The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Appellate District released two opinions on Monday, April 15, 2013. The opinions were both civil cases. One was from Lorain County and the other was from Wayne County.
The Lorain County decision was Hart v. Ridge Tool Co., 2013-Ohio-1487. Mr. Hart filed a worker's compensation claim based on depression and opiate dependence that followed an industrial injury. Ridge Tool is a self-insured employer under the Worker's Compensation Act. The two claims eventually came to the Lorain County Common Pleas Court. At some point the parties informed the Court that they had reached an agreement. The Lorain County Common Pleas Court then entered judgment on both claims, holding that Mr. Hart could no longer pursue his claims.
Mr. Hart then filed a pro se appeal. Although the Court of Appeals conceded that his argument was not "easily discernible", Mr. Hart cited to R.C. 4123.65 (D), which, "regulates the settlement of workers’ compensation claims by providing for administrative review to protect parties against settlements that are ‘clearly unfair’ or that constitute ‘gross miscarriage[s] of justice." That section also applies to common pleas courts as well as the administrative bodies. See Gibson v. Meadow Gold Dairy, 88 Ohio St.3d 201, 202-203 (2000).
When there is an settlement between a worker and a self-insured employee, R.C. 4123.65 (C) mandates that each party has 30 days from the date that the settlement is signed to withdrew from the settlement. In this case the trial court entered judgment before the 30 day period expired and there was no evidence that Mr. Hart had signed the settlement agreement. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
The Wayne County case, State v. Ross, 2013-Ohio-1488, was an appeal from the Wayne County Municipal Court which had convicted Mr. Ross of a marked lanes violation and a seatbelt violation. Originally Mr. Ross had also been charged with driving while under the influence, but those charges were dismissed and there was a bench trial on the remaining two violations.
Mr. Ross argued on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of the marked lanes violation. The opinion contains a discussion of the Ninth Appellate District's analysis of the elements of R.C. 4511.33. In that opinion the following language appears:
"Accordingly, we continue to hold that, in order to establish a violation of R.C.
4511.33, the State must present evidence “that the driver of a vehicle moving either between lanes of traffic or completely out of a lane of traffic failed to ascertain the safety of such movement prior to making the movement.” Barner, 2004-Ohio-5950, at ¶ 14. In the instant matter, the State failed to present any evidence of the foregoing."
The opinion was a 2-1 decision, with Judge Whitmore dissenting. Both the majority opinion and the dissenting opinion discuss the application of the Ohio Supreme Court decision of State v. Mays, 119 Ohio St.3d 406, 2008-Ohio-4539. That decision involved the constitutionality of a stop based on an observed marked lanes violation, but Judge Whitmore argued that the language of the opinion supports the view that while there are circumstances that allow a motorist to go outside the marked lane of travel, being tired is not one of them. She then goes on to state that since that was the reason given by Mr. Ross for traveling outside of marked lanes, she would affirm the conviction.
Showing posts with label Wayne County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wayne County. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Ninth District Court of Appeals Releases Seven Opinions on Monday, March 18, 2013
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Appellate District, which covers Lorain, Medina, Summit, and Wayne Counties released seven opinions on Monday, March 18. Five were from Medina County, one was from Lorain County, and the remaining opinion was from Wayne County.
The five opinions from Medina County were:
Sturdevant v. Likley, 2013-Ohio-987, which deals with the torts of defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The appellant was appealing the granting of a motion for summary judgment. The opinions contains a discussion of the Restatement of Torts, 2nd, Sections 602 and 652. The decision affirmed the trial court's granting of the motion for summary judgment.
State v. Samples, 2013-Ohio-986, which deals with the issue of sufficiency of the evidence in a case involving driving while under the influence. The Court of Appeals found that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction for operating while under the influence of a drug of abuse. In particular the Court noted that the State had not produced evidence showing what "drug of abuse" Mr. Samples had consumed. Since the term "drug of abuse" is the same as the term "controlled substance" used in a different section of the Revised Code, and since that section lists the names of "controlled substances", it was necessary for the State to establish the identity of the "drug of abuse." The Court reversed Mr. Samples' conviction.
State v. Miller, 2013-Ohio-985, which deals with the issues of whether a Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper had a reasonable suspicion to justify the continued detention of a car's operator who had originally been stopped for expired license plates, and whether the consent of the driver to a search was voluntary. The Court of Appeals overruled the first assignment of error, but granted the second assignment. Although there were three assignments of error listed, since the Court of Appeals reversed on the second assignment. the Court did not issue any decision on the third assignment.
Michaels v. Michaels, 2013-Ohio-984, which deals with the issue of spousal support and contempt of court for non-payment of spousal support. The issue of spousal support dealt with whether the husband, who was obligated to pay spousal support, had shown a significant change of circumstances to justify a modification of his support order. The trial court concluded that he had, and the Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. On the second assignment of error, the Court of Appeals held that the doctrine of res judicata barred the wife from raising the issue on the appeal covered by the March 18th decision.
State v. Ibrahim, 2013-Ohio-983, which deals with the issue of whether there was sufficient evidence to allow the State to withstand a motion for a directed verdict made pursuant to Crim. R. 29. The charge involved possession of a controlled substance. The issue on appeal was whether there was enough evidence to allow the jury to find that the defendant constructively possessed the controlled substance. The trial court found that there was, but the Court of Appeals disagreed. The decision contains a discussion of the concept of "constructive possession" and its application to a situation involving multiple occupants of a van, which had been involved in an traffic accident.
The Lorain County opinion was:
Bonnette v. Bonnette, 2013-Ohio-981, which deals with the issue of dismissal of an appeal for failure to file the appeal timely. The opinion contains an interesting discussion of Civ. R. 52, which concerns findings of fact and conclusions of law, and App. R. 4.
The Wayne County opinion was:
State v. Hillman, 2013-Ohio-982, which deals with the issue of whether a defendant could raise an issue of withdrawal of a no-contest plea in a post-conviction relief petition when it could have been raised on a direct appeal. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court committed reversible error when it heard the post-conviction relief petition because the issue should have been raised on a direct appeal.
The five opinions from Medina County were:
Sturdevant v. Likley, 2013-Ohio-987, which deals with the torts of defamation, false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The appellant was appealing the granting of a motion for summary judgment. The opinions contains a discussion of the Restatement of Torts, 2nd, Sections 602 and 652. The decision affirmed the trial court's granting of the motion for summary judgment.
State v. Samples, 2013-Ohio-986, which deals with the issue of sufficiency of the evidence in a case involving driving while under the influence. The Court of Appeals found that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction for operating while under the influence of a drug of abuse. In particular the Court noted that the State had not produced evidence showing what "drug of abuse" Mr. Samples had consumed. Since the term "drug of abuse" is the same as the term "controlled substance" used in a different section of the Revised Code, and since that section lists the names of "controlled substances", it was necessary for the State to establish the identity of the "drug of abuse." The Court reversed Mr. Samples' conviction.
State v. Miller, 2013-Ohio-985, which deals with the issues of whether a Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper had a reasonable suspicion to justify the continued detention of a car's operator who had originally been stopped for expired license plates, and whether the consent of the driver to a search was voluntary. The Court of Appeals overruled the first assignment of error, but granted the second assignment. Although there were three assignments of error listed, since the Court of Appeals reversed on the second assignment. the Court did not issue any decision on the third assignment.
Michaels v. Michaels, 2013-Ohio-984, which deals with the issue of spousal support and contempt of court for non-payment of spousal support. The issue of spousal support dealt with whether the husband, who was obligated to pay spousal support, had shown a significant change of circumstances to justify a modification of his support order. The trial court concluded that he had, and the Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. On the second assignment of error, the Court of Appeals held that the doctrine of res judicata barred the wife from raising the issue on the appeal covered by the March 18th decision.
State v. Ibrahim, 2013-Ohio-983, which deals with the issue of whether there was sufficient evidence to allow the State to withstand a motion for a directed verdict made pursuant to Crim. R. 29. The charge involved possession of a controlled substance. The issue on appeal was whether there was enough evidence to allow the jury to find that the defendant constructively possessed the controlled substance. The trial court found that there was, but the Court of Appeals disagreed. The decision contains a discussion of the concept of "constructive possession" and its application to a situation involving multiple occupants of a van, which had been involved in an traffic accident.
The Lorain County opinion was:
Bonnette v. Bonnette, 2013-Ohio-981, which deals with the issue of dismissal of an appeal for failure to file the appeal timely. The opinion contains an interesting discussion of Civ. R. 52, which concerns findings of fact and conclusions of law, and App. R. 4.
The Wayne County opinion was:
State v. Hillman, 2013-Ohio-982, which deals with the issue of whether a defendant could raise an issue of withdrawal of a no-contest plea in a post-conviction relief petition when it could have been raised on a direct appeal. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court committed reversible error when it heard the post-conviction relief petition because the issue should have been raised on a direct appeal.
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