Ninth District Opinions Released on June 3 and June 5, 2013

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Appellate District released two opinions from Lorain County on June 3, 2013 and four opinions from Summit County on June 5, 2013. The opinions released on June 3, 2013 were:

Wells Fargo Bank N.A. v. Horn, 2013-Ohio-2374 was a reversal of a summary judgment granted by the Lorain County Common Pleas Court. The issue in the case was whether the bank had shown that it had the right to file the lawsuit when it filed the complaint. The Court of Appeals reversed on the authority of Fed. Home Loan Mtge. Corp. v. Schwartzwald, 2012-Ohio-5017 at P40. The Court of Appeals remanded the case back to the trial court with instructions to dismiss the complaint without prejudice. 

Wright v. Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Servs., 2013-Ohio-2260 affirmed a decision of the Lorain County Common Pleas Court that affirmed a decision of the Unemployment Compensation Review Commission that denied Mr. Wright unemployment compensation. The Commission found that Wright had quit his job as a truck driver without just cause when he left his truck at his employer's terminal in Seville, Ohio and told his employer he would not drive for the company if it would not give him a local route. 

The opinions released on June 5, 2013 were:

State v. Novotny, 2013-Ohio-2321 affirmed a decision of the Summit County Common Pleas Court that convicted Mr. Novotny of interference with custody of a juvenile who had left her home and moved in with Mr. Novotny. Originally he was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and the interference with custody. The jury found him not guilty of the unlawful sexual conduct but guilty of the interference with custody. The Court of Appeals rejected all assignments of error raised by Mr. Notovny. 

McFall v. McFall, 2013-Ohio-2320 reversed a decision of the Summit County Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Division. The issue on appeal was whether the trial court should have held a hearing on the wife's motion to vacate under Civ. R. 60 (B). While the majority found that the trial court should have held a hearing and found that the wife had raised the issue in a reasonable period of time, the dissent found that the issue could have been handled on a direct appeal and therefore the trial court did not have to hold a hearing on the 60 (B) motion. 

State v. Harmon, 2013-Ohio-2319 affirmed a decision of the Summit County Common Pleas Court convicting Mr. Harmon of several criminal charges. In his assignments of error Mr. Harmon argued that the trial court erred in allowing evidence of battered woman's syndrome because there was no established pattern of domestic violence. The Court of Appeals rejected this argument, as well as the remaining assignments of error. 

Clayton v. Walker, 2013-Ohio-2318 affirmed a decision of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division which had issued a temporary restraining order through a magistrate. Mr. Walker apparently filed objections to the magistrate's order in another related case. The trial court took judicial notice of those objections, considered them, and overruled them. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court could not take judicial notice of the objections filed in the other case and held that Mr. Walker had never objected in the case that was on appeal. 

Since he hadn't filed objections under that case number, the appellate court held that the trial court had no authority to even consider the objections to the magistrate's order and affirmed the issuing of the order. There was a dissent by Judge Carr in which she argued that the trial court had the power to review the magistrate's decision and she believed that the appellate court could review that decision.