Employment Law Court Rulings

Arbitration stay cardholder agreement. Under the express terms of the arbitration agreement, the agent of the creditor was not entitled to invoke the creditor's right to demand arbitration because the terms limited arbitration as between the debtor and the creditor.

An individual who performs services for another for remuneration is presumed to be an employee of the person for which the services are performed, unless it is proven that the individual is an independent contractor under the common-law test. Whether a worker is an independent contractor or an…

The trial court erred by entering summary judgment under Civ.R. 56 on appellant's claim of sex discrimination because the evidence did not eliminate any genuine issue of material fact regarding the comparability of three male co-workers who were allegedly treated more favorably by appellee, or…

The trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of appellee as to appellant's claim for workers compensation benefits. Appellant was within the zone of employment when she slipped and fell in the parking lot adjacent to appellee's leased office building. Judgment reversed cause remanded.

The petitioner, who had been convicted, in two cases, of the crime of felony murder on a plea of guilty in each case, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming, inter alia, that the respondent Commissioner of Correction and the Board of Pardons and Paroles improperly determined that he was not…

15 The plaintiff, an employee of the defendant city, sought to resolve a dispute 16 concerning a lien the city placed on certain settlement proceeds that 17 he had received as a result of a motor vehicle accident that occurred 18 in 2016. At all relevant times, the city was self-insured and paid…

Pursuant to its statutory responsibility under R.C. 2506.04, the common pleas court considered the entire record and evaluated all evidence as to witness credibility, the probative character of the evidence, and the weight to be afforded the evidence, and gave due deference to civil service…

The plaintiffs served a subpoena on the defendant L in Connecticut to depose her in connection with an action the plaintiffs were litigating in Florida against a company owned by L, after a Florida court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to subpoena L, who resided primarily in Connecticut. L filed…

The Industrial Commission did not abuse its discretion in determining that relator's employer did not violate a specific safety requirement set forth in Ohio Adm.Code 4123:1-3-03(J)(1). The magistrate erred in finding the record does not contain some evidence supporting the Industrial Commission's…

For purposes of R.C. 4123.512(H), a VSSR award is "compensation" as that term is used in this statute. Following a determination that a VSSR award has been erroneously paid by an employer, R.C. 4123.512(H) authorizes the reimbursement of that award from the surplus fund.

A personal guaranty allowing the guarantee to proceed directly against the guarantor without first proceeding against the principal is absolute and unconditional. Under an absolute guaranty, the guarantor is liable to the guarantee immediately upon the default of the principal. A decision on an…

CIVIL - Open Meetings Act R.C. 121.22 trial court's injunction issued on remand from this court was insufficient to address both ways the Board violated the OMA the determination of whether the violations were technical, substantial, egregious, or made in bad faith was properly left to the…

The plaintiff sought to recover damages for gender discrimination and retal- iatory discharge in violation of statute (§ 46a-51 et seq.) as a result of the termination of her employment by the defendant. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant paid her less than it paid two male employees, whose…

In a reverse race discrimination case argued under a modified McDonnel Douglas framework, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Ohio Reformatory for Women ("ORW") where the plaintiff, a former employee of ORW, could not point to evidence that showed ORW treated her…

The plaintiff mortgage company sought declaratory relief related to the defendant's failure to comply with its corporate bylaws, which required the defendant to satisfy state and federal licensing requirements related to the plaintiff's mortgage loan business. The defendant was a founding…

DIRECTED VERDICT – FRAUD – INFORMED CONSENT – NEGLIGENCE – SUMMARY JUDGMENT – VICARIOUS LIABILITY: The trial court properly granted a directed verdict in favor of a physician on a negligence claim against the physician where the physician had no physician-patient relationship with plaintiff with…

The trial court properly determined that appellant waived its notice of termination of tenancy by accepting rent from appellee after the date appellee's tenancy was to terminate.

Trial court properly granted summary judgment to plaintiff's former employer where plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination, retaliation, and violation of the Family Medical Leave Act.

Arbitration motion to stay parties to the arbitration agreement unconscionability waiver. Appellant's claims regarding the validity of the arbitration agreement lack merit and the trial court properly granted appellee nursing home's motion to stay the proceedings and to enforce the arbitration…

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in regulating the discovery process, or in excluding expert testimony that failed to take into account independent variables that could influence association between age and RIF termination rates. The assignments of error are overruled, and the trial…

Board of Tax Appeals decision reversing determination of Franklin County Board of Revision is reversed, and case is remanded to Board of Tax Appeals for entry of judgment dismissing appeal. R.C. 5715.19(D) does not authorize a board of revision to accept a continuing-complaint challenge to…

The plaintiff, whose marriage to the defendant previously had been dis- solved, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court granting the defendant's motion to modify or to terminate alimony. Pursuant to article 3.2 (a) of the parties' separation agreement, which had been…

In an original action challenging the industrial commission's additional award for violation of specific safety requirement ("VSSR") pursuant to Admin. Code 4123:1-5-05(D)(1), the employer's request for a writ of mandamus is not warranted where the commission did not abuse its discretion in…

Civil stalking protection order R.C. 2903.214 menacing by stalking R.C. 2903.211 preponderance competent, credible evidence ex parte protection order R.C. 2903.214(E)(2)(a) five years issuance. Affirmed trial court's issuance of a civil stalking protection order pursuant to R.C. 2903.214 where…

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE – PRIVILEGE – PEER REVIEW: A hospital failed to meet its burden to show that nurses' employee files were confidential under the peer-review privilege where it failed to show that it had a peer-review committee for nurses, where nothing in the record showed that a peer-review…

The defendant appeals from the judgment of strict foreclosure rendered by the trial court in favor of the second substitute plaintiff, W Co. The defendant initially executed the mortgage in favor of M Co.; J Co. then assigned the mortgage to itself, commenced this action, and thereafter filed a…

The plaintiff sought to recover damages from the defendant for, inter alia, civil theft and unjust enrichment in connection with a $150,000 payment she made on the defendant's line of credit account. The defendant was in the business of collecting rare cars and worked with R, a broker, to find…

CIVIL SERVICE – MUNICIPAL – WRITS – MANDAMUS: Where the city's civil service commission improperly awarded seniority credit to the score of a firefighter who had failed the promotional examination for fire captain, allowing him to post a passing score and receive the appointment, the remedy for the…

Pursuant to statute (§ 51-183c), a judge who has tried a case without a jury in which a new trial is granted, or in which the judgment is reversed by the Supreme Court, may not again try the case. The defendant property owner appealed from the trial court's judgment rendered following a hearing in…