Piazza v. Cuyahoga County
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In this tort action against Cuyahoga County the Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the lower courts applying Ohio Rev. Code 2744.09(B) to reject the County's assertion of political subdivision immunity, holding that section 2744.09(B) does not require a plaintiff to have been employed by the political-subdivision employer at the time the plaintiff filed the lawsuit.
Section 2744.09(B) provides that the Political Subdivision Tort Liability Act does not apply to civil actions by an employee "against his political subdivision relative to any matter that arises out of the employment relationship between the employee and the political subdivision." Plaintiff sued the County, her former employer, for false-light invasion of privacy based on a statement allegedly made regarding the termination of Plaintiff's employment. The trial court denied the County's motion for summary judgment. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that Plaintiff's claim arose out of her employment relationship with the County, and the County was not immune from liability pursuant to the express exception in section 2744.09(B). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the statute does not require an ongoing employment relationship between the plaintiff and the political-subdivision employer; and (2) Plaintiff's false-light claim was relative to a matter that arose out of the employment relationship in this case.
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