Supreme Court of Ohio Decisions 2015

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant challenged the aspect of Ohio’s Putative Father Registry (OPFR) that limits the time frame during which a man can register as a putative father in order to gain a right to receive notice of any subsequent…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, the Talawanda City School District Board of Education (BOE) filed its application to exempt property located within the district. The tax commissioner granted an exemption for all of the property except for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of tampering with evidence for concealing heroin within a body cavity. The court of appeals affirmed Defendant’s tampering conviction, concluding that at the time Defendant concealed the heroin in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees damaged their vehicle when they collided with a deer in the roadway. Appellant insured the vehicle. Appellees had their vehicle repaired using aftermarket replacement parts that were not produced by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was a 2010 assessment of personal property issued by the Pike County auditor against Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (LMES) for tax year 1993. The tax commissioner canceled the assessment.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator was indicted on two counts of felonious assault and one count of aggravated burglary. One of the felonious-assault counts was subsequently amended. After a jury trial, Relator was convicted of aggravated burglary…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mary Siegel, a registered elector, filed a challenge to the voter registration of Randy Simes. The Board of Elections voted to reject the challenge. Barbara Holwadel and Steven Johnson (together, Holwadel) subsequently…

Justia Opinion Summary: Craig Conley faxed a letter to Judge Dixie Park requesting full and legible copies of documents from the court’s electronic docket. Judge Park returned the request, stating that the court did not accept faxed filings…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1994, Appellant was injured in the course and scope of his employment. In 2010, during the course and scope of his employment for a new employer, Appellant was injured. In 2012, Appellant requested…

Justia Opinion Summary: A landowner filed a complaint for breach of contract against the predecessor in interest to Huntington National Bank. The trial judge ruled in favor of the landowner and awarded damages. The court of appeals reversed on…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Ohio Republican Party (ORP) sent a public-records request to Cuyahoga County seeking the County’s key card swipe data for five individuals, including Edward FitzGerald, the County’s former county executive. At the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant participated in a program called the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (“PIPP”) that provided assistance to low-income residential customers. Most PIPP customers pay a fixed percentage of their monthly income…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee challenged the auditor’s valuation of a parcel of residential real estate for tax year 2012. The Columbus City Schools Board of Education (school board) sought retention of the auditor’s valuation. The Franklin…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator requested public records from the City of South Euclid and its employee (together, South Euclid) for, inter alia, financial records associated with several city-owned properties. South Euclid sent some, but not…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a public-records mandamus case in the court of appeals to obtain records she had requested from the City of South Euclid. During the litigation, the City and its employee (collectively, Appellees)…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Defendant was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. Defendant later sought habeas corpus relief, alleging that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. The federal court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Donald Beck filed complaints against the auditor’s tax-year-2010 valuations of three two-family residential rental properties in Columbus. The Franklin County Board of Revision approved a reduction in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Steak ’n Shake filed a complaint seeking a reduction for tax year 2009 from the auditor’s valuation of a Steak ’n Shake restaurant. The Warren County Board of Revision retained the auditor’s original valuation…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father, who never married, were the parents of Daughter. Mother later moved to New Jersey with Daughter. When Father’s first application to determine custody of Daughter in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pilkington North America, Inc. entered into a social contract with Toledo Edison Company under which Toledo provided one of Pilkington’s facilities with discounted electric service. The Public Utilities Commission…

Justia Opinion Summary: Employee was injured during the course of his employment with Precision Steel Services, Inc. Employee received compensation for his medical expenses and lost wages. Two years after the accident, Employee applied for an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor who was over thirteen but less than sixteen years of age. Defendant, who was twenty-one years old when he committed the offense, was designated a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault, endangering children, and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs (OVI). The trial court sentenced Appellant to a term of three years…

Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this case disputed who was the legal owner or holder of certain mineral rights. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division concluded that the interpretation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Franklin County auditor valued property owned by Sears, Roebuck & Company at $8,323,000 for the tax year 2005 and for tax years 2006 through 2010. Sears filed a complaint seeking a reduction of value. The Franklin…

Justia Opinion Summary: Employee, an ironworker, was injured in a fall while working for Employer, a subcontractor on a bridge project. Employee’s workers’ compensation claim was allowed for multiple injuries sustained in the fall. Two years…

Justia Opinion Summary: Amber Risner was killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of State Route 220 and State Route 332. Appellees, Amber’s parents, filed a complaint as the administrators of Amber’s estate against the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was found guilty of two counts of aggravated murder and was sentenced to death on each count. The appellate court reversed the convictions and remanded for a new trial. The Supreme Court affirmed and remanded…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of two counts of aggravated murder and six counts of attempted murder. Defendant was sentenced to death. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s convictions, vacated the death…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator, who had been convicted of a sexually-oriented offense, was indicted for failure to notify the appropriate county sheriff’s office when he changed his residential address. Relator filed a petition for writ of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Platinum Lodging, LLC, the former owner of the property at issue in this appeal, was a party throughout proceedings challenging a real property valuation for the tax year 2008. The Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator, Douglas Crowl, gathered signatures on a nominating petition to run for the position of Porter Township trustee in the November 3, 2015 general election. Crowl timely filed the petition with the Delaware County…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator, Richard Burroughs, submitted a nominating petition containing twenty-four valid signatures to run as an independent candidate for the city of Akron ward 8 council position in the November 3, 2015 election. The…

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

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted decided to remove several members of the Lucas County Board of Elections from their positions. The Lucas County Republican Party Executive Committee (LCRP) formally recommended…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (OVI) in violation of Ohio Rev. Code 4511.19(A)(1)(a), a third-degree felony, and a repeat-offender…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a pretermination hearing, the Lockland School District Board of Education terminated Appellant’s contract of employment. Appellant appealed, arguing that Lockland had violated the Open Meetings Act by failing to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Appellee submitted a disability-retirement application to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and its board of trustees (together, “the Board”). The Board rejected Appellee’s claim for benefits. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: On June 26, 2015, Mark H. Curtis filed a nominating petition and statement of candidacy to become a member of the school board of the Twinsburg City School District. The filing consisted of six part-petitions. At issue…

Justia Opinion Summary: During the investigation of a complaint that Arlie Risner was hunting without permission, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife (“ODNR”) officers seized parts of an antlered white-tailed deer. Risner…

Justia Opinion Summary: On August 3, 2015, proponents of the "Community Bill of Rights" presented to the Youngstown City Council a proposed amendment to the city charter of Youngstown. The City Council passed an ordinance directing that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relators circulated a petition to amend the city charter of Kent. The Kent city council voted against certifying the issue to the Portage County Board of Elections for inclusion on the November 3, 2015 ballot. Relators…

Justia Opinion Summary: Electors in the counties of Medina, Fulton, and Athens filed petitions to adopt charters their their respective counties. Secretary of State Jon Husted sustained protests against the three petitions, invalidated the…

Justia Opinion Summary: On August 18, 2015, the Ohio Ballot Board adopted ballot language for State Issue 3, a proposed constitutional amendment to Article XV of the Ohio Constitution. Secretary of State Jon Husted issued the ballot title one…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (the “Sewer District”) filed an action seeking a declaratory judgment that it had the authority to implement a regional stormwater-management program and to impose fees to be…

Justia Opinion Summary: This contract dispute was a portion of ongoing litigation initiated by the governing Boards of ten Cleveland community schools (“the schools”). Defendants were two private for-profit companies and ten subsidiary…

Justia Opinion Summary: A former administrative judge issued an order mandating that the board of commissioners of Lorain County appropriate an amount of money to the county sheriff to add security measures at the the Lorain County Court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: On November 20, 2014, the city council of Fremont, Ohio passed an ordinance authorizing the mayor to proceed with the process of removing the Ballville Dam. A referendum petition was delivered to Paul Grahl, Fremont’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: J.T., a juvenile, was charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon for carrying a broken pistol in his waistband that was no longer capable of firing a round. J.T. was found delinquent. The Supreme Court vacated the…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the tax year 2008 valuation of an office-warehouse building in west Columbus. The Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR) reduced the value assigned to the property from the $2,750,000 found by…

Justia Opinion Summary: On May 4, 2015, Bernabei resigned as treasurer for three Democratic campaigns and filed his statement of candidacy and nominating petitions with the Stark County Board of Elections declaring his independent candidacy for…

Justia Opinion Summary: On May 4, 2015, Francis H. Cicchinelli Jr., who had a long history as a Democratic Party candidate and officeholder in the city of Massillon, filed a statement of candidacy and nominating petitions with the Stark County…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stemmed from an order of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio authorizing the East Ohio Gas Company (“Dominion”) to discontinue the availability of the “standard choice offer” for its nonresidential…

Justia Opinion Summary: In two separate criminal cases, Appellant was convicted of aggravated menacing and unauthorized use of property. Judge Albert S. Camplese presided over both cases. Appellant filed actions in prohibition against Judge…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from two related class-action lawsuits that were first brought by Appellees almost fifteen years ago. Appellees sought damages from Appellants, Ganley Chevrolet and Ganley Management Company, as well as…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Appellant purchased a two-family dwelling from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for $5,000. The Cuyahoga County fiscal officer valued the property at $126,800 for tax year 2011.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator made a request of Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) to inspect records concerning her minor daughter. FCCS denied the request for lack of good cause. Relator filed this complaint seeking a writ of mandamus…

Justia Opinion Summary: On April 25, 2011, Marcella Atkinson entered a long-term care facility. On June 16, 2011, Marcella and her husband Raymond submitted a Medicaid application for Marcella’s care. On August 9, 2011, Marcella transferred…

Justia Opinion Summary: C.K. was found guilty of murder. The appellate court reversed the conviction as being against the manifest weight of the evidence. On remand, the State dismissed the indictment without prejudice. C.K. later brought this…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, sought several forms of relief challenging the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and correction’s attachment of money in her prison account. Specifically, Appellant claimed that the money was exempt…

Justia Opinion Summary: A Newton Falls ordinance repealed a provision allowing residents a credit for income taxes paid to another municipality. Relator circulated petitions to place an initiative on the ballot to restore the tax credit and to…

Justia Opinion Summary: L.R. was the biological mother of six children, including her youngest children, Z.R. L.R.’s five older children were adjudicated dependent and neglected in the Summit County Juvenile Court, and L.R. never regained…

Justia Opinion Summary: Insurer issued an automobile policy to Philip Laboy as the named insured. The policy provided that Insurer would pay “any negotiated reduced rate accepted by a medical provider.” Three members of Laboy’s family, also…

Justia Opinion Summary: Relator, a federal inmate, made a public-records request of Respondent, the chief of police of the Cedar Point Police Department. Alleging that Respondent failed to provide the requested records, Relator sued in mandamus…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant in this appeal contested twenty-seven assessments of delinquent sales tax. Appellant’s liability derived from previous assessments against a pet store business of which Appellant was co-owner and an officer.…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case originated with the question of whether, for tax year 2006, the present value of William MacDonald’s future annuity payments qualified as taxable wages or as a pension under a Shaker Heights ordinance that…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from alleged acts of pre-leasing housing discrimination that resulted in alleged emotional distress. At the relevant time, the defendants in the underlying case (“Insureds”) were covered under an…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, Navistar, Inc. claimed it was due a credit against the new commercial-activity tax (CAT), which was enacted to replace to replace the existing corporate-franchise and personal property taxes for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a motion to suppress in his criminal action. Judge Deena R. Calabrese overruled the motion in open court and indicated that she would journalize an entry on the same day. Appellant later filed this action…

Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Reeves, a federal inmate, sued in mandamus seeking a writ compelling the production of certain records. In his complaint, Reeves alleged that he made a public-records request of the chief of police of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, was convicted of robbery, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, and other charges. Judge David Fais first sentenced Appellant in 2001. In 2002, the court of appeals reversed and remanded for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1970, Appellant pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to an indeterminate period. Appellant was placed in the custody of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC), which treated his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, was convicted of aggravated burglary and rape. Appellant filed this action in habeas corpus alleging that his convictions and sentence were invalid and he must be released. Specifically, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Metamore Elevator Company filed complaints with the Fulton County Board of Revision (BOR) seeking to reduce the property value of two parcels and to remove grain storage bins from the real property assessment,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Petitioner was convicted of first-degree-felony aggravated burglary and sentenced to six years in prison. After Petitioner was released an placed on postrelease control, he was found guilty of violating the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1989, Petitioner, a prisoner at Grafton Correction Institution, was convicted of aggravated murder and other crimes. After a hearing in 2005, the parole board denied Petitioner parole. The board later determined that…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1986, Appellant was convicted of several sex-related crimes. Appellant was classified as a sexually oriented offender when Megan’s Law was enacted. In 2007, after Appellant was released on parole, he was convicted of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Kent Cunningham filed an “Affidavit of Non-Ohio Domicile” for tax year 2008 declaring that he was “not domiciled in Ohio” at any during during the tax year. The tax commissioner issued Kent and his wife an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Landowners filed a complaint with the Auglaize County Board of Revision (BOR) challenging the auditor’s valuation of their property. The BOR notified Landowners that a hearing would be held. Neither Landowners nor anyone…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was injured in the course and scope of his employment with the City of Columbus, Division of Fire. The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund granted Appellant’s application for a partial-disability retirement.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court reversed. After a retrial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction…

Justia Opinion Summary: In two separate cases, Defendant pleaded guilty to several counts of receiving stolen property. Defendant appealed, arguing for the first time that some of his convictions should have been merged for sentencing. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Appellee was injured while working for Appellant. In 2011, Appellee applied for permanent-total-disability compensation and submitted a report from his treating physician, Dr. Oscar DePaz. A hearing officer…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was stopped by a Lake Township patrol officer and canine handler for a marked lane violation on an interstate highway. The officer walked her dog around the vehicle Defendant was driving, leading to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Appellants acquired by way of a deed the surface rights to certain land in Harrison County. The deed did not convey to Appellants all of the mineral rights underlying their surface property. But after an oil and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate at London Correctional Institution (LCI), made several public-records requests of LCI that were denied. While his last request was granted, Appellant filed an action in mandamus in the court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sought to develop a subdivision consisting of forty-four single-family homes on property zoned R-1 residential. Appellant applied to Granger Township Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) for variances for each of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State Teachers Retirement Board (STRB) denied the application of Jason Menz, an elementary school principal, for disability-retirement benefits on the grounds that Menz did not meet the criteria for permanent…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was injured in 2003 while working for Appellee. In 2010, Appellant applied for permanent total disability compensation. Kiva Shtull, M.D. examined Appellant on behalf of the employer and concluded that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation conducted an adult of WFAL Construction and determined that WFAL owned back premiums as an “employer” subject to the Workers’ Compensation Act because those working for WFAL in 2009…

Justia Opinion Summary: Vlada Abraitis, the mother of Sarunas Abraitis, died in 2008. Vlada’s will named Sarunas as the executor of the estate. Sarunas applied to admit his mother’s will, executed in 1978, to probate, and the matter was…

Justia Opinion Summary: David Bundy served prison time before his conviction for failure to register as a sex offender was reversed. Bundy sought a declaratory judgment pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code 2743.48 that he had been wrongfully imprisoned…

Justia Opinion Summary: While on parole, Appellant was convicted of three new offenses and sentenced to a new nine-year aggregate term. Appellant was incarcerated for the new offenses and became a member of the class of parolees entitled to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted and sentenced in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Appellant, who was incarcerated, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging that the court in his criminal case lacked…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of kidnapping and rape, both first-degree felonies. The trial court sentenced Defendant to a term of incarceration and ordered that Appellant have no contact with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of murder, sexual battery, and other offenses and was sentenced to fifteen years to life. Appellant filed an action in habeas corpus seeking an order to compel Judge Joseph Russo to order his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved a mechanism called a phase-in recovery rider (PIRR) for Ohio Power Company to recover fuel costs that were incurred under Ohio Power’s first electric-security plan…

Justia Opinion Summary: Grace Cathedral filed an exemption application for the tax year 2010 pertaining to additional buildings added to an exempt church parcel. Regarding the building at issue in this appeal, Grace Cathedral stated that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, Appellant was found guilty of felonious sexual penetration. The conviction was affirmed on appeal. Thereafter, Appellant filed several postconviction motions that were denied. In 2014, Appellant filed an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was a state prisoner serving several sentences for multiple felony convictions. Appellant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Court of Appeals. Appellant attached his judgment of conviction and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a complaint against the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. A magistrate with the Ohio Court of Claims recommended judgment in favor of the Department. Appellant filed objections to the factual findings…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of aggravated murder, rape, and aggravated burglary. The trial court sentenced Appellant to death. Appellant’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The grandfather of J.B., filed a complaint for custody of J.B. V.K.B., J.B.’s mother, had legal custody over J.B. Sandusky County Juvenile Court Judge Bradley Smith allowed the complaint to proceed. Judge Smith…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an editor for a campus publication, requested criminal reports of persons whose cases had been referred, presumably by the Otterbein University police department (“the department”), to the Westerville Mayor’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant alleged that between 2000 and 2001 two employees of the Department of Youth Services (DYS) sexually abused her while she was in custody of a juvenile correctional facility. In 2012, Appellant filed a complaint…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Cincinnati owned several golf courses that were operated under a management contract by a private, for-profit contractor. Paul Macke, a private golf-course operator who owned taxable real property, challenged…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a former linebacker for the Chicago Bears, filed applications for refunds of income taxes paid to Cleveland for tax years 2004 through 2006. A nonresident of Cleveland, Appellant asserted that Cleveland had…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a retired professional football player, was employed by the Indiana Colts of the National Football League (NFL) during the taxable year of 2008. During the 2008 season, Appellant neither played in nor attended…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of retaliation, criminal damaging, vandalism, criminal trespass, possessing criminal tools, and ten counts of pandering. Defendant appealed, arguing that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1975, Appellant was convicted of premeditated murder and felony murder and was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment. Appellant’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal. Appellant filed various…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1979, Appellant was charged in juvenile court in five cases. In each case, the juvenile court held a bindover hearing and transferred the case to the common pleas court. Appellant was convicted in three of the five…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, while he was still a minor, Appellant was adjudicated delinquent for committing the equivalent of an operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OVI) offense. Appellant was not represented by counsel during the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Defendant pled guilty to burglary. The trial judge sentenced Defendant to five years of community control and warned him that a violation of community control would result in an eight-year prison sentence. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Bank filed a foreclosure action against Defendants for allegedly defaulting on a promissory note. The trial court granted Bank’s motion for summary judgment and issued a decree of foreclosure in Bank’s favor.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sixty-eight counts, all stemming from Defendant’s business enterprises. As relevant to this case, the jury found Defendant guilty of engaging in a pattern of corrupt…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Defendants, alleging that he suffered from spinal injuries as a result of Defendants’ medical malpractice. During discovery, Plaintiff requested a recorded surveillance video that Defendants had created of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 1983, Appellant was found guilty of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and other offenses. Appellant’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal. In 2013, Appellant filed an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant was injured at work and later applied for permanent-total-disability benefits. The Industrial Commission denied the application. Claimant later filed a second application supported a letter from his treating…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant was injured when he fell while trying to cut a tree branch. Claimant filed an application for workers’ compensation benefits alleging that the injury had occurred while he was an employee of Appellee. The Bureau…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of sixteen criminal counts and sentenced to life in prison. The court of appeals affirmed. Several years later, Appellant filed a complaint for a writ of habeas corpus against…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sophia Stevens slipped and fell at work in 1979. Thirty years later, Stevens filed a motion for permanent-total-disability compensation. Through a staff hearing officer, the Industrial Commission initially granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate at Lorain Correctional Institution, sent Appellee, the warden of the institution, a public-records request to copy and inspect the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction employee rules of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Based on investigations by law enforcement officials, a grand jury returned an indictment against several individuals and companies alleging that they had used an Internet gambling system to conceal illegal gambling by…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004 and 2007, two fires broke out in two separate buildings of the Village Green Apartments. Plaintiffs, tenants of the apartment complex, filed suit against the apartment complex’s landlords, claiming that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee filed a workers’ compensation claim from a work-related injury that occurred in 2007 while he was employed as a bricklayer for Appellant. Appellee had three other workers’ compensation claims from work-related…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was injured during the scope of his employment. In 2010, the Industrial Commission of Ohio found that Appellant had a six percent permanent partial disability and granted him compensation accordingly. In 2010,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Karen Baker, represented by an attorney with Schiavoni, Bush & Muldowney Co, L.P.A. (“the law firm”), filed an application for an increase in her permanent-partial-disability compensation. The Bureau of Workers’…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals, the Supreme Court considered a trial court’s authority to “conditionally” dismiss a civil case and thereby retain jurisdiction to thereafter enforce a settlement between the parties. These…

Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Watkins, an inmate at North Central Correctional Complex, filed an original action in mandamus against the chief of the Adult Parole Authority and chair of the Parole Board (together, Appellees), arguing that…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the rape of three women, along with three associated aggravated burglaries. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the trial court erred by failing to merge…

Justia Opinion Summary: David Quolke, the president of the Cleveland Teacher’s Union, requested from the Strongsville City School District Board of Education the names and identification numbers of all teachers and replacement teachers employed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Tussing Road Water Reclamation Facility in Fairfield County is required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act from the Ohio…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of robbery and sentenced to five years in prison and three years of postrelease control (“Sentencing Order 1”). The court of appeals vacated Sentencing Order 1 and remanded the cause for…

Justia Opinion Summary: To establish entitlement to an award for violation of a specific safety requirement (VSSR), a claimant must show that there was a specific safety rule (SSR) applicable to the employer, that the employer violated that…

Justia Opinion Summary: A reporter from The Cincinnati Enquirer submitted a public records request to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office for an outgoing phone call placed by a Butler County 9-1-1 dispatcher. The County denied the request,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee injured both thumbs in an industrial accident. Following a period of temporary total disability, Appellee returned to light-duty work and, later, to his former position of employment with no medical…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee, the former chief of the Westlake Fire Department, was suspended for thirty days without pay and demoted from the position of fire chief for violating Ohio Rev. Code 124.34(A). The trial court modified the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lance Mason, a sitting Cuyahoga county Court of Common Pleas judge, was indicted on three counts of felonious assault, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of endangering children, and one count of domestic violence.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was injured when he fell from a ladder-jack scaffold while working as a carpenter on a construction project for his Employers. Appellee sued his Employers, alleging claims of employer intentional tort. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1987, the village of Lodi passed an ordinance enacting Lodi Zoning Code 1280.05(a), which addresses discontinuation or abandonment of nonconforming uses. The final sentence of the ordinance states that the absence or…

Justia Opinion Summary: Employee filed a charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission contending that her employment by Employer had been terminated because she became pregnant. The Commission found that Employer had participated in a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Delaware and Berkshire Township contracted for a proposed joint economic development district, and the Berkshire Township Board of Trustees adopted a resolution approving the contract. Colleen Mann circulated…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Defendant was indicted in Ashland County on charges of theft and breaking and entering. At the time, Defendant was being held in a county jail in Maryland. In 2012, the State re-indicted Defendant. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a former police officer, was indicted on one count of felonious assault with a firearm specification arising from his shooting of Michael McCloskey Jr. during a traffic stop. After a jury trial, Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: These three consolidated cases arose out of the same set of facts and raised identical issues. Pursuant to a search warrant issued by a probate judge, which gave law enforcement permission to search a business for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ohio Rev. Code 1509 gives state government “sole and exclusive authority” to regulate the permitting, location, and spacing of oil and gas wells and production operations within Ohio. Beck Energy Corporation obtained a…

Justia Opinion Summary: A law enforcement officer sought a warrant to search a house based on facts within the supporting affidavit. Among those facts were the results of a “trash pull” that detectives had conducted outside the house. Based on…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was Ohio Rev. Code 2907.05(C)(2)(a), which defines “gross sexual imposition” and subjects an offender to a mandatory term of imprisonment when evidence other than the victim’s testimony is admitted…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appropriation action, Appellant was awarded $366,384 in a judgment dated October 4, 2012. Appellant timely moved for attorney fees. On November 27, 2012, the trial court entered its judgment denying attorney…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Governor granted a pardon to Appellant that extended to five convictions that occurred in several counties, including a felony conviction in Franklin County. Appellant subsequently applied to the Franklin County…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was acquitted on four drug-trafficking charges and successfully moved to seal the records in that case. Three days after the trial court entered judgment sealing Appellant’s record, the state charged Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from the death of Seth Cromer at the pediatric intensive-care unit of Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Seth’s mother and father, individually and as administrator, brought this medical-negligence…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Defendant was convicted of several felonies, including receiving stolen property, burglary, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. The convictions arose out of the practice of Defendant and another…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant injured his back while working as a mechanic for Employer. Six days after the injury, Appellant returned to work with a note from his doctor restricting him to modified duty. Appellant quit his job that same…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, and having weapons under disability. Prior to trial, Defendant filed a suggestion of incompetence to stand trial and a plea of not…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed his conviction for two felonies. The court of appeals ordered Appellant to show cause why his appeal should not be dismissed for lack of a final, appealable order. Appellant subsequently returned to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Martha Simpson, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, was employed in two state positions. In one position, Simpson and her employer contributed to the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). In the other, Simpson and her…

Justia Opinion Summary: A property owner appealed a valuation of its real property. After the Board of Tax Appeals issued its decision on August 29, 2013, the property owner appealed. The notice of appeal was filed on September 30, 2013, but…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, the Industrial Commission allowed the claim of Donna Evert, the surviving spouse of Charles Evert (the Decedent), for death benefits. Evert then filed a motion requesting an award for the Decent’s use of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Ruth McCormick slipped and fell while working at a McDonald’s restaurant. McCormick received temporary total disability (TTD) compensation until 2010, when the Industrial Commission terminated McCormick’s…