Justia Ohio Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's complaint for a writ of mandamus seeking to compel the Lake County Clerk of Courts to provide him with a record related to his criminal case, holding that the court of appeals correctly dismissed the complaint for failure to comply with Ohio Rev. Code 2929.25(A).In affirming the judgment, the Supreme Court noted that it was undisputed that Appellant was an inmate and that the Clerk of Courts was a government employee. Therefore, Appellant was required to comply with section 2969.25(A). The Supreme Court held that the court of appeals was correct in finding that Appellant's affidavit failed to provide the information required by section 2969.25(A)(1). View "State ex rel. Sands v. Kelly" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Fifth District Court of Appeals reversing the decision of the trial court declaring that Appellants owned certain mineral rights and quieting title to the rights in their favor, holding that the reservation of mineral rights in this case was preserved by Ohio Rev. Code 5301.49(A).At issue was whether a reference to a reservation of mineral rights in a surface landowner's root of title and in subsequently recorded title transactions was sufficiently specific to preserve the reservation of the mineral rights under Ohio's Marketable Title Act when the reference does not name the record owner of the rights. The Supreme Court held (1) in enacting section 5301.49(A), the Legislature did not require a reference to an interest predating the root of title to name the interest's owner in order to preserve the interest; and (2) in this case, notwithstanding the failure to name the owner of the reserved mineral rights, the reference was sufficient to preserve the rights from being extinguished under the Act. View "Erickson v. Morrison" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's petition for a writ of procedendo and/or mandamus seeking to compel the trial court's compliance with Civ.R. 58(B), holding that, although the court of appeals' judgment dismissing the petition was correct.Appellant, an inmate, sought the writ to compel Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven Martin to serve upon Appellant a judgment entry in which Appellant's motion to correct his sentencing entry was denied. The court of appeals dismissed the motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that granting Appellant his requested writ of mandamus was of no benefit to him because Appellant could still timely file a notice of appeal from the judgment entry. View "State ex rel. Thomas v. Nestor" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a peremptory writ of mandamus compelling with Ohio Department of Commerce and the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (collectively, the Department) to approve or deny Fire Rock, Ltd.'s application to expand its marijuana cultivation area, holding that Fire Rock was entitled to the writ.Fire Rock submitted an application requesting approval to expand its Akron-based cultivation facility. When the Department took no action on the expansion request, Fire Rock filed a complaint for writ of mandamus ordering the Department to approve or deny Fire Rock's application. The Supreme Court granted a peremptory writ, holding (1) Ohio law does not prohibit a cultivator like Fire Rock from submitting an expansion application on its own initiative; (2) the Department had a clear legal duty to act on Fire Rock's application, and Fire Rock had a clear legal right to that relief; and (3) Fire Rock lacked an adequate remedy at law. View "State ex rel. Fire Rock, Ltd. v. Ohio Department of Commerce" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging that he was entitled to immediate release from prison because the Bureau of Sentence Computation (BSC) and the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) failed to update their records after Appellant was resentenced in 2000, holding that Appellant failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.In dismissing the petition, the Third District held that Appellant had failed to attach all applicable commitment papers to his petition, as required under Ohio Rev. Code 2725.04(D), and that Appellant had not alleged facts showing that he was entitled to immediate release from prison. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant provided his commitment papers with his petition; and (2) Appellant was not entitled to immediate release. View "Farley v. Wainwright" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's complaint for a writ of mandamus against Lake County Prosecuting Attorney Charles Coulson, holding that Appellant was not entitled to the writ.Appellant was convicted of three counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated arson, and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. In his action for a writ of mandamus, Appellant alleged that his convictions were based on perjured testimony and that Coulson had a constitutional duty to provide him a fair trial. The court of appeals granted Coulson's motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the court of appeals correctly dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because Coulson was not under a clear legal duty to perform an action that he had no legal authority to undertake. View "State ex rel. Sands v. Coulson" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying a writ of mandamus ordering the Public Employees Retirement Board to transfer Appellant from the "combined" plan in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System to the "traditional" plan, holding that Appellant was not entitled to a writ of mandamus.After the court of appeals denied the writ, Appellant appealed, asserting six propositions of law sounding in mandamus and in common-law tort. Appellant also filed a motion for oral argument. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals and denied the motion for oral argument, holding (1) Appellant failed to establish a clear legal right to relief or a clear legal duty on the part of the Board to provide it; and (2) this Court and the court of appeals lacked original jurisdiction over Appellant's common-law tort claims. View "State ex rel. Tarrier v. Public Employees Retirement Board" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Jerone McDougald to compel Sonrisa Sehlmeyer, the public-records custodian at Toledo Correctional Institution, where McDougald was an inmate, to make available for inspection a certain video, holding that Sehlmeyer presented evidence supporting her claim that allowing McDougald to inspect the video would create undue security risks.McDougald send a public-records request to Sehlmeyer asking to inspect video surveillance footage of a use-of-force incident involving him. Sehlmeyer did not provide the video to McDougald. McDougald then filed this original action asking the Supreme Court to compel Sehlmeyer to allow him to inspect the video. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding that Sehlmeyer did not have a clear legal duty to allow McDougald to inspect the video. View "State ex rel. McDougald v. Sehlmeyer" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus compelling the City of Akron and its police chief (collectively, the City) to inform Kimani Ware, the relator in this action, of the cost for copying the public records he sought, holding that Ware was entitled to the writ.Ware, an inmate, sent two letters to the Akron Policy Department requesting various public records. When he did not receive a response Ware filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus. After receiving the complaint, the City responded to Ware with two letters. The City noted in an affidavit the total cost for copying the requested records and informed Ware that the records would be sent to him once he paid the requested amount. The Supreme Court granted the writ, holding (1) because the City was willing to provide copies of the records once Ware had paid for the copies, a writ compelling the City to provide the records was unnecessary; (2) this Court grants a writ ordering the City to provide the invoices to Ware so he may decide whether to pay for the copies; and (3) Ware was not entitled to $1,000 in statutory damages. View "State ex rel. Ware v. Akron" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied the writ of mandamus sought by Andrew Frank to compel the production of public records from the Clermont County prosecuting attorney, holding that Frank did not show that he was entitled to the writ.Frank filed this original action seeking four specific items, including a "packet of information" sent to the Ohio State University Office of Student Life/Student Conduct (OSU), damages, costs and attorney fees. The prosecutor provided the records that had been sent to OSU, thereby mooting the primary claim in Frank's mandamus complaint. In a subsequent merit brief, Frank asserted that a writ of mandamus was necessary to compel the prosecutor to produce any additional responsive records that may exist. The Supreme Court denied the writ, holding (1) Frank failed to show that the prosecutor was currently withholding responsible documents; and (2) the prosecutor did not breach any obligation under the Public Records Act, and therefore, Frank was not entitled to attorney fees, statutory damages, or court costs. View "State ex rel. Frank v. Clermont County Prosecutor" on Justia Law