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• A pain worse than losing (Part 2): Appeal dismissed as moot By Terry Posey   In our last post, we discussed the pain of a dismissal after briefing and oral argument when the court determines the underlying judgment lacks a final appealable order. Less than three weeks later, the Supreme Court demonstrates another painful resolution — dismissing the appeal as moot and limiting the lower court’s decision as precedent only to the parties “inter se.” Appeal dismissed due to moot TRO On April 6, 2022, a unanimous Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in M.R.... More
• A pain worse than losing: Dismissal for lack of a final appealable order By Terry Posey   On March 16, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in Rachel Davis v. Tammie Nathaniel, a case in which a biological aunt was seeking companionship status and visitation of her sister’s three children, who were adopted by another aunt when their mother passed away in 2013. The appeal was dismissed for lacking a final appealable order on a 6-1 vote. Justice Brunner dissented with a written opinion. Dismissals are not uncommon – the sad part is... More
• Five (or more) questions with a judge: Second District Judge Chris Epley By Terry Posey   We’re pleased to introduce a new blog feature today: Five questions (or more) with a judge. Judge Christopher B. Epley of the Second District Court of Appeals was kind enough to answer our slightly more than five questions. Judge Epley joined the bench in February 2021, after being elected in November 2020. Ohio Appellate Insights Q: You started your term as judge when the Second District was still conducting remote oral arguments – by phone. Do you like remote oral... More
• Ohio Supreme Court set to answer certified question from federal court By Brad Hughes   In April 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in City of Maple Heights v. Netflix, Inc. & Hulu, LLC, a certified question case. Such cases are governed by Section 9 of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Rules of Practice and only come up a few times a year. In certified-question cases, any federal district court or federal circuit court in the country can ask the Ohio Supreme Court to answer a question of Ohio law that... More
• Pro hac vice pro tip: Ohio Supreme Court requires annual renewal By Terry Posey and Chelsea Weaver   For a variety of reasons, legal clients frequently prefer to use their out-of-state counsel for matters litigated before the Ohio Supreme Court or other Ohio tribunals. For these attorneys seeking to appear in Ohio courts and affiliated local counsel, the end of the calendar year – and the beginning of the next one – can come with harsh reminders about the timely need to renew pro hac vice registrations. Recent revocation On Feb. 28, 2022 the Ohio... More
• Putting numbers behind Ohio Supreme Court jurisdictional decisions: What percentage of cases are being accepted? By Terry Posey and Cara Brack   OHIO APPELLATE INSIGHTS /stats In our last feature on Ohio Supreme Court statistics, we put numbers behind the question, “How long will it take for the Ohio Supreme Court to decide on a discretionary appeal, or jurisdictional?” If you have not had the opportunity to read that post, we were surprised to learn criminal cases were being decided faster. We have found it is one thing to put numbers to how long it takes to get a... More
• What’s fair game in supplementation at the Ohio Supreme Court? By Ahmad Huda   Last month, Terry Posey wrote on the blog about supplemental authority at oral argument — before the intermediate court of appeals. But what about the Ohio Supreme Court? As there is some time between filing your brief and oral argument, it makes sense you may wish to supplement your brief in some way. Say, for instance, you become aware of new authority issued by a court — whether in Ohio or somewhere else — that supports your arguments or... More
• Ohio Supreme Court grants writs to expose sealed affidavit, prevent use of pseudonym By Brad Hughes   Attorneys frequently navigate choppy waters between the presumption of openness that applies to court proceedings and the insistence of their clients to file a number of documents under seal to maintain the secrecy of information relevant to the proceedings. The fine line between publicity and privacy in litigation Not too long ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a sharply worded reversal when, in the context of a class-action settlement, the district court sealed nearly... More
• FLASH UPDATE: Remote oral argument is back at Ohio Supreme Court By Terry Posey   From April 7, 2020, through Sept. 7, 2021, the Ohio Supreme Court conducted oral argument remotely. This was done mostly through Zoom, but originally the court used a different service. I wrote a post on preparing for remote oral argument at the time. Apparently, in response to rising Omicron cases, the oral arguments set for Jan. 25 and Jan. 27, 2022, have been moved from the Thomas J. Moyer Judicial Center to video conference. The dates, originally set in... More
• Putting numbers behind Ohio Supreme Court jurisdictional decisions: How long do they take? By Brad Hughes, Terry Posey and Cara Brack   OHIO APPELLATE INSIGHTS /stats The Ohio Supreme Court has a few great mysteries. A recurring one is how long you’ll have to wait to determine whether your case will be accepted as a discretionary appeal. The court generally calls such cases jurisdictionals. Jurisdictional memoranda are similar to a petition for a writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court in that you describe why the court should review the case. But, there is one... More