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 Tuslaw Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. CT Taylor Co., Inc., 2019-Ohio-1731, an Ohio appellate court held that Ohio’s construction statute of repose – i.e., R.C. 2305.131 –restricts the time lawsuits may be brought by public entities based on construction incidences to ten years after an incidence occurs. In prior […]
In the case of Berdysz v. Boyas Excavating, Inc., 2019-Ohio-1639, an Ohio appellate court recognized that a breach of contract claim is an exception to a city’s immunity from liability under R.C. Chapter 2744. In this case, city residents brought a nuisance and breach of contract action against a city after the development of property […]
In the case of State ex rel. Cleveland v. Russo, Slip Opinion No. 2019-Ohio-1595, the Ohio Supreme Court held that a common pleas court patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction over a dispute where the matter only involved an alleged unfair labor practice by an employer. This case involved a dispute between a public employer and […]
In the case of Schutte v. Gorman Heritage Farm Found., 2019-Ohio-1611, the Ohio Court of Claims adopted the report and recommendation of a special master which found that a private, non-profit, corporation which provides government services is not subject to the Ohio Public Records Act unless that corporation serves as the “functional equivalent of a […]
In the cases of State ex rel. Seabolt v. State Hwy. Patrol Retirement Sys., Slip Opinion No. 2019-Ohio-1594, and State ex rel. Sales v. Ohio Pub. Emps. Retirement Bd., Slip Opinion No. 2019-Ohio-1568, the Ohio Supreme Court held that Ohio’s courts will defer to the decisions of retirement boards so long as there is “some […]
In the case of Cincinnati Enquirer v. Cincinnati, 2019-Ohio-1613, the Ohio Court of Claims adopted a special master’s recommendation finding that electronic “storage in a personal, privately-paid cell phone did not automatically exclude a text message” from the definition of a public record. Cincinnati Enquirer at ¶ 3. In this case, an individual made a […]
In the case of Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow v. Bd. of Edn., 2019-Ohio-1540, an Ohio appellate court reversed its earlier holding and now holds that a review and decision by the Ohio State Board of Education (“State BOE”) as to monies owed for overpayment of public funds by a community school was not be appealed. […]
In the case of Readinger v. Mun. Constr. Equip. Operators, 2019-Ohio-1436, an Ohio appellate court held that the claims asserted by current and former union members against their certified bargaining representative were so “inextricably intertwined” with their rights under the collective bargaining that the Ohio State Employment Relations Board (“SERB”) had exclusive jurisdiction over their […]