Justia Ohio Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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 Board of Elections declaring his independent candidacy for Mayor of Massillon in the November 2015 election. Four protestors filed a protest of Cicchinelli’s candidacy. The Board of Elections members deadlocked on the protest. Secretary of State Jon Husted broke the tie in favor of certifying Cicchinelli’s independent candidacy for the November ballot. Relators, two of the protestors, filed suit in the Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition to prevent Husted and the Board of Elections from placing Cicchinelli’s name on the ballot, arguing that Cicchinelli’s claim of independence could not have been made in good faith. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding that Relators failed to present any evidence that the declaration was not made in good faith. View "State ex rel. Richards v. Stark County Bd. of Elections" on Justia Law

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 the auditor to the $1,520,000 advocated in an appraisal submitted by the property owner. The Columbus City Schools Board of Education (BOE) appealed. The Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the BTA, holding (1) alleged defects in the wording of the BTA’s decision do not establish it to be unreasonable or unlawful; (2) the BTA is not required to issue formal findings of fact and conclusions of law; (3) alleged errors in the appraisal furnish no basis for reversal; and (4) the BOE failed to satisfy its burden under the rule announced in Bedford Bd. of Educ. v. Cuyahoga County Bd. of Revision. View "Columbus City Sch. Bd. of Educ. v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Revision" on Justia Law

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 Camplese in both cases, arguing that Judge Camplese lacked jurisdiction over both cases. The court of appeals dismissed both of Appellant’s complaints for prohibition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant has alternate remedies at law by way of appeal from the underlying convictions; (2) Judge Camplese did not patently and unambiguously lack jurisdiction over either case; and (3) there was no defect in the criminal complaints in either case. View "State ex rel. Elder v. Camplese" on Justia Law

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 customers. In so doing, the Commission took another step toward deregulation of the company’s “commodity-sales services.” To take this step, the Commission modified one of its previous orders. Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy (OPAE), an advocacy group representing its members who are nonresidential customers of Dominion, appealed, arguing that the Commission lacked statutory authority and an evidentiary basis to modify its previous order and also erred in adopting a stipulation that OPAE did not sign. The Supreme Court affirmed the Commission’s order, holding (1) Dominion was entitled to a modification of an exemption order under Ohio Rev. Code 4929.08(A); and (2) the order did not violate Ohio Rev. Code 4903.09. View "In re Application to Modify the Exemption Granted to E. Ohio Gas Co." on Justia Law

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. Appellant sought a reduction to $30,000. The County Board of Revision retained the fiscal officer’s valuation. The Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the BTA acted unreasonably when it found that the property’s 2011 sale price was not the best evidence of its tax year 2011 value. Remanded with instructions that the $5,000 sale price be used as the property’s value for tax year 2011. View "Schwartz v. Cuyahoga County Bd. of Revision" on Justia Law

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 declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act (OCSPA). The trial court eventually certified a class of plaintiffs and ruled that all class members could recover damages. The trial court then ruled that Appellants violated the OCSPA and awarded damages to each class member. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s order certifying the class without squarely addressing Appellants’ claim that there was no showing that all class members had suffered damages. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals and vacated the trial court’s order certifying the class, holding (1) all members of a plaintiff class must have suffered injuries as a result of the conduct challenged in the suit; and (2) because the class certified in this case included plaintiffs whose damages were inchoate, the class as certified was inconsistent with the law. View "Felix v. Ganley Chevrolet, Inc." on Justia Law

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 to compel FCCS to allow her access to the files. The Supreme Court appointed a special master to review the file. The special master reported that the requested documents were the records of an investigation of a report of possible child abuse. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding (1) the requested records are deemed confidential by statute; and (2) to the extent that certain pages might not be records of the child abuse investigation, they may be inspected only for good cause, and Relator has failed to show good cause for overriding confidentiality. View "State ex rel. Clough v. Franklin County Children Servs." on Justia Law

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 action seeking a declaration that he was a “wrongfully imprisoned individual” and that he cannot and will not be retried for murder. The trial court granted summary judgment for the State, concluding that the mere possibility of being reindicted and retried precluded C.K. from being found to have been wrongfully imprisoned. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether C.K. was a wrongfully imprisoned individual because the State had not shown that a future criminal proceeding would be factually supportable and legally permissible following the reversal of C.K.’s murder conviction. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the State’s decision to defer prosecution pending the discovery of stronger evidence of guilt was insufficient to establish that no criminal proceeding can be brought or will be brought against C.K. for any act associated with the murder at issue in this case. Accordingly, there were no genuine issues of material fact, and the State was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. View "C.K. v. State" on Justia Law

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 title to the house to Raymond. On September 28, 2011 the Knox County Department of Job and Family Services approved Marcella for Medicaid. The agency, however, delayed Medicaid benefits for Marcella until April 2012, asserting that the transfer of the home to Raymond was improper because it exceed the community-spouse resource allowance (CSRA) and was for less than fair market value. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services upheld the determination. The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) during the period between an application for Medicaid benefits and the notice of Medicaid approval, Medicaid law allows an institutionalized spouse to transfer a home or equivalent assets to a spouse living in the community to the extent that it does not exceed the CSRA; and (2) in this case, the state may have imposed a penalty on Raymond that was not authorized by law. Remanded. View "Estate of Atkinson v. Ohio Dep’t of Job & Family Servs." on Justia Law

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 mandate that the restoration of the credit be repealed only by popular vote. The Trumbull County Board of Elections (Board) certified more than the required number of valid signatures to place the measure on the ballot. Because Kathleen King, clerk of Newton Falls, had not transmitted a certified copy of the proposed initiative, along with the supporting petitions, to the Board for placement on the ballot, Relator filed this suit for a writ of mandamus to compel King to transmit the petition and certified text to the Board. The Supreme Court granted the writ and ordered King to transmit the petitions and certified text of the proposed initiative to the Board. View "State ex rel. Lange v. King" on Justia Law