Ninth District Opinions for May 20, 2013

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Appellate District released the following opinions on May 20, 2013:

State v. Taylor, 2013-Ohio-2035 reversed a decision from the Oberlin Municipal Court that found lack of physical control to be a lesser included of driving while under the influence. The appellate court found that a person can commit the offense of driving while under the influence in violation of R.C. 4511.19 without being in a motor vehicle, but could not commit the offense of lack of physical control in violation of R.C. 4511.194 unless they were in a motor vehicle. Therefore an R.C. 4511.194 offense is not a lesser included of a R.C. 4511.19 offense. 

Kick v. Smithville W. Care Ctr., 2013-Ohio-2034 reversed a decision from the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas that had enforced an arbitration agreement between a nursing home and one of its patients. The trial court had also stayed proceedings. The reason for the reversal and remand was because the trial court had not considered issues raised by the estate of the patient. These issues included whether an arbitration agreement between the nursing home and the patient terminated on the parient's death and whether the arbitration agreement bound the patient's personal representative in a wrongful death case. The trial court was instructed to consider the issues raised by the appellant. 

Hadcock Properties, Inc. v. Mesar, 2013-Ohio-2033 reversed and remanded a decision from the Medina County Common Pleas Court that had held that attorney fees shouldn't be awarded pursuant to a lease. The lease had been drafted by Hadcock Properties. The lease was for five years, but wasn't acknowledged by the lessee. 

The trial court found that the equitable doctrine of partial performance took the lease out of the Statute of Conveyances, but that since the doctrine of part performance is a equitable doctrine and since the landlord had drafted the lease, it wasn't equitable to enforce the clause regarding payment of attorney fees. 

The Court of Appeals disagreed. It held that once the doctrine of part performance was applied, the whole lease was valid and the trial court should have enforced the attorney fees provision. The case was remanded with instructions to award attorney fees as claimed by the landlord.