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| Case Caption | Case No. | Topics and Issues | Author | Citation / County | Decided | Posted | WebCite |
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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. 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. 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. 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. 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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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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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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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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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. 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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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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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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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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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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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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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. 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. 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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State v. Parks
| 30049 | Appellant’s conviction for attempted arson was supported by sufficient evidence. The trial court did not commit plain error in admitting alleged gruesome photos, which aided in proving the charges. Appellant’s trial counsel did not act ineffectively in failing to ask for a mistrial based on an outside party’s communication with a juror; the trial court properly held a hearing and found that the juror could be impartial. Given this fact and the overwhelming evidence against appellant, there was no basis for a mistrial. The trial court did not err in ordering a minimal amount of restitution, and its consideration of appellant’s ability to pay can be inferred from the circumstances. R.C. 2929.14(B)(1)(g) does not violate double jeopardy protections by allowing sentence to be imposed on a firearm specification that was part of a merged offense; the Supreme Court of Ohio found this sanction permissible in State v. Bollar, 2022-Ohio-4370. Finally, the trial court did not err in admitting evidence pertaining to a bullet casing found at appellant’s home and a box of bullets found on a neighbor’s roof. These items were consistent with the bullet found in the victim’s body and were relevant to the charge of tampering with evidence. Judgment affirmed. | Welbaum | Montgomery |
10/18/2024
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10/18/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5026 |
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In re E.G.
| 2024-CA-14 | The trial court did not err in awarding appellee Paternal Grandmother legal custody of appellant Father’s two minor children. Judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Miami |
10/18/2024
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10/18/2024
| 2024-Ohio-5024 |
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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. Powell
| 30053 | The trial court did not err in overruling appellant’s motion to dismiss a criminal charge of violating a protection order. The order was valid when the violation occurred. The domestic relations court had subject matter jurisdiction over the matter; therefore, its order was not void ab initio. Although the court later vacated the protection order upon learning that the parties were not family or household members, this fact did not affect the court’s authority to issue the order. During the time the protection order was in effect, appellant was required to obey it and failed to do so. As a result, appellant was properly found guilty of violating the order. Judgment affirmed. | Welbaum | Montgomery |
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4923 |
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State v. Wood
| 29887 | The trial court did not err in ordering restitution in the amount of an estimate to repair damage to a vehicle caused by appellant in a collision, where there was no evidence to suggest that the cost of the repairs exceeded the value of the victim’s vehicle before the collision. Judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Montgomery |
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4925 |
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State v. Adams
| 2023-CA-70 | The record does not reflect that trial counsel’s “limited” advocacy at sentencing constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. As conceded by the State, the trial court failed in its obligation to advise appellant at the sentencing hearing of the potential consequences of a violation of post-release control. Judgment reversed in part and remanded for resentencing on post-release control only; in all other respects, judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Clark |
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4920 |
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State v. Woodruff
| 2024-CA-11 | Appellant’s convictions for kidnapping (with a firearm specification), having a weapon while under disability, and domestic violence were based on sufficient evidence and were not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Clark |
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4926 |
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State v. Wolfe
| 30159 | The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s application to seal/expunge the record of his dismissed original murder indictment without a hearing. Judgment affirmed. | Lewis | Montgomery |
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4924 |
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State v. Fader
| 2024-CA-1 | The trial court erred by not defining the terms “reasonable doubt” and “beyond a reasonable doubt” in its jury instructions, as required by R.C. 2901.05(C). Judgment reversed and remanded. | Epley | Darke |
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4921 |
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In re Adoption of Z.R.B.
| 30006 | The trial court reasonably concluded that Father’s consent to Stepfather’s adoption of Father’s biological child was not required because, in the year before the adoption petition was filed, Father failed, without justifiable cause, to have more than de minimis contact with the child and to provide maintenance and support for the child. The court’s conclusion was supported by the weight of the evidence. Judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Montgomery |
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4922 |
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State v. Ringer
| 30062 | The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Appellant failed to demonstrate ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Judgment affirmed. | Lewis | Montgomery |
10/4/2024
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10/4/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4812 |
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State v. Brown
| 2024-CA-7 | The trial court did not err in finding appellant guilty of operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license. Appellant claimed he was not required to have a driver’s license because he was an “unfranchised common law free man,” another name for a “sovereign citizen” claim. However, Ohio courts have repeatedly found these types of claims frivolous, and that applies here. Judgment affirmed. | Welbaum | Miami |
10/4/2024
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10/4/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4808 |
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State v. Harbut
| 2024-CA-14 | Appellant’s convictions for having weapons while under disability and tampering with evidence were supported by sufficient evidence and were not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Prosecutor’s comments during closing argument were not improper and did not affect the outcome of the case. Appellant’s right to allocution was not violated by the prosecutor’s remark at sentencing about an admission appellant made in phone calls from the jail, because appellant had previously made the same admission himself at the sentencing hearing, and the remark did not affect the sentence imposed. Jail-time credit was not properly imposed. Because the jury made no finding with respect to forfeiture of a weapon, the trial court improperly ordered that the weapon be forfeited to the State. Judgment reversed with respect to jail-time credit only and remanded for the trial court to calculate jail time-credit. The order of forfeiture is vacated. In all other respects, judgment affirmed. | Huffman | Clark |
10/4/2024
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10/4/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4811 |
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Christoff v. Am. Airlines, Inc.
| 30161 | Appellant failed to file a transcript when he objected to the magistrate’s decision granting judgment to appellee in his small claims action. As such, we cannot conclude that the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s objections and entering judgment in favor of appellee. Judgment affirmed. | Epley | Montgomery |
10/4/2024
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10/4/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4810 |
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Century 21 v. O'Malley
| 30019 | In a forcible entry and detainer action, the trial court granted restitution of the premises to appellee after appellant failed to appear at the hearing. Appellant did not obtain a stay and has been removed from the premises. Thus, the appeal is moot, and the record establishes no “great public interest or general interest” exception to the mootness doctrine. Appeal dismissed. | Tucker | Montgomery |
10/4/2024
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10/4/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4809 |
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State v. Wells
| 2023-CA-41 | The trial court did not err by overruling appellant’s motion to suppress the results of gunshot residue testing conducted upon appellant’s clothing after he was arrested. The trial court acted within its discretion by overruling appellant’s request in the middle of trial for a competency hearing and evaluation. Appellant’s convictions for felonious assault, domestic violence, having a weapon under disability, and tampering with evidence were supported by sufficient evidence and were not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The trial court did not commit any sentencing errors. Judgments affirmed. | Tucker | Clark |
10/4/2024
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10/4/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4813 |
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State v. Kiptanui
| 30051 | The trial court did not err in denying appellant’s application to seal his misdemeanor conviction for violating a protection order. Ohio’s record-sealing process did not apply to that offense, which was ineligible to be sealed. Appellant’s misdemeanor offense for criminal trespass also could not be sealed because the trial court never imposed a sentence after making a finding of guilt. In addition, the existence of the protection-order violation conviction precluded sealing of the criminal-trespass offense. Judgment affirmed. | Tucker | Montgomery |
9/27/2024
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9/27/2024
| 2024-Ohio-4706 |
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