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| Case Caption | Case No. | Topics and Issues | Author | Citation / County | Decided | Posted | WebCite |
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State v. Becker
| 2024-CA-22 | The trial court erred in overruling appellant’s motion to dismiss a felony charge of operating a vehicle under the influence ("OVI") on double jeopardy grounds, where he had previously been convicted of a misdemeanor OVI charge involving the same incident. Judgment reversed. | Lewis | Greene |
12/6/2024
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12/6/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5702 |
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State v. Brown
| 2024-CA-18 | The evidence at trial did not support a contempt finding for failing to appear for a hearing on nonpayment of fines and court costs. Although appellant had outstanding balances in two misdemeanor cases, the complaint did not clearly identify which judgment he had failed to obey and when. The State also failed to demonstrate that appellant owed any outstanding fines, as opposed to court costs, in one underlying case. Judgment reversed. | Epley | Champaign |
12/6/2024
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12/6/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5703 |
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Patterson v. State
| 2024-CA-42 | The trial court did not err in granting the State’s motion to dismiss appellant’s declaratory judgment action. Greene County’s motion to dismiss was properly before the court and was ripe for review, so it was harmless error that the court issued its decision before appellant had time to respond to the Attorney General’s motion to dismiss. Additionally, because appellant was using the declaratory judgment as a vehicle to overturn his conviction and life sentence, the controversy was not justiciable in character, and the trial court properly dismissed it. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Greene |
12/6/2024
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12/6/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5704 |
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Seelbaugh v. Montgomery Cty. Common Pleas Court
| 30292 | Relator’s petition for a writ of prohibition fails because the court of common pleas, domestic relations division, is not sui juris and cannot be sued. Relator’s sovereign citizen arguments lack merit, and the domestic relations court and child support enforcement agency have subject-matter jurisdiction to enforce child support orders. Respondents’ motions to dismiss sustained. Writ denied. | Per curiam | Montgomery |
12/2/2024
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12/6/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5705 |
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State v. Scott
| 2023-CA-73 | Appellant was found guilty of murder as a proximate result of felonious assault with a deadly weapon, pursuant to a theory that he had acted in complicity with the principal offender; he was found not guilty of the predicate felonious assault offense and accompanying firearm specifications. The allegedly inconsistent verdicts do not compel reversal of the murder conviction, because sufficient evidence supported the jury’s felony murder verdict. The jury instruction for felony murder was not improper; that offense does not contain a mens rea element, and the jury was properly instructed on the knowingly element of the underlying felonious assault charge. Counsel did not provide ineffective assistance in failing to object to the jury instructions or to move for a new trial on the basis of the inconsistent verdicts. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Clark |
11/27/2024
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11/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5595 |
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In re L.R.
| 30113 | The trial court’s decision to terminate appellant’s parental rights and grant custody of his minor children to a children's services agency was not against the manifest weight of the evidence and was supported by the weight of the evidence. Judgments affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/27/2024
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11/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5592 |
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State v. Jack
| 2024-CA-27 | The trial court committed plain error by not calculating and notifying appellant of the amount of jail-time credit to which he was entitled. The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s Crim.R. 29 motion; there was sufficient evidence to support his conviction for domestic violence. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting the introduction of the video footage of the victim’s statements to officers from a police officer’s body camera pursuant to the excited utterance exception under Evid.R. 803(2). Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for resentencing on jail-time credit only. | Lewis | Greene |
11/27/2024
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11/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5594 |
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State v. Dyson
| 30228 | State’s appeal. The trial court did not err in sustaining appellee’s motion to suppress. Appellee’s possession of a pocketknife did not justify a Terry pat-down for weapons, absent additional indicia that he was armed and dangerous. Judgment affirmed. (Welbaum, J., dissenting.) | Epley | Montgomery |
11/27/2024
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11/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5591 |
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State v. Wood
| 2022-CA-36 | Appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to argue on direct appeal that appellant’s speedy trial rights had been violated. The trial court erred in failing to grant appellant’s motion to dismiss based on a violation of his statutory right to a speedy trial. Judgment vacated. | Lewis | Clark |
11/27/2024
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11/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5597 |
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State ex rel. Madden v. Anderson
| 30086 | Relator has no clear legal right to her former office of municipal manager because her removal was lawfully accomplished by the affirmative vote of a majority of the village council. Relator cannot oust the current incumbent because she has not demonstrated that he holds the office unlawfully. Writ of quo warranto denied. | Per Curiam | Montgomery |
11/25/2024
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11/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5596 |
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Badra-Muniz v. Vinyl Carpet Serv. Inc.
| 29942 | The trial court properly granted summary judgment to appellee on appellant’s negligence claim based on respondeat superior because the negligence claim against appellee’s employee had previously been dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The trial court properly granted summary judgment to appellee on appellant’s negligence claim based on premises liability because appellee did not have possession and control of the premises where the injury occurred and appellant was engaged in inherently dangerous work. Judgment affirmed. | Lewis | Montgomery |
11/22/2024
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11/22/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5507 |
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State v. Humphrey
| 30150 | The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant’s post-conviction motion for release of a vehicle and cash that were seized after execution of a search warrant. The vehicle had already been released, and there was a possibility the cash would be needed as evidence in a retrial if appellant’s appeal of his petition for post-conviction relief were granted. Judgment affirmed. | Lewis | Montgomery |
11/22/2024
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11/22/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5510 |
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GC3, L.L.C. v. Empowerment Temple, Inc.
| 30197 | The trial court erred in entering summary judgment for appellee contractor on appellant property owner’s slander-of-title counterclaim. Construing the evidence in a light most favorable to appellant, reasonable minds could reach differing conclusions about whether appellee acted with reckless disregard as to the invalidity of its mechanic’s lien on appellant’s property, either when appellee filed the lien or at various points in time thereafter, and long before releasing the lien. Judgment reversed and remanded. | Tucker | Montgomery |
11/22/2024
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11/22/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5509 |
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In re D.W.D.-H
| 2023-CA-68 | The trial court abused its discretion in determining that adoption was not in the best interest of the child, and its denial of the petition for adoption was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Judgment reversed; remanded for the trial court to grant the petition for adoption. | Huffman | Clark |
11/22/2024
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11/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5593 |
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Roundtree v. Byrd
| 30169 | The trial court did not err when it granted summary judgment in favor of appellee-landlord in this premises negligence case. Appellee was not negligent per se because it did not violate R.C. 5321.04, and it was not negligent under the common law because it had no knowledge of the alleged defect in the property and had no duty to inspect for it. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/22/2024
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11/22/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5511 |
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State v. Donley
| 30120 | The trial court did not err by overruling appellant’s motion for leave to file a delayed motion for a new trial. The same issue was raised and rejected in appellant’s 2021 petition for post-conviction relief, and it therefore was barred by res judicata. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/22/2024
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11/22/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5508 |
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State v. Carson
| 30115 | The trial court did not err in ordering restitution in an amount that exceeded the damages identified in the criminal complaint, because the damages were a direct and proximate result of appellant’s criminal damaging offense and the amount did not exceed the amount of actual damages caused by the offense. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Montgomery |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5407 |
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Garber v. Ohio Mut. Ins. Co.
| 2024-CA-10 | The trial court did not err in finding that the driver of a borrowed tractor on a public roadway was not an “insured” under a farm owner’s policy of insurance, as the driver was not performing “domestic duties” relating to the “insured premises” or performing duties “as an employee of an insured, or for the benefit of the insured.” Additionally, the policy’s “incidental coverage” provision did not offer reinstatement of coverage to the motorized vehicle exclusion, because the incident occurred on a public roadway, not on the “insured premises.” Summary judgment was properly granted in favor of the insurance company. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Darke |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5408 |
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State v. Cantrell
| 2023-CA-65 | The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s motion for a continuance three days before trial, as appellant had previously been advised by the court that no further continuances would be granted. Appellant’s conviction for endangering children was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Greene |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5406 |
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Grand Voiture d'Ohio Societe des 40 et 8 v. Montgomery Cty. Voiture No. 34 la Societe 40 et 8
| 30056 | The trial court did not err in holding appellant in contempt of court and ordering him to pay appellee’s attorney’s fees after he violated the court’s permanent injunction and subsequent orders. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant’s meritless motions for sanctions without a hearing. Judgments affirmed. | Lewis | Montgomery |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5410 |
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State v. Bayman
| 2023-CA-31 | The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s motion to suppress. The deputy lawfully stopped the vehicle in which appellant was a passenger, and the stop was not unlawfully extended for the deputy to walk his canine partner around the vehicle. The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s motion to dismiss based on the destruction of the cruiser video. Although the trial court should have held a competency hearing when the issue was raised before trial, any error in failing to hold a hearing was harmless. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Darke |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5405 |
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State v. Reed
| 30075; 30076 | The trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling appellant’s application for post-conviction DNA testing pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2953 because it determined that the testing would not be outcome determinative. However, the trial court abused its discretion by overruling appellant’s request to conduct DNA testing at his own expense based solely on his failure to satisfy the outcome determinative test. R.C. 2953.84 states that R.C. 2953.71 through R.C. 2953.81, which contain the outcome determinative test, “do not limit or affect any other means by which an offender may obtain postconviction DNA testing.” Judgment affirmed in C.A. No. 30075; judgment reversed and remanded in C.A. No. 30076. | Lewis | Montgomery |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5412 |
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State v. Graham
| 30081 | Appellant’s conviction of endangering children was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Montgomery |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5409 |
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State v. Reed
| 2023-CA-69 | The trial court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense, because appellant failed to meet her burden of providing legally sufficient evidence that she had acted in self-defense. Appellant’s felonious assault conviction was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The State did not commit prosecutorial misconduct. Judgment affirmed. | Welbaum | Clark |
11/15/2024
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11/15/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5411 |
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Crawford v. Am. Family Ins. Co.
| 30157 | The trial court erred in granting summary judgment to appellee insurance company on appellant’s bad faith claim. Genuine issues of material fact exist concerning whether appellee acted in bad faith in handling appellant’s uninsured motorist’s claim. There are also genuine issues of material fact regarding appellant’s claim for punitive damages. Judgment reversed and remanded. | Welbaum | Montgomery |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5345 |
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State v. Thompson
| 2024-CA-26 | The State’s alleged breach of a plea agreement did not render appellant’s guilty plea invalid under Crim.R. 11. The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s plea-withdrawal requests at sentencing. Judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Greene |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5348 |
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State v. Bell
| 30133 | The trial court did not err when it denied appellant’s third application for post-conviction DNA testing. The court’s entry was a final appealable order, and additional testing was foreclosed by statute. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5342 |
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State v. Campbell
| 30136 | Defense counsel’s failure to speak in mitigation at sentencing did not establish ineffective assistance of counsel. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Montgomery |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5343 |
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State v. King
| 30111 | The trial court’s imposition of a maximum sentence for aggravated vehicular homicide was not contrary to law. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5347 |
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State v. Cherry
| 2024-CA-2 | Defense counsel was not ineffective in failing to file a motion to suppress appellant’s post-arrest interview or to object to the State’s characterization of Cherry as a drug dealer at sentencing. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting recordings of jail phone calls as admissions of a party-opponent or in admitting statements of the victim and other witnesses under exceptions to the hearsay rule. Sufficient evidence supported appellant’s convictions, and his sentence is not contrary to law. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Clark |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5344 |
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State v. Votaw
| 2023-CA-64 | Appellant’s statutory right to a speedy trial under R.C. 2945.71 was not violated because appellant entered his no contest plea within the applicable 90-day time limitation, accounting for time that was tolled. Appellant’s no contest plea was voluntarily entered and was not induced by the trial court during the plea-negotiation process. Judgment affirmed. | Welbaum | Clark |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5349 |
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In re M.L.-P.
| 30153 | Putative paternal grandmother lacked standing to petition for nonparent visitation of her minor grandson under R.C. 3109.12(A), because the paternity requirements under that statute had not been satisfied. Therefore, the trial court erred by failing to dismiss grandmother’s complaint for visitation on that basis and by granting grandmother visitation time. Judgment reversed and remanded. | Welbaum | Montgomery |
11/8/2024
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11/8/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5346 |
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Bigham v. Deer Run Owners Assn.
| 30124 | In a dispute between appellee-homeowner’s association and appellant-homeowner, the trial court erred in granting appellee’s summary judgment motion as to appellant’s breach of contract claim as to whether her house’s crawl space was a common element, but it did not err in finding that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the crawl space was a foundation. The trial court also erred in granting summary judgment to appellee as to the statutory breach of contract claim, as there is no bar to bringing both statutory and contractual claims. Finally, the trial court did not err in granting appellee summary judgment as to appellant’s negligence claim, because it was barred by the economic loss doctrine. Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/1/2024
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11/1/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5233 |
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Trent v. DeMange
| 2024-CA-4 | The trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of an insurance agent and the insurance agency for which she worked. Genuine issues of material fact exist related to appellant’s claims against the agent for negligence/negligent failure to procure insurance and negligent misrepresentation. By extension, genuine issues of material fact exist regarding appellant’s claims for vicarious liability against the agency. Judgment reversed and remanded. | Huffman | Darke |
11/1/2024
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11/1/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5234 |
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State v. Guadagno
| 30093 | State’s appeal. The trial court erred in terminating appellee’s community control in a manner that did not comply with the requirements of R.C. 2929.15. Judgment reversed and remanded. | Huffman | Montgomery |
11/1/2024
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11/1/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5235 |
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Tarjanyi v. Ohio Dept. of Ins.
| 30085 | The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the Ohio Department of Insurance’s decision to revoke appellant’s Ohio resident insurance agent license was supported by reliable, probative and substantial evidence. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/1/2024
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11/1/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5239 |
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P.L. v. M.C.
| 30139 | After the trial court granted a civil stalking protection case against her, appellant failed to file objections to the magistrate’s decision as required by Civ.R. 65.1. As a result, appellant’s arguments cannot be considered on appeal. Judgment affirmed. | Welbaum | Montgomery |
11/1/2024
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11/1/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5238 |
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State v. Hargrove
| 30096 | The trial court’s denial of appellant’s right of allocution at a community control revocation hearing was not harmless. Judgment reversed and remanded. | Epley | Montgomery |
11/1/2024
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11/1/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5236 |
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Johnson v. Gutter & Downspout, L.L.C.
| 30090 | The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to accept appellant’s untimely answer to the complaint for fraudulent transfer of assets and in awarding default judgment to appellee. Appellant did not assert that her untimely filing was based on excusable neglect, and she incorrectly asserted that appellee had failed to include a certificate of service on all relevant filings as required by local rules. Appellee included certificates of service on filings and also indicated that she had served appellant, a pro se litigant, with paper copies of these filings. Judgment affirmed. | Welbaum | Montgomery |
11/1/2024
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11/1/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5237 |
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T.A. v. M.C.
| 30138 | Because appellant failed to file objections in the trial court to the granting of a civil stalking protection order, we are precluded from considering her arguments on appeal. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Montgomery |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5123 |
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State v. Wooten
| 2024-CA-19 | At appellant’s sentencing hearing, the trial court erred by not advising appellant of the possibility of post-release control (PRC) and the possible consequences of violating the terms of PRC. The trial court also erred by not calculating and informing appellant of his jail time credit at the sentencing hearing and including this information in its judgment entries. The State concedes these errors. Judgments reversed and remanded for resentencing on these issues only. In all other respects, judgments affirmed. | Tucker | Clark |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5124 |
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In re Z.E.W.
| 2024-CA-36; 2024-CA-37 | The juvenile court did not abuse its discretion when it found Mother in contempt for violating the summer parenting schedule in the parties’ agreed order. The trial court also did not abuse its discretion in allowing Father to have one of the two child tax credits and reducing his child support payments because the children were no longer in daycare. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Greene |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5120 |
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State v. Fletcher
| 2023-CA-23; 2023-CA-24 | Appellant’s convictions for gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence were supported by sufficient evidence. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by permitting the State to present evidence pertaining to a related murder investigation. Defense counsel did not provide ineffective assistance by failing to request an aiding and abetting jury instruction, as such a decision was a matter of trial strategy, which cannot form the basis of an ineffective assistance claim. Judgment affirmed in Darke C.P. No. 22CR00244, but we instruct the trial court to file a nunc pro tunc entry properly identifying the offenses of which appellant was convicted. The trial court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury on the essential element of recklessness at appellant’s trial for endangering children. Judgment reversed in Darke C.P. No. 22CR00306 and remanded for a new trial. | Welbaum | Darke |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5117 |
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State v. Powell
| 2024-CA-8 | Appellant’s claim that the State failed to present sufficient evidence establishing that the value of the ring he stole met the $1,000 threshold for a felony-level theft offense is without merit; appellant’s felony theft offense merged into his robbery offense, and a robbery conviction requires no evidence of the stolen property’s value. Appellant’s claim that there was insufficient evidence to support the trial court’s award of $3,500 in restitution for the victim’s economic loss also lacks merit. The trial court was permitted to base the amount of restitution on the victim’s testimony, which indicating that he had paid $6,249.98 for the ring and had attempted to sell it for $3,500. The trial court erred in failing to determine jail-time credit. Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part; remanded for resentencing related to jail-time credit. | Welbaum | Clark |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5122 |
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State v. Pence
| 30039 | Appellant’s convictions for aggravated burglary, aggravated murder, and tampering with evidence were supported by sufficient evidence and were not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s motion to suppress; the record demonstrates that appellant’s waiver of his Miranda rights was knowing, voluntary and intelligent, and was not the product of coercion. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by ordering three evaluations of appellant’s sanity at the time of the offenses. The record does not support a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court did not err in sentencing. Judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Montgomery |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5121 |
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State v. Hayes
| 29968 | The trial court did not err in overruling appellant’s Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal on his domestic violence charge; there was sufficient evidence from which reasonable minds could have concluded that the victim was a household member of appellant. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Montgomery |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5119 |
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FIG as Custodian for FIG OH18, L.L.C. v. Jones
| 30104 | The trial court did not err in dismissing with prejudice appellant’s foreclosure action as time-barred following the vacation of a default judgment due to lack of service and the subsequent successful service of appellee-homeowner. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
10/25/2024
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10/25/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5116 |
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State v. Kinney
| 2024-CA-7 | Appellant was granted intervention in lieu of conviction (ILC) following her conditional guilty plea to aggravated possession of drugs. The State later sought revocation of ILC because appellant had violated certain ILC conditions. At the revocation hearing, appellant admitted the violation, and the trial court revoked ILC and sentenced her to community control sanctions. The record does not reflect that counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel at the revocation hearing. Judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Champaign |
10/18/2024
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10/18/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5025 |
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State v. Rupert
| 2024-CA-18 | Appellant’s conviction for possessing drug abuse instruments was supported by insufficient evidence and against the manifest weight of the evidence, because there was no evidence that he administered, used, or prepared a dangerous drug. Judgment vacated. | Epley | Greene |
10/18/2024
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10/18/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5027 |
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State v. Weaver
| 30145 | State’s appeal. Appellee did not waive the issue of whether the police officer had reasonable, articulable suspicion to conduct field sobriety tests. The trial court erred in concluding that the officer did not have reasonable, articulable suspicion to extend the length of the traffic stop to perform field sobriety tests and in suppressing all resulting evidence. The trial court erred in suppressing the results of appellee’s urinalysis on the basis that the State had failed to substantially comply with Ohio Adm.Code 3701-53-06(F). Judgment reversed and remanded. | Lewis | Montgomery |
10/18/2024
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10/18/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5028 |
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