Supreme Court of Ohio Decisions 2018

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the orders of the Power Siting Board granting a motion filed by Black Fork Wind Energy, LLC requesting a two-year extension of Black Fork’s certificate to construct a proposed wind farm,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) concluding that because Great Lakes Bar Control’s service of cleaning beer-tap lines was primarily a maintenance service, any cleaning was merely…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) that reduced the taxable value of a piece of property for tax year 2015, holding that this Court lacked jurisdiction…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a certified question of law by holding that a defendant is not entitled to jail time credit for pre-sentence detention time when held on bond if, during the same period of time, he is serving a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence of Appellant, who murdered his mother, but reversed an aggravated robbery charge against him that was used as one of three specifications supporting the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s petition for writs of mandamus and/or procedendo that he filed against Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge John J. Russo,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus against Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Dennis J. Langer, holding that Appellant had an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted in part and denied in part the writ of mandamus requested by Relators to compel the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction (DRC) to release records related to DRC’s acquisition and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying David Murray’s petition for a writ of mandamus challenging the State Employee Relations Board’s (SERB) dismissal of Murray’s unfair labor practice…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant on postrelease control for a prior felony must be advised, during his plea hearing in a new felony case, of the trial court’s ability under Ohio Rev. Code 2929.141 to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus against Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Lou A. D’Apolito, holding that the court of appeals…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Relator seeking to compel Kent State University with certain records regarding student-athletes under the Public Records Act, Ohio Rev. Code 149.43, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Relator to compel Kent State University to comply with her records request under Ohio Rev. Code 149.43, holding that Relator was not entitled to additional records…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the writ of mandamus sought by Relator seeking to compel the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) to release security-camera video footage related to a use-of-force incident at…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Tenth District Court of Appeals denying Byington Builders, Ltd.’s request for a writ of mandamus compelling the Industrial Commission to vacate its award to Thomas Trousdale…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered two state-law questions from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by holding that the failure to identify a person who has initialed, signed, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals granting a writ of quo warranto sought by the attorney general and ordering the dissolution of Omar Ibn El Khattab Mosque, Inc., holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a certified question from the Unitde States District Court by holding that Ohio Rev. Code 4123.35(O) is not unconstitutional as applied to the tort claims of an enrolled subcontractor’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus against the director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted in part an itemized application filed by Relators seeking a total of $106,172.50 in attorney fees and $1,256.65 in costs after the Court granted Relators their allowable costs and reasonable…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court determining that Ohio Rev. Code 2947.23(C) permits trial courts to waive, modify or suspend payment of only those court costs that were imposed after the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s complaint for writs of mandamus and prohibition against Richland County Court of Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese seeking to compel…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether Intermessage Communications and members of a proposed class of retail cellular-telephone-service subscribers seeking to recover treble damages under Ohio Rev. Code 4905.61 for regulatory violations…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing Defendant’s conviction and discharging him from further prosecution after the trial court accepted Defendant’s plea of no contest to a charge of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court’s decision denying Defendant’s Motion to Vacate Judicial Sanction and reinstated the judgment of the trial court, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was what type of reference within a chain of title is sufficient to preserve an earlier-created interest under Ohio’s Marketable Title Act, which generally allows a landowner who has an unbroken chain of title…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) that the service provided by Seaton Corporation to Kal Kan Foods, Inc. was not a taxable “employment service” under Ohio Rev. Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Cora Sue Bell and concluding that Embassy Healthcare could pursue its claim against Cora…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the decision of the tax commissioner concluding that Appellant’s purchase of an aircraft and then leasing it to its sole corporate…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this defamation case to the trial court for further proceedings, holding that the cap in Ohio Rev. Code 2315.18 that applies to tort actions seeking noneconomic loss as a result of an alleged…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) rejecting the method of valuation espoused by an appraiser for the property owner, HCP EMOH, LLC, to derive an opinion of value for an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the board of tax appeals (BTA) affirming the tax commissioner’s denial of a charitable-use property-tax exemption for the subject property, holding that the BTA’s factual…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s judgment - and, in turn, the court of appeals’ judgment - granting Defendant’s petition for postconviction relief and remanded this matter for further proceedings, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying a writ of mandamus to Michael Cobb, an Ohio prisoner, holding that Cobb was not entitled to the writ. Michael Cobb filed his complaint for a writ…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) dismissing Appellants’ appeal from a decision of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) because it found that Appellants failed to timely…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus to compel the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts to produce public records…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for writs of mandamus and prohibition, holding that Appellant was not entitled to a writ of mandamus, nor was he entitled…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal brought by the Office of Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) and the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Energy Group (OMAEG) challenging the Public Utility Commission’s decision to approve…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the Public Utilities Commission that approved a charge referred to as the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Rider as a component of Ohio Power Company’s third electric-security plan…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Mars Urban Solutions, LLC and Michael Majeski seeking to compel the Cuyahoga County fiscal officer and Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) to comply with a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the decision of the tax commissioner, holding that the sale-for-resale exemption of Ohio Rev. Code 5739.01(E) applied to preclude…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals reversing Defendant’s conviction after ruling that Defendant’s blackout defense was not an affirmative defense that must be proven by a preponderance of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the tax commissioner’s denial of Willoughby Hills Development and Distribution, Inc.’s (WHDD) request for a commercial-activity-tax…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for writs of mandamus and prohibition against Ross County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Nusbaum, holding that Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this property tax appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) concluding that the Marion County Board of Revision (BOR) and the River Valley Local School District Board of…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether an order by the General Division of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas requiring Appellant, a Cuyahoga County court reporter, to submit sealed grand-jury materials for in camera court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this real-property-valuation case, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the decision of the Clark County Board of Revision (BOR) retaining Clark County auditor’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was when Appellees’ claims for negligence, constructive fraud, and fraudulent concealment accrued and whether they were time-barred. Appellees were the Estate of Steven Schmitz and Yvette Smith,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal involving the real-property valuation of a “racino” in Cuyahoga County, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) rejecting the appraisal of the Warrensville Heights City…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) valuing a Red Lobster restaurant in the village of Orange for tax year 2014 according to the sale price, disregarding the appraisal evidence,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this property-tax appeal concerning the 2014 tax valuation of a shopping center consisting of five separate real estate parcels, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA), holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of prohibition to prevent Judge Richard L. Collins Jr. from proceeding with a hearing to determine whether…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning the 2014 value of a KeyBank branch located in Hilliard, The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) adopting the appraisal presented on behalf of the Hilliard City…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this challenge brought by a property owner seeking a decrease in the valuation of its property, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) adopting the value determined by the Montgomery…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this property-tax appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the determination of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) arriving at an independent valuation of the subject property by using probative aspects of the two expert…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying a writ of mandamus to compel the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund to award Appellant on-duty-percentage disability benefits for injuries he alleged…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) remanding this cause to Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) with instructions for the BOR to dismiss the underlying valuation complaint,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus against the Lake County Common Pleas Court, holding that the court of appeals correctly dismissed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s motions to issue a show-cause order and to hold Appellees, Ohio Adult Parole Authority and the Chair of the Ohio Parole Board, in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied Respondent’s motion to dismiss Relator’s original action in mandamus and issued an alternative writ, holding that, although Relator was an inmate who had filed a civil action against a state…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied Respondent’s motion to dismiss this original action in mandamus brought by Relator and issued an alternative writ, holding that Respondent was not entitled to have the complaint…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that the court of appeals correctly determined that Appellant’s petition was defective on its…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning property that was the subject of a 2011 valuation complaint, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the Board of Revision’s (BOR) denial of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals denying Appellant’s complaint for a writ of procedendo against Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Donnelly, holding that Appellant was not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Appellant’s second-degree application for DNA testing, holding that Appellant was not entitled to the relief he sought. Appellant was convicted of two…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s petition for a writ of mandamus against Appellee, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Ethan Cooper, holding that Appellant had -…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that Appellant stated no basis for relief in habeas corpus. After a retrial, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether a general contractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy that is nearly identical to the one considered in Westfield Insurance Co. v. Custom Agri Systems, Inc., 979 N.E.2d 269 (Ohio 2012),…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that the court of appeals properly dismissed Appellant’s petition for failure to attach…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that the court of appeals properly determined that res judicata precluded Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal challenging the Public Utility Commission’s decision to allow Dayton Power and Light Company (DP&L) to withdraw and terminate its second electric-security plan (ESP II), holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s petition for writs of mandamus and prohibition against Robert C. McClelland, a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Relators seeking to compel Respondents, the Lucas County Board of Elections and its members, to place a proposed charter amendment on the November 6, 2018…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals affirming the trial court’s suppression of 150 individually wrapped pieces of marijuana-infused candy contained in two sealed Priority Mail envelopes…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was how to determine whether a plaintiff who alleges that he or she suffers from lung cancer as a result of asbestos exposure is a “smoker” who needs to satisfy the requirements listed in Ohio Rev. Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: In determining whether John Klein was entitled to continued temporary-total-disability compensation where he voluntarily left his position of employment for reasons unrelated to his workplace injury, the Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the Industrial Commission and granted Jackson Tube Service Inc.’s request for a writ of mandamus compelling the commission to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this real-property tax case, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) adopting a certain property’s sale price without considering the appraisal offered by the property owner, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio’s (PUCO) motion to dismiss LMD Integrated Logistic Services, Inc.’s appeal from a civil forfeiture order,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this real-property tax case, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) adopting a certain property’s sale price without giving full consideration to the appraisal offered by the property…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Ohio Supreme Court centered on whether whether oil-and-gas land professionals, who help obtain oil-and-gas leases for oil-and-gas-development companies, must be licensed real-estate…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this expedited election case, the Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Relators seeking to compel the Lucas County Board of Elections to place a proposed charter amendment on the November 6, 2018…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought Relators seeking to compel the Board of Trustees of Perry Township in Stark County to place a tax levy on the November 6, 2018 ballot, holding that Relators did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court issued a writ of mandamus ordering the Board of Beavercreek Township Trustees and its members (collectively, the Board) to rescind two resolutions setting the annual salaries for two assistants to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of aggravated murder and sentence of death, imposed after the case was remanded for resentencing, holding that none of Defendant’s propositions of law on appeal warranted…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Fourth District Court of Appeals denying the request for a writ of mandamus sought by the Cincinnati Enquirer and granted a writ of mandamus, holding that the Enquirer was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by six Columbus electors (Relators) to compel members of the Franklin County Board of Elections (Respondents) to place a proposed city ordinance on the November 6,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this expedited elections case, the Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus ordering Solon Director of Finance Matt Rubino to certify the sufficiency and validity of an initiative petition proposing an ordinance that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this expedited relations case based on laches and denied the relator’s motion for leave to supplement the evidence. Relator, Citizens for Responsible Green Government, sought a writ of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action alleging that improprieties occurred during the recount of votes in sixteen Muskingum County precincts and seeking writs of mandamus to certify official election results that excluded all ballots cast in…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this expedited elections case, the Supreme Court granted a writ of prohibition to prevent the Delaware County Board of Elections (the Board) from placing a township zoning referendum on the November 2018 ballot,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the Ohio savings statute, Ohio Rev. Code 2305.19, does not apply to a federal or state court action commenced in another state that fails otherwise than upon the merits, and therefore, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal from a decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) was how best to determine the true value of a low income housing property that is both rent restricted and rent subsidized. Appellant, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) adopting the property value stated in an appraisal report presented by the Licking Heights Local Schools Board of Education (BOE), holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that using a prior juvenile adjudication of delinquency for the commission of an offense that would have been felonious assault if committed by an adult as an element of the offense of having a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals that affirmed Appellant’s convictions and sentence, holding that the juvenile court’s failure to consider and apply Ohio Rev. Code 2152.021 - Ohio’s safe…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether an exception in Ohio law providing that jail-time credit does not apply to the portion of a prison sentence that is imposed for a firearm specification, as applied in this case, violates…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this original action brought under Article II, Section 1g of the Ohio Constitution, the Supreme Court sustained the challenge brought by Relators regarding an initiative petition to place a proposed constitutional…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney Michael C. O’Malley a writ of prohibition and ordered Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams to vacate her journal entry…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s complaint for writs of prohibition and procedendo against Darke County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jonathan P. Hein, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a question certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by holding that Ohio Rev. Code 1707.43, a provision of the Ohio Securities Act, does not impose joint and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Ohio Rev. Code 3314.08 authorizes the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to base funding of an Internet-based community school - or e-school - on the duration of student participation. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s petition for a writ of mandamus to compel the Ohio Parole Board to hold a parole hearing at which Appellant’s parole request would be…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this expedited election case, the Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Heaven Guest seeking to compel Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and the Columbiana County Board of Elections to place her name on…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for writs of mandamus and prohibition against Judge Patrick M. McGrath of the Court of Claims, holding the complaint was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) upholding a use-tax assessment on the purchases of natural gas by East Manufacturing Corporation (East) and not granting an exemption under Ohio…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the valuation of a parcel of land with a supermarket owned by the Kroger Company by the Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR) of $2,390,000 conformed to Ohio Rev. Code 5713.03, and the Board…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of procedendo against Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Christine Croce. Appellant was convicted of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of procedendo against retired Judge Richard D. Reinbold Jr. and Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mary…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus against Erie County Common Pleas Court Judge Roger E. Binette and denied Appellant’s motions for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s complaint for a writ of procedendo against Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jenifer French, holding that the intermediate…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this mandamus action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s motion to waive court costs and denied Appellant’s motion to appoint counsel. Appellant filed a complaint for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction this appeal from a judgment of the court of appeals that dismissed the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Appellant, holding that the notice of appeal was…

Justia Opinion Summary: This suit fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, rather than the court of common pleas, because Plaintiff sought legal relief rather than equitable relief. This suit challenged the legality of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s request for writs of mandamus and/or procedendo against Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Hollie L. Gallagher and Cuyahoga…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ dismissal of Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus that he filed against LaShann Eppinger, warden of the Grafton Correctional Institution, where Appellant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether a utility company provided its customer adequate notice that natural-gas service to the customer’s property had been disconnected by hanging two notices on the front door of the property. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ dismissal of Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed against the warden of the correctional facility where Appellant was incarcerated. Appellant claimed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) acted reasonably and lawfully in applying collateral estoppel to Appellant’s continuing complaint for tax years 2013 and 2014. Appellant, the owner of the real property at issue in this…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals concluding that an order appointing a guardian ad litem (GAL) for an adult is not a final, appealable order under Ohio Rev. Code 2505.02(B) and vacated the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals affirming the decision of the tax commissioner finding that Ohio Rev. Code 5709.911 subordinated a property’s original tax increment financing (TIF)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing, sua sponte, Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus filed against George Kral, Chief of Police of the Toledo police department. In his…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether the trial court had authority to enjoin the state from enforcing new statutes as punishment for contempt of court. The court of common pleas found the state to be in contempt of a court order that…

Justia Opinion Summary: A social worker’s statutory duty to cooperate and share information with law enforcement regarding a child abuse investigation does not render the social worker an agent of law enforcement for purposes of the Fifth and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted a writ to Relator, who filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus to compel the common pleas court to enforce its 2013 order sealing the record in a criminal case against Relator and to rule on…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals granting a writ of mandamus that ordered the administrator of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (Bureau) to vacate the order of the administrator’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals granting a writ of mandamus ordering the Industrial Commission to vacate its order allocating the cost of a permanent-total-disability award between two…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the two courts of appeals dismissing Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus and Appellant’s petition for writs of prohibition and mandamus. Appellant was convicted…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals granting a motion to dismiss Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus challenging the Industrial Commission’s determination that it had continuing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The unambiguous language of Ohio Rev. Code 2744.02(B)(3), which provides that a political subdivision may be held liable for the negligent failure to keep public roads in repair and the negligent failure to remove…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the writ of habeas corpus sought by Tyrone Oliver and commanded Oliver’s immediate release from incarceration. In 1993, Oliver was sentenced to an indeterminate prison sentence of eight to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) valuing Appellant’s property in accordance with a sale price and determining that Appellant’s appraisal evidence did not negate the presumption…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether the Ohio use tax applied to Lafarge North America, Inc.’s purchases of fuel and repair parts for equipment used to break up and transport solidified slag, a by-product from molten ore during…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Lorain County Board of Revision (BOR) had continuing-complaint jurisdiction to determine the value of a property for tax years 2012, 2013, and 2014 and therefore, the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) erred in refusing to…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether a trial court must inform an offender at the time of sentencing that the commission of a felony during a period of post-release control permits a trial court to impose a new prison term for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this real-property-valuation case, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) finding that the appraisal report presented by the Washington County Board of Revision and Washington County…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions of aggravated murder with a death specification, felony-murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and other crimes and the trial court’s imposition of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) following the Court’s remand in Navistar I, holding that the BTA acted reasonably and lawfully in upholding the tax commissioner’s reduction of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction the complaint filed by Relator seeking a writ of mandamus to compel Respondents, the Ohio Secretary of State, the Franklin County Board of Elections, and the Cuyahoga…

Justia Opinion Summary: In adoption proceedings, a probate court must consider the existence of pending parenting matters when determining whether an exception to the requirement of parental consent to adoption applies. Stepfather filed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The tort of intentional interference with or destruction of evidence does not include claims alleging interference with or concealment of evidence that disrupt a plaintiff’s underlying case. Appellee filed an action…

Justia Opinion Summary: The law of the case from the first appeal in this case was not relevant in the second appeal because, on remand from the first appeal, the trial court had relied on new evidence to decide that Nicholas Giancola had…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying the writ of mandamus sought by Appellant seeking to compel the Industrial Commission to vacate its order retroactively adjusting Appellant’s benefit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Secretary of State Jon Hosted did not abuse his discretion when he determined that Heidi R. Carroll had the requisite seventy-two months of legal-practice experience to qualify for a seat on the common-pleas-court…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this valuation case was the 2011 value, with carryover to 2012 and 2013, of a nursing home that was purchased by its former lessee in April 2011 and to what extent the sale price ought to have been allocated…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this real property valuation case involving tax year 2012, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) adopting the Franklin County Board of Revision’s (BOR) rejection of the sale price…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the adoption decree entered in the probate court, holding that the probate judge Mark Costine patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to grant Elizabeth Garrett’s petition to adopt…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the decision of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) rejecting Appellant’s challenge to the tax-year-2012 valuation of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this challenge to the real property valuation of a Walgreens drugstore in Lancaster for tax year 2014 the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) disregarding the property owners’…

Justia Opinion Summary: When reviewing a decision of a common pleas court confirming, modifying, vacating, or correcting an arbitration award, an appellate court should accept finding of fact that are not clearly erroneous but should decide…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions for aggravated murder and two counts of attempted murder and Appellant’s sentence of death, imposed after a jury trial. The Court held (1) the prosecutor had no…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the tax commissioner’s order of two reductions that decreased Dana Corporation’s amortizable amount against the commercial-activity tax…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus requested by Relators seeking to compel Respondents, the Mahoning County Board of Elections and its members (collectively, the Board), to place a proposed amendment to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) reversing the decision of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) rejecting Plaintiff’s challenge to the Cuyahoga County fiscal officer’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The definition of “claimant” for purposes of Ohio Rev. Code 4123.931(G) is any party who is eligible to receive compensation, medical benefits, or death benefits from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Further, a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Ohio’s death-penalty scheme does not violate the right to a trial by jury as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Appellant was sentenced to death. The court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these two consolidated appeals, the Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the court of appeals denying Appellant’s complaints for a writ of mandamus against Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Shannon M.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) finding that the “casualty-loss exception” to the general rule prohibiting successive valuation complaints within the same triennium applied in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied Relator’s motion for leave to amend his complaint and denied the writ of mandamus he sought to compel Respondents, the City of Columbus and the Franklin County Board of Elections, to remove a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied writs of mandamus sought by Relators to compel respondent members of the Columbus City Council to approve an ordinance placing a proposed city-charter amendment on the May 8, 2018 ballot and to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus requested by Jonathan Heavey and Adam Hudak certifying their names to the May 8, 2018 ballot as candidates for the Democratic Party’s nominees for governor and lieutenant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the writ of mandamus requested by Jason Stevens to compel the Fairfield County Board of Elections to issue a certificate of nomination to certify Stevens’s name for placement on the May 8, 2018…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the writ of mandamus sought by Relator to compel Respondent, the Delaware County Board of Elections, to place a referendum on the May 8, 2018 ballot. Relator submitted a petition for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ dismissal of Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus because his claims were not cognizable in habeas corpus. Appellant pleaded guilty to three counts of rape.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) erred in adopting the Franklin County Board of Revision’s (BOR) determination of value of Appellee’s property for tax year 2011. For tax year 2011, the Franklin County auditor valued the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) vacating the decision of the Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR), which partially reduced the value of certain property for tax year 2012. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether the trial court erred in imposing a sentence, which included both a prison term and community control sanctions at the same time, where the community control sanctions continued after the completion…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the trial court related to Appellant’s second application for postconviction DNA testing under Ohio Rev. Code 2953.71 through 2953.81, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute between Appellant, a nonprofit organization, and Appellees, three landowners, over a abandoned rail corridor, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Preterm, a state licensed ambulatory surgical facility that provides abortion services, sued asserting that provisions of H.B. 59 (R.C. 3702.30, 3702.302-3702.308, 3727.60; 2317.56, 2919.19-2919.193, 4731.22, 5101.80,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Since 1996, Ohio Department of Health regulations have required ambulatory surgical facilities to have a written transfer agreement with a hospital to facilitate treatment in the event of an emergency beyond the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) concluding that Taxpayer’s challenge to the taxable value assigned to its property for tax year 2012 was barred because taxpayer waited too long…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals granting a writ of habeas corpus to Appellee and ordering his immediate discharge from the Ross Correctional Institution. In his petition, Appellee, who was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals granting summary judgment to the chief of the oil-and-gas resources-management division of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), the director of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Here, the Supreme Court withdrew its prior opinion affirming the judgment of the court of appeals, which referred this case to a magistrate, who then purported to dismiss the petition sua sponte. Upon further…

Justia Opinion Summary: To recover on a claim for asbestos-related injuries, the “cumulative-exposure theory,” which postulates that every non-minimal exposure to asbestos is a substantial factor in causing mesothelioma, is in consent with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in remanded in part the order of the Public Utilities Commission ordering First Energy companies (collectively, FirstEnergy) to refund more than $43 million to ratepayers…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions for three counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder. The court affirmed the trial court’s imposition of three sentences of death but vacated…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the decision of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) dismissing the complaint filed by Life Path Partners, Ltd. seeking to…

Justia Opinion Summary: A law enforcement agency’s policy that an arrestee’s personal effects must accompany the arrestee to jail, on its own, cannot justify the warrantless retrieval of an arrestee’s personal effects from a location that is…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of mandamus filed by a group of landowners (“Landowners”) seeking an order compelling the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas Resources…

Justia Opinion Summary: The delayed damage rule, which modifies the general rule for when a cause of action accrues, did not apply to this cause of action alleging negligence related to the procuring of a professional-liability insurance…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing Defendant’s convictions and ordering a new trial, holding that the trial court did not commit plain error in joining for trial two indictments…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case alleging breach of contract, fraud, retaliation, constructive discharge, and invasion of privacy, the Supreme Court held (1) in Ohio, punitive damages may not be awarded for a breach of contract; (2) a party…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals, which concluded that Defendant forfeited her right to challenge the trial court’s policy of refusing to accept no-contest pleas. The court of appeals ruled…

Justia Opinion Summary: A juvenile who is bound over to adult court must wait to appeal until the end of the adult-court proceedings. D.H. was a juvenile at the time he was charged with robbery. The juvenile court determined that D.H. was not…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pountney was indicted for theft, identity fraud, and two counts of drug possession—one involving fentanyl and one involving acetaminophen with codeine. Pountney stipulated to the charges of theft, identity fraud, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Rebecca and Curtis divorced. A shared-parenting decree was put into effect for their sons. In June 2015, Rebecca sought a domestic-violence civil protection order against Curtis, R.C. 3113.31, stating that she was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this termination of parental rights case, the actions of the juvenile court in allowing the attorney for Mother to withdraw from the case at a permanent custody hearing and proceeding with the hearing without Mother…

Justia Opinion Summary: The 74-acre Washington County parcel, near the Ohio River, is subject to a 1980 oil and gas lease between the then-owners and Collins-McGregor, to permit “mining and operating for oil and gas and laying pipe lines, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The 36-unit North Canton apartment complex went into foreclosure.The lender obtained a judgment of $1,700,000. There were no bids at a sheriff’s sale with a minimum bid of $1,400,000. The receiver marketed the property…

Justia Opinion Summary: Notestine, a nonprofit corporation with 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) status as a charitable institution, owns the 11-unit residential rental property developed as low-income housing under 12 U.S.C. 1701q. Construction costs were…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Roark, a Sunesis laborer, was working alone at the bottom of a trench, when the trench collapsed, killing him. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation awarded Roark’s dependent children benefits. The dependents…