The Supreme Court released 15 decisions today in what is expected to be a busy week.

The Supreme Court released 15 decisions today in what is expected to be a busy week.

The Ohio Supreme Court today announced decisions in 15 cases, including a contempt hearing over compensating landowners near Grand Lake St. Mary’s and six attorney discipline cases.

As part of a year-end transition process in which the Supreme Court will release a large number of decisions over the next several days, the court announced its rulings in the following cases: (to view the court’s full opinion in a case, click on the hyperlink and scroll down to the last item on the docket).

In addition, the court announced four entries deciding the outcome of cases that were held on the authority of decisions in similar cases. Details are available in the announcement.

ODNR Found In Contempt in 2011 Writ, Given Deadlines to Commence Appropriation Actions
In State ex rel. Doner v. Zehringer the court ruled that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) was in contempt for failure to comply with a 2011 writ in which the court ordered the department to immediately commence appropriation proceedings to determine the amount of their taking of the property of owners whose land suffered repeated flood damage as a result of the widening of a spillway at Grand Lake St. Mary’s. Today’s decision sets specific deadlines for ODNR to complete all appraisals and file appropriation actions for properties covered by the 2011 writ.

View oral argument video of this case.

Workers’ Comp Claimant Appealing Denied Claim in Court Must Present All Evidence Necessary to Establish Right to Participate Regardless of Basis for Administrative Denial
The court held in Bennett v. Administrator, Bureau of Workers Compensation that a workers’ compensation claimant appealing the administrative denial of his claim to a court of common pleas must present medical evidence establishing his right to participate in the workers’ compensation fund to the court regardless of the basis for the administrative denial of his claim.

View oral argument video of this case.

Trial Court Erred In Reopening Case to Modify Sentencing Order
In State v. Raber the court held that a Wayne County trial court acted without authority when it reopened a criminal case to classify the defendant as a Tier 1 sex offender more than a year after it had imposed its original sentence, which did not require the defendant to register as a sex offender.

View oral argument video of this case.

Permission to Take Bar Examination Denied In Two Cases
In In re Application of Zimmerman the court agreed with a finding by its Board on Character and Fitness that a Dayton woman was not currently fit to be admitted to the practice of law, but authorized her to reapply to take the July 2014 bar examination if certain conditions are met.

In In re Application of McKinney the court found that a Cincinnati woman was not currently fit for admission to the practice of law, but authorized her to reapply to take the July 2014 bar examination.

View oral argument video of this case.

Attorney Suspensions
The court issued a two-year suspension with one year stayed on conditions for Dayton attorney Michael D. Matlock for professional conduct violations that included using his client trust account as a personal account and “a pattern of misconduct by his admitted inattention to the details of the practice of law.” Dayton Bar Assn. v. Matlock

The court issued a two-year suspension with one year stayed on conditions for Columbus attorney Eva C. Gildee for “multiple acts of dishonesty” that included failing to deliver client funds and fabricating a letter to justify the failure, and lying about transmitting payment to a client. Disciplinary Counsel v. Gildee

The court issued a 2-year suspension with 18 months stayed on conditions for Dayton attorney Raymond W. O’Neal Sr. for “mishandling and neglect of two probate matters for the same client” and for “how O’Neal breached ethical duties owed to his client.” Dayton Bar Assn. v. O’Neal

The court issued a two-year stayed suspension on conditions for Grove City attorney Steve J. Edwards for misappropriating funds from his client trust account and engaging “in a pattern of misconduct over a one-and-a-half year period.” Disciplinary Counsel v. Edwards

View oral argument video of this case.

The court issued a six-month stayed suspension on conditions for Cleveland attorney Teddy Sliwinski for failing to put contingent fee agreements in writing and mishandling client funds. Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Assn. v. Sliwinski

Public Reprimand

The court publicly reprimanded Warren attorney Gilbert R. Rucker III for seven violations of professional conduct rules related to his handling of one client matter. Trumbull County Bar Assn. v. Rucker.

Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion, but only for noteworthy cases. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of court opinions. The full text of this and other court opinions are available online.

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