial court entered a decree of dissolution approving and incorporating a separation agreement that the parties entered into. The agreement provided that Husband pay…

Justia Opinion Summary: Steve Maddox and eight other named relators (collectively, Maddox) brought this original action in mandamus against the village of Lincoln Heights and several of the village’s officials (collectively, the village).…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bank filed this foreclosure action against Debtors. Debtors counterclaimed, alleging that Bank did not own the promissory note or the mortgage at the time it commenced the foreclosure action. The trial court granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court in Boone County, Kentucky entered a multimillion dollar judgment against Stanley Chesley, a former attorney, for his conduct in a class action lawsuit that eventually settled. Chesley filed suit in Ohio…

Justia Opinion Summary: Consumer, an Ohio resident, defaulted on credit-card debt. Consumer was sued by the entities that purchased her debt in an effort to collect on the debt. Consumer counterclaimed, alleging violations of the federal Fair…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed two complaints for writs of prohibition and a complaint for a writ of procedendo. Appellant sought the writs to restrain a judge and juvenile court from proceeding in litigation regarding contempt charges…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus requesting that the court of appeals order the trial court in his underlying criminal case to rule on motions that were allegedly pending. The court’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to one count of gross sexual imposition and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. After serving his prison sentence, Appellant was released but was still subject to the reporting…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to nineteen years in prison. Appellant later filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging several claims of error. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus claiming that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to convict and sentence him because of several alleged errors. The court of appeals dismissed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus alleging constitutional violations with regard to his conviction and requesting the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the propriety of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: For tax years 2002 through 2007, Appellants filed no Ohio tax returns, contending that income was earned outside Ohio. The tax commissioner assessed Ohio individual income tax against Appellants for the tax years at…

Justia Opinion Summary: Epic Aviation, LLC, a vendor of jet fuel, sold jet fuel to AirNet Systems, Inc., collected sales tax on it, and remitted the tax to the state. Epic, on behalf of AirNet, sought a refund of sales tax paid by AirNet on its…

Justia Opinion Summary: James and Tina Renacci filed a joint Ohio tax return for tax year 2000 without reporting and paying Ohio individual income tax on amounts earned by a trust (Trust) that owned shares of three Subchapter S corporations. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: A complaint was filed in juvenile court alleging that A.G. was delinquent for engaging in conduct that, if committed by an adult, would have constituted aggravated robbery and kidnapping, with firearms specifications as…

Justia Opinion Summary: After the mayor of Streetsboro resigned, Arthur Scott was appointed to serve as acting mayor. Five months later, Scott was elected to serve for the remainder of the former mayor’s term. Following his reelection, Scott…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a complaint for a writ prohibiting the chief of the collections enforcement section of the Ohio attorney general’s office from enforcing a demand for Appellant to reimburse the state for money…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging several claims of error, including ineffective assistance of counsel. The appellate court dismissed Appellant’s petition because he had or has…

Justia Opinion Summary: Attorneys employed by the Franklin County Public Defender sought membership and service credit in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System for their years of service prior to January 1999, and challenged a decision…

Justia Opinion Summary: Under the prior version of R.C. 3519.01(A), if the attorney general certified the summary of a proposal to change the law or amend the constitution as fair and truthful, that proposal would be filed with the secretary of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. A majority of this court affirmed the conviction but vacated the death sentence. Before that decision was released, appellant filed an App.R. 26(B)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, convicted of kidnapping, felonious assault, and two counts of rape, challenged the dismissal of his petition for habeas relief, contending that he was not served with an arrest warrant or initial charging…

Justia Opinion Summary: The FirstEnergy Companies Ohio Edison Company, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, and Toledo Edison Company (collectively, FirstEnergy) submitted an application for an electric-security plan (ESP). The Public…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Franklin County auditor valued a two-story office building at $2,205,000. The property owner filed a complaint seeking a reduction. Before the Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR) the owner presented an appraisal…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Aaron Von was convicted in Colorado of sexual assault of a child and sexual assault in the third degree. In 2011, Von moved to Ohio and registered as a sex offender. Von later moved to terminate his duty to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relators, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and others, filed this original petition challenging the petition signatures submitted in support of the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act (Act). The committee responsible for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cynthia Huntsman operated a farm on which she kept multiple species of wild animals that are regulated by the Ohio Dangerous Wild Animals and Restricted Snakes Act. Huntsman had no permit to possess “dangerous wild…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant made a public-records request of the City of Avon Lake for invoices from a law firm for services rendered in connection with litigation between Appellant and the City. When the City provided redacted invoices…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs sued World Harvest Church (WHC) for claims arising from an incident involving Plaintiffs’ two-year-old son, who attended WHC’s daycare. Plaintiffs alleged that WHC’s employee had beaten their son with a knife.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed an ex parte action for replevin in the county court of common pleas. Plaintiff subsequently voluntarily dismissed the case and filed a complaint for a writ of prohibition in the court of appeals to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, a jury found Appellant guilty of aggravated murder. In 2015, Appellant filed a motion to correct the judgment entry. The county court of common pleas judge denied the motion. Appellant subsequently filed an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Marcus Pryor applied to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) for unemployment compensation. The director of ODJFS concluded that Pryor was ineligible for benefits. A hearing officer with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to attempted abduction and was sentenced to a term of community control. The trial court subsequently found that Defendant had violated the terms of his community control and extended the term of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Several school districts filed complaints seeking reimbursement for retroactive reductions in school foundation funding. The State Board of Education of Ohio (the department) moved for judgment on the pleadings, arguing…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a nonresident taxpayer, filed a refund claim for an unpaid 2004 tax liability assessment. Appellant contested Ohio Rev. Code 5747.212’s imposition of income tax on a portion of the capital gain that he…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee applied to the court of common pleas to seal his twenty-four-year-old third-degree-felony conviction for receiving stolen property. The State objected to the application, arguing that Appellee’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to several offenses, including gross sexual imposition and three counts of rape. The sentence was memorialized in an entry that recognized 184 days of jail-time credit. Three years later, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Olentangy Local School District Board of Education amended a board policy to require that all communications between board members and staff first pass through the district superintendent or the district treasurer.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a juvenile, was bound over to the common pleas court and indicted on four counts of aggravated murder, among related crimes. Defendant moved to suppress statements he made during a custodial interrogation,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Spire Institute (Spire), a nonprofit corporation, entered into an agreement to lease land from Roni Lee, LLC, a for-profit company. By 2012, Spire had constructed Olympic-grade athletic facilities and related…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pleaded guilty to three counts of raping his minor biological daughter. The judge imposed the jointly recommended sentence of three eight-year prison terms to be served…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Public Utilities Commission approved a capacity charge for the American Electric Power operating companies - Ohio Power Company and Columbus Southern Power (collectively, AEP) - and authorized AEP to implement a new…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from the Public Utilities Commission’s modification and approval of the second electric-security plan of the American Electric Power operating companies, Ohio Power Company and Columbus Southern Power…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1991, Larry Dawson was convicted of aggravated murder and other crimes. In 2012, Dawson filed a motion for an oral hearing to correct a “void” sentence on the alleged ground that the entry did not address all the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sarunas Abraitis, the former executor of his mother’s estate, applied to admit his mother’s will to probate. The will provided that if Abraitis’s father predeceased his mother, her entire estate would be divided equally…

Justia Opinion Summary: T.L.M. appealed the judgments in his three cases. The court of appeals granted a limited remand of the three cases for the juvenile court to rule on the recalculation of credit on his sentence. The juvenile court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Appellant was convicted of two counts of rape. The sentencing entry stated that Appellant “shall be subject to post release control of up to three years.” The trial court later journalized a nunc pro tunc order…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of his grandmother and the murder of her husband. Defendant was sentenced to death for the aggravated murders. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a no-contest plea to charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated murder with capital specifications. Defendant was sentenced to death for the murder. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was found guilty of domestic violence, a misdemeanor in the first-degree. During trial, the victim asserted the privilege against self-incrimination at least eight times in response to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was at Indian Lake State Park, which is open to the public without an admission charge, when he was seriously injured by a rock thrown by an Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) boom mower that struck…

Justia Opinion Summary: Seventeen-year-old Kelli Baker was driving on a county road when one of her tires slipped off the right side of the road. The car hit a tree and caught on fire, killing Baker. Baker’s estate and parents filed a…

Justia Opinion Summary: John Nye was convicted of a violation of a city ordinance. Judge Lisa Coates, the trial court judge in the case, adopted and approved the magistrate’s decision. However, there was no order in the record that set forth a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Stolz worked for a subcontractor on a construction project when he was injured in an accident on the job site. Prior to the accident, Messer had obtained authority from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of murder. While incarcerated, Appellant filed a motion to vacate his conviction and sentence. When the trial court took no action on his motion, Appellant filed a petition in procedendo in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Christian Voice of Central Ohio operated a radio station from offices located in New Albany. In 1991, the tax commissioner granted an exemption for the property on the grounds that it was being used for church purposes.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a pleading in the court of appeals entitled “Eighth Admendment [sic] Violation” seeking an order compelling a county jail to send medical records pertaining to treatment he received while he was there to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother filed a complaint in an Ohio court seeking to establish paternity and an allocation of parental rights. Father lived in Virginia. Father filed a petition for custody in a Virginia court and moved to dismiss…

Justia Opinion Summary: Chester Township and its trustees (collectively, Relators) sought to prohibit Judge Timothy Grendell (Respondent) from issuing or enforcing rulings against them in the case that created the Chester Township Park…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was found guilty of disorderly conduct. In appealing that judgment pro se, Appellant filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus under the same case number as the appeal. Appellant also filed a motion for a stay…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Ohio Power Siting Board granted a certificate to Champaign Wind, LLC to construct a wind farm in Champaign County. Appellants, a collection of local governmental entities and residents, appealed the Board’s decision,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The property owners of three undeveloped residential lots in the Westerville City School District filed complaints with the Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR) seeking reductions in the county auditor’s valuations of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Boyd retired from Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in 1983. Boyd received workers’ compensation benefits in 2005 for asbestosis in both lungs. In 2013, Boyd applied for permanent-total-disability benefits. A staff…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a private citizen, filed a complaint seeking a writ of mandamus compelling Appellees, the Columbiana County clerk of courts and the Columbiana County prosecutor, to accept for filing an affidavit alleging a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Team Rentals, LLC, the owner of a two-story office building in Summit County, sought a reduction of the value assigned to its property for tax year 2012. The Summit County Board of Revision (BOR) reduced the value based…

Justia Opinion Summary: This action raised several challenges to recently enacted legislation and administrative rules related to gambling in the state. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against several state entities challenging the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator requested records for public golf courses operated by Cleveland Metroparks. Metroparks declined to provide the records, asserting that they were exempt from disclosure because they were trade secrets or protected…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant’s father (Decedent) died after receiving surgery at Aultman Hospital. Appellant requested a copy of Decedent’s complete medical record. The Hospital produced the medical record that existed in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a class action complaint alleging that Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) failed timely to record in the appropriate county recorder’s office the satisfaction of her residential mortgage…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant made a request for public records and information based on events surrounding the arrest for another individual. When the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) denied portions of the request, Appellant filed…

Justia Opinion Summary: After the Cuyahoga County fiscal officer valued residential real estate owned by Landowner for tax year 2009, Landowner filed a complaint seeking a reduction. At a hearing before the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was arrested for operating a vehicle while under the influence (OVI). Because he had been convicted of OVI five times in the previous twenty years, Appellee was charged with two fourth-degree felonies under Ohio…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of rape of his former stepson and gross sexual imposition on both his former stepson and former stepdaughter. The trial court’s judgment was affirmed on appeal. Appellant later filed a petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees were employed as sales representatives by a company that was owned by Appellants. Appellants filed a class action lawsuit seeking a declaration that certain provisions of Ohio Rev. Code 4111.14 were…

Justia Opinion Summary: James Smith was indicted on one count of aggravated burglary and one count of rape. Smith was subsequently reindicted on the same two counts, in addition to one count of cocaine possession. Thereafter, the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of aggravated murder with two felony-murder specifications. Appellant was sentenced to death. After Appellant exhausted his postconviction and federal remedies, the Supreme Court ordered the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The juvenile court adjudicated Appellant, a juvenile, delinquent on sex offenses. At disposition, the juvenile court did not record a finding regarding Appellant’s age at the time the offenses were committed. Upon…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a public-records request under the Ohio Public Records Act for the personnel records of six employees of the West Licking Joint Fire District. Less than three business days later, Appellant filed a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After his alleged biological son, B.V., was placed for adoption, Steven Walton filed a paternity case in juvenile court seeking to establish his father-child relationship and parental rights and responsibilities…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of her daughter, filed a civil suit against Defendant for assault, false imprisonment, emotional distress, and loss of consortium. Plaintiff requested compensatory and punitive…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of one count of manufacturing methamphetamine in the vicinity of a juvenile, a felony. The trial court sentenced Defendant to ten years’ imprisonment. The maximum possible…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the value for tax year 2012 of four residential properties used as rental properties. The Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR) ordered reductions based on unspecified area sale prices and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Veolia Water North American Operating Services, Inc., the private owner and operator of a waste-water-treatment plant that serves both communities and certain manufacturers, sought exemption of real-estate improvements…

Justia Opinion Summary: Buckeye Hospitality, Inc, the owner of a Comfort Inn hotel property located in Franklin County, filed a complaint seeking a reduction of the value assigned to its property. The Columbus City Schools Board of Education…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to two counts of receiving stolen property, one a felony and the other a misdemeanor. The court of common pleas ordered Defendant to serve the felony and misdemeanor sentences consecutively.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Village of Piketon and Boone Coleman Construction, Inc. entered into a contract for construction of a public road. The contract contained a liquidated damages provision specifying that Boone Coleman would pay $700 to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Appellant was convicted of one count of rape and three counts of gross sexual imposition (GSI). Appellant was sentenced to life in prison for the rape conviction and four years for each of the three GSI…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of rape, attempted murder, kidnapping, and burglary. Appellant later filed a petition for postconviction relief, which was untimely. The trial judge denied the petition without issuing findings of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Ohio Board of Nursing commenced a professional disciplinary action against Beverly Clayton, a staff nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Mercy Hospital Western Hills, for alleged violations of Ohio Rev. Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, who is serving a life sentence on a conviction for aggravated murder, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, asserting that he remained in prison solely under an order that the trial court lacked…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, a principal of Lipson O’Shea Legal Group made a request for records from Cuyahoga County Board of Health (Cuyahoga County BOH) seeking documentation of homes in the County where a minor child was found to have…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator was seventeen years old at the time two delinquency complaints were filed against him. Respondent was the judge of the juvenile division of the county court of common pleas. After a bindover hearing was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was granted a default judgment against Bank of America and filed a praecipe for a writ of execution. BAC Field Services filed a motion to stay the execution of judgment and a motion for relief from judgment.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Rural Health Collaborative of Southern Ohio, Inc. owned a facility in Adams County that was operated under lease by Dialysis Clinic, Inc. Rural Health filed a charitable-use exemption application for the property. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: 503 South Front Street, LP, a for-profit corporation, owned 30,000 square feet of commercial space and leased the property for a term of thirty years to ShadoArt Productions, a nonprofit organization. ShadoArt filed an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners executed a promissory note and mortgage in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems, Inc. The notary acknowledgment on the mortgage was left blank. The mortgage was subsequently recorded with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, former correctional institution employees and a labor union, filed this action against numerous government Defendants, alleging that 2011 Am.Sub.H.B. No. 153, the budget bill for the 2012-2013 biennium,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained against him, including laboratory and chemical tests of his alcohol level.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Named Plaintiffs filed an amended class-action complaint challenging the city of Cleveland’s imposition of fines against vehicle lessees. The trial court granted Cleveland’s motion for judgment on the pleadings,…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Appellant guilty of aggravated murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping. The trial court imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without parole eligibility for thirty years for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The 2010, the Washington County Auditor determined a value of $3,319,000 for multiple parcels that together constituted a Rite Aid drugstore and its parking lot. Rite Aid of Ohio, Inc. filed a complaint before the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, the Washington County Auditor determined a value of $9,091,000 for a Lowe’s Home Center store in Marietta. Lowe’s filed a complaint before the Washington County Board of Revision (BOR) seeking a reduction to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Mason was injured while working as a truck driver for Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Mason later applied for permanent-total-disability compensation. The Industrial Commission of Ohio granted Mason’s application…

Justia Opinion Summary: On December 1, 2015, Gary Lee filed a petition and declaration of candidacy for sheriff at the Hamilton County Board of Elections. On January 4, 2016, David Duclos filed a written protest with the Board of Elections,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cornerstone Developers, Ltd. sought extraordinary relief to prevent a tax levy for Sugarcreek Township from appearing on the March 15, 2016 election ballot because it was allegedly not in compliance with state laws. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: These consolidated actions involved an original action in the Supreme Court and an appeal of a judgment of the court of appeals and concerned the interpretation of several nearly identical oil and gas leases. In the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator was convicted of having an unlawful interest in a public contract and was sentenced to six months in jail. Relator sought writs of prohibition, mandamus, and habeas corpus. The Supreme Court denied the writs by…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence of a gun that was found in a search of a car legally parked on a public street that Defendant was sitting in just before his arrest on a warrant for domestic…

Justia Opinion Summary: Gabriella Moir was the plaintiff in the underlying divorce case. Judge Mary Kovack, the only judge in the Medina County Domestic Relations Court, recused herself from the case. Acting in her capacity as the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cuyahoga County filed an exemption to a tract of real property it acquired in 2004. The property consisted of a marina/restaurant that operated in conjunction with an adjacent public park. The tax commissioner granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: A petition was submitted to to the clerk of the Hilliard City Council to amend the city charter. The City Council voted against an ordinance to place the proposed charter amendment on the March 15, 2016 ballot. Relators…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, New Thistledown, LLC, which owned Thistledown Racetrack, petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief. Thistledown was purchased at an auction for $43,000,000. The bankruptcy court authorized the sale, stating…