Justia Ohio Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of a five-judge commission concluding that, while she was a judicial candidate in 2020, Karen Kopich Falter committed violations of Jud.Cond.R. 4.3(A), holding that Falter's objections to the commission's misconduct findings were overruled, and the commission did not abuse its discretion in issuing sanctions against Falter.Falter, an Ohio attorney, was publicly reprimanded by the commission and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for committing violations of Jud.Cond.R. 4.3(A), which prohibits a judicial candidate from disseminating campaign material about an opponent either knowing that it is false or in reckless disregard of whether or not it is false. Falter appealed the commission's sanction. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) Falter's objections to the sanction are overruled; and (2) the Commission did not abuse its discretion in sanctioning Falter for her violations of Jud.Cond.R. 4.3(A). View "In re Judicial Campaign Complaint Against Falter" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) upholding the tax commissioner's denial of a municipality's request for an exemption for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017, holding that the BTA reasonably and lawfully upheld the denial of an exemption.The village of Obetz enacted an ordinance in 2017 in an effort to reinstate the tax-exempt status of real property under a tax-increment-financing (TIF) arrangement after it expired in 2014. The commissioner explained that the 2017 could not retroactively reinstate the exemption for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017 because Ohio Rev. Code 5709.40(G) provides that an exemption may begin no earlier than a tax year that "commences after the effective date of the ordinance." The BTA affirmed, agreeing that the 2017 ordinance created a new exemption rather than extending the earlier one so that section 5708.40(G) barred the exemption from applying during the relevant tax years. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the BTA's decision was reasonable and lawful. View "Obetz v. McClain" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus ordering the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to approve Relators' applications for Quality Community School Support (QCSS) grants and to pay them the amounts due under 2019 Am.Sub.H.B. No. 166 (H.B. 166), holding that Relators were entitled to the writ.Under the QCSS program, a community school that has met certain criteria would receive grant funding for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2011 fiscal years. Relators, twelve Horizon Science Academy community schools, had applied for QCSS grants, but ODE denied the applications, concluding that ODE was not "in good standing" as required by section 265.335 of H.B. 166. The ODE's determination was made on the grounds that the schools' operator was a foreign corporation not licensed with the Ohio secretary of state. The Supreme Court granted Relators' requested writ of mandamus, holding that ODE's interpretation of "in good standing" was incorrect. View "State ex rel. Horizon Science Academy of Lorain, Inc. v. Ohio Department of Education" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the journal entry issued by Ohio Tax Commissioner Jeffrey McClain adopting a per-acre valuation table for use by county auditors in assessing land that qualifies for "current agricultural use valuation" (CAUV), holding that substantial evidence supported the BTA's decision.For three reasons, the BTA found no abuse of discretion on the part of the tax commissioner in adopting the CAUV unit-value table. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Ohio Adm.Code 5703-25-34(E) furnished no basis for challenging the CAUV journal entry; and (2) the BTA correctly determined that the tax commissioner did not abuse his discretion in adopting the valuation table. View "Johnson v. McClain" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's complaint for a writ of mandamus to compel officials to transfer him from the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NEOCC) to the Franklin County jail, holding that the court of appeals did not err.The court of appeals dismissed Appellant's complaint in its entirety as moot, concluding that any transfer of Appellant from NEOCC to the Franklin County jail would have been a vain act. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that granting the writ of mandamus Appellant sought to compel his transfer would do nothing more than require a vain act. View "State ex rel. Peoples v. O'Shaughnessy" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's action seeking a writ of prohibition to prevent the enforcement of a foreclosure judgment against her, holding that the court of appeals did not err.Appellant filed this prohibition action asserting that Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which filed the foreclosure action against Appellant, had failed to obtain service within one year of filing the complaint. The court of appeals sua sponte dismissed the cause, concluding that this action was moot and that Appellant's appeal in the foreclosure action constituted an adequate remedy precluding extraordinary relief. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant's cause of action was not moot; but (2) Appellant's opportunity to assert service and personal jurisdiction defenses in the foreclosure case and on appeal was an adequate remedy at law. View "Lundeen v. Turner" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that Relators were entitled to a limited writ of mandamus ordering Respondents, the members of the Columbus City Council, to find sufficient a proposed municipal ordinance initiative and to proceed with the process for an initiative ordinance under Columbus City Charter Section 43-1 et seq.Relators sought a writ of mandamus to compel Respondents to submit to Columbus city electors a proposed municipal ordinance initiative on the May 4, 2021 primary election ballot. The council refused to submit the initiative to electors, finding that the initiative petition was deficient in form. The Supreme Court granted a limited writ, holding (1) the council abused its discretion in finding that the petition was insufficient; and (2) a limited writ of mandamus requiring the council to move forward with the process set forth in section 43-1 et seq. was proper. View "State ex rel. Gil-Llamas v. Hardin" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus compelling Secretary of State Frank LaRose to reappoint Bryan Williams to the Summit County Board of Elections, holding that the Summit County Republican Party Executive Committee did not meet its burden of proof to show that LaRose's reasons for rejecting Williams' appointment were not valid and that he abused his discretion.Williams had already served two terms as a member of the Board when the Committee submitted a recommendation to Secretary LaRose to reappoint Williams for a third term. LaRose rejected the recommendation, citing concerns about the overall performance of the board. The Committee then filed its complaint for a writ of mandamus to compel LaRose to reappoint Williams to the Board. The Supreme Court granted the writ, holding that LaRose abused his discretion in rejecting Williams' appointment. View "State ex rel. Summit County Republican Party Executive Committee v. LaRose" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus sought by Relator to compel the production of the public records he requested, holding that Relator was entitled to both the writ and to statutory damages.Relator, an inmate at the Toledo Correctional Institution (TCI), sought from Respondent, the public-records custodian at TCI, information about the number of staff and inmates at TCI who had been exposed to or who had contracted COVID-19. Respondent offered to provide the information if Relator paid ten cents for a copy of the document. Relator then made another request. When Respondent did not provide documents responsive to the request, Relator sought a writ of mandamus. The Supreme Court granted the writ and awarded statutory damages, holding that Respondent had a clear legal duty to offer to provide the records to Relator at no cost and that Respondent was substantively and procedurally eligible for an award of statutory damages. View "State ex rel. Griffin v. Sehlmeyer" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed in part the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) that upheld three use-tax assessments based on Appellant's purchase of three trucks, holding that the BTA erred by failing to correlate its findings with the distinct primary uses of the trucks.The trucks at issue were two Peterbilt trucks and one Lodal truck. Appellant argued that because it purchased the three trucks for use in its business as a for-hire motor carrier, the purchase were exempt from sales and use tax under Ohio Rev. Code 5739.02(B)(32)'s "highway transportation for hire" exemption. The tax commissioner and the BTA determined that the exemption did not apply to the purchases because Appellant's use of the trucks to transport waste material to landfills did not qualify as the transportation of "personal property belonging to others." The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) for purposes of section 5739.02(B)(32), waste is "personal property belonging to" the person or entity that generated it when the person or entity has an agreement with the hauler that specifies where the waste is to be taken for disposal; and (2) because the generators of the waste hauled by the Peterbilt trucks designated the destination of the waste, the Peterbilt trucks were entitled to the exemption. View "N.A.T. Transportation, Inc. v. McClain" on Justia Law