Court decisions from across the country have implications right here in Ohio. Here is a selection of recent cases, and why they matter.
In the case of State ex rel. Gregory v. Toledo, Slip Opinion No. 2023-Ohio-651, the Ohio Supreme Court held that the provisions of R.C. 149.43(B)(8) — which requires inmates to obtain court approval before requesting documents relating to a criminal investigation or prosecution — does not create a blanket rule that an office or official […]
In the case of Marlatt v. Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Servs., 2023-Ohio-630, an appellate court held that 18 documented incidents of disciplinary action over 22 months qualified as “just cause” under R.C. 4141.29(D)(2)(a) to terminate an employee and deny unemployment compensation benefits. In this case, the unemployment commission argued that the employee engaged […]
In the case of Ryan v. Ashtabula, 2023-Ohio-621, the special master recommended dismissing a public record requestor’s complaint under R.C. 149.43 as the requester asked for all emails from 2021, nonexistent “accurate invoices” reflecting the requester’s view of facts, and records the city had already provided. In this case, the requester simply argued that the […]
In the case of Brown v. JC Austintown, Inc., 2023-Ohio-553, an appellate court held that an employer’s mere sending of a pre-litigation response letter to an employee to discuss the alleged facts, which was silent as to arbitration, was not inconsistent with the right to arbitrate under the circumstances in this case. In this case, […]
In the case of State ex rel. Lusane v. Kent Police Dept., Slip Opinion No. 2023-Ohio-480, the Ohio Supreme Court held that dash- and body-cam recordings are public records and subject to disclosure after a public record request under R.C. 149.43 unless the arrest footage meet the confidential law enforcement investigatory records (“CLEIR”) exception, but, […]
In the case of Weiler v. Technipower, Inc., 2023-Ohio-465, an appellate court held that an applicant does not have a right to be employed by a potential staffing agency simply because the staffing agency reached out to the applicant as to a possible position of employment with an unnamed client and then stopped communicating with […]
In the case of State ex rel. Util. Supervisors Employees’ Assn. v. Cleveland, 2023-Ohio-463, an appellate court denied a union’s request to compel a city to fulfil two public records requests involving all agreements — proposed signed or unsigned, completed or failed — between the city and any contractors for water and sewer related work […]
In the case of Ault v. Durbin, 2022-Ohio-4826, a special master concluded that the personal notes of a councilperson were not public records as such notes were kept for personal use only. In this case, the requester argued that the personal notes of the councilperson were required to be maintained as public records. In response, […]