Per Curiam. { 1} Pursuant to Gov.Bar R. VII(5b), the Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law has recommended that we approve a consent decree proposed by relator, Ohio State Bar Association, and respondents, Ryan, L.L.C., and Brett Koch. We accept the board's recommendation and approve the proposed consent decree submitted by the parties, which provides: 1. Respondent Ryan, L.L.C. ("Ryan"),[ 1 ] a Delaware Limited Liability Company, is a limited liability company with its principal place...
O'CONNOR, C.J. { 1} This case came on for consideration upon relators' request for writs of mandamus and prohibition. Relators have abandoned their request for prohibition, as they fail to argue it on the merits in their briefs. We therefore concentrate our efforts on the prayer for a writ of mandamus. { 2} To be entitled to a writ of mandamus, the relators must establish (1) a clear legal right to the requested relief, (2) a clear legal duty on the part of the relevant agency or...
Per Curiam. { 1} Appellant, Judge Tracie Hunter of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, appeals a judgment of contempt issued against her by the First District Court of Appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the order. The underlying juvenile cases { 2} Judge Hunter is the assigned judge presiding over twelve cases against six juvenile defendants accused of assaulting a man in the North College Hill area of Cincinnati. { 3} On August 16, 2012,...
KENNEDY, J. { 1} At issue in this case is whether the sentence that Sandra Griffin, appellee, has served for the past 24 years is based on a final, appealable order that gave the Fifth District Court of Appeals subject-matter jurisdiction over her direct appeal in 1990. The state of Ohio argues that res judicata bars a defendant from using a resentencing entry issued pursuant to State v. Baker, 119 Ohio St.3d 197 , 2008-Ohio-3330, 893 N.E.2d 163, to relitigate a matter that was raised or...
Per Curiam. { 1} Respondent, Nicholas Wayne Hetzer of Sylvania, Ohio, Attorney Registration No. 0031302, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1978. In February 2012, a probable-cause panel of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline certified that there was probable cause for filing relator's three-count formal complaint, which alleged that Hetzer had committed multiple violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct by (1) improperly deducting his legal fee from...
Per Curiam. { 1} We reverse the judgment of the court of appeals in this appeal from an original action in prohibition. Relator-appellant, V.K.B., filed this action to prevent the respondents-appellees, Sandusky County Juvenile Court, Sandusky County Juvenile Court Judge Bradley J. Smith, and juvenile court magistrate Sara Jo Sherick, from exercising jurisdiction with respect to the custody of her minor daughter, J.B. { 2} V.K.B. had obtained sole custody of the child in a judgment...
{ 1} The judgment of the court of appeals is reversed on the authority of Cullen v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 137 Ohio St.3d 373 , 2013-Ohio-4733, 999 N.E.2d 614. The cause is remanded to the appellate court for further proceedings. Appellants' motion to lift the stay of the briefing schedule is denied. O'CONNOR, C.J., and O'DONNELL, LANZINGER, KENNEDY, and FRENCH, JJ., concur. PFEIFER and O'NEILL, JJ., dissent from the judgment to reverse and remand.
{ 1} The judgment of the court of appeals is reversed on the authority of Cullen v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 137 Ohio St.3d 373 , 2013-Ohio-4733, 999 N.E.2d 614. The cause is remanded to the appellate court for further proceedings. O'CONNOR, C.J., and O'DONNELL, LANZINGER, KENNEDY, and FRENCH, JJ., concur. PFEIFER and O'NEILL, JJ., dissent.
PER CURIAM. { 1} Pursuant to Gov.Bar R. VII(5b), the Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law has recommended our approval of a consent decree proposed by relator, Ohio State Bar Association, and respondent, John D. Cleminshaw. We accept the board's recommendation and approve the proposed consent decree as submitted by the parties as follows: Whereas, Respondent is not and has never been an attorney admitted to practice, granted active status, certified to practice law in the State of Ohio...
LANZINGER, J. { 1} We accepted this certified conflict to determine whether a trial court must consider the allegations set forth in the pleadings in addition to the opening statement when ruling on a motion for directed verdict made at the close of an opponent's opening statement. We hold that although a trial court is not required to consider allegations contained in the pleadings when ruling on a motion for directed verdict made on the opening statement of an opponent, the pleadings may...
{ 1} This cause originated in this court on the filing of a complaint for a writ of mandamus. { 2} Upon consideration of respondents' motion to dismiss, it is ordered by the court that the motion to dismiss is granted because JobsOhio is specifically exempted from the requirements of R.C. 149.43 by R.C. 187.04(C)(1). Accordingly, this cause is dismissed. O'CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, LANZINGER, KENNEDY, FRENCH, and O'NEILL, JJ., concur. O'DONNELL, J., not participating.
Per Curiam. { 1} Respondent, James Clarence Wrentmore of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Attorney Registration No. 0046779, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1990. In a six-count amended complaint, relator, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, alleged multiple violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct relating to his handling of client funds and his failure to pay for five continuing-legal-education ("CLE") seminars he attended. The parties stipulated to numerous facts and...
Per Curiam. { 1} This is an appeal from a court of appeals' judgment dismissing a petition for a writ of procedendo to compel a trial judge to rule on various motions, including a motion to vacate an entry that had corrected an error in a sentencing entry. Appellee, Judge Jody Luebbers, has not ruled on the motions and apparently does not intend to rule on them. Appellant, Barron Brown, filed a complaint for a writ of procedendo in the First District Court of Appeals to force the judge to...
O'CONNOR, C.J. { 1} In this appeal, we determine whether the evidence supports the stated reasons for terminating the employment of a public school teacher, appellant, John Freshwater, for introducing religion into his eighth-grade science classes and for insubordination. More specifically, we must address whether the evidence was sufficient to demonstrate that appellee, Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education ("the board" or "the district"), terminated Freshwater for...
Per Curiam. { 1} Respondent, Judge David Dean Evans of Gallipolis, Ohio, Attorney Registration No. 0002043, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1972. He currently serves as judge of the general and domestic-relations divisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Gallia County. Relator, Ohio State Bar Association, charged Judge Evans with professional misconduct for failing to disqualify himself from a case in which the judge had an admitted conflict with defense counsel. { 2} The...
O'NEILL, J. { 1} Plaintiffs-appellants, the Boices, owned a piece of real estate adjacent to their suburban residence for over 30 years. In 2004, defendant-appellee village of Ottawa Hills denied their request for a variance seeking to have the vacant 33,000-square-foot residential lot declared a "buildable" lot. The zoning code at that time included a requirement that no structure could be built on a lot smaller than 35,000 square feet, which was 2,000 square feet larger than the lot owned...
Per Curiam. { 1} This is a case in quo warranto challenging the qualifications of George T. Maier, who was appointed to the office of Stark County sheriff. { 2} The person elected in 2012 to the office of Stark County sheriff, Michael A. McDonald, could not assume the office for health reasons. The Stark County commissioners, under R.C. 311.01 and 305.02(F), appointed relator, Timothy A. Swanson, as acting sheriff until someone could be appointed to occupy the office. Because the sheriff-...
O'DONNELL, J. { 1} State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company appeals from a judgment of the Eighth District Court of Appeals affirming class certification of claims brought by Michael Cullen alleging that State Farm failed to disclose all benefits available to policyholders who made claims for damaged windshields. This case clarifies the standards to apply when an appellate court reviews certification of a class action pursuant to Civ.R. 23. { 2} A class action is an exception to...
Per Curiam. { 1} In this personal-income-tax case, Sarunas Abraitis appeals from a decision of the Board of Tax Appeals ("BTA") that dismissed his appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The BTA found that Abraitis had asserted "no discernible specifications of error * * * within the petitions for reassessment" and held that "Abraitis cannot now raise new/different issues at this juncture" because "`the failure to raise an issue in a petition for reassessment precludes the BTA from taking...
O'CONNOR, C.J. { 1} In this appeal, we review four issues from the Ninth District Court of Appeals, which upheld the trial court's judgment entering a jury verdict against appellant, Kamel Muakkassa, M.D., in favor of appellees, Larry J. Moretz and Nicole L. Moretz. For the reasons explained, we hold that the court of appeals improperly affirmed the judgment. We conclude that the court of appeals properly affirmed the trial court's decision to grant the Moretzes leave to file late a...
