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• Appellate practitioners take note: Ohio Supreme Court has rejected mandatory deference to agencies’ interpretations of rules and statutes By Brad Hughes    As many readers of this blog likely will be aware, the doctrine of administrative deference — the extent to which courts may properly defer to agencies’ interpretations of statutes and/or rules — has been a hot topic in recent years in the United States Supreme Court. In Kisor v. Wilkie, for example, the Supreme Court addressed a three-step process for how courts, in litigation, should consider deference to an agency’s interpretation of its own rule, by asking: is the rule... More
• Ohio Supreme Court reminder: Strict rules compliance required for page limits and attachments By Terry Posey    It happens a few times a year – an entry in the Ohio Supreme Court’s daily announcements reads like this: 2022-1310. Leaf v. Leaf. Delaware App. No. 22 CAF 03 0016, 2022-Ohio-3301. Sua sponte, pages 16 through 18 of appellant’s memorandum in support of jurisdiction stricken for failure to comply with S.Ct.Prac.R. 7.02(B) (requiring that a memorandum “not exceed fifteen numbered pages, exclusive of the table of contents and the certificate of service”). Sua sponte, all documents in  appendix of... More
• Don’t forget about AAA’s Optional Appellate Arbitration Rules By Brad Hughes    Not long ago, one of the American Arbitration Association’s vice presidents stopped by our firm to bring us up to speed on some recent AAA developments and the new AAA rules in effect for commercial cases, effective Sept. 1, 2022. We at Ohio Appellate Insights think one of the topics she mentioned during her presentation — “AAA’s Optional Appellate Arbitration Rules” — is worth noting for our audience of appellate practitioners. Arbitration decisions are supposed to be quick and... More
• Ohio Supreme Court allows recovery of appellate attorney fees by prevailing parties who obtain punitive-damage awards and successfully defend judgments on appeal By Chris Riedel    As we noted last week, this time of year brings eventful decision days at the Ohio Supreme Court. And Wednesday, Oct. 12, continued the trend with the Supreme Court’s decision allowing recovery of appellate attorney fees by prevailing parties who obtain and successfully defend punitive-damage awards in Cruz v. English Nanny & Governess School. In Cruz, the plaintiffs initially prevailed in a wrongful termination suit at trial and were awarded compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney fees. The trial... More
• An eventful day at the Ohio Supreme Court By Brad Hughes    As we approach the end of an election year that includes multiple Ohio Supreme Court races, we know that the Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court and their law clerks are hard at work drafting opinions in all cases that have already been orally argued. This diligence is so that the court’s opinions in those cases can be voted on and released before the election may cause changes to the bench in January. We can expect several eventful... More
• A pain worse than losing (Part 3): A jurisdictional defect By Terry Posey    We’ve written before about the heartfelt pain appellate lawyers experience when a case is dismissed after briefing and oral argument at the Ohio Supreme Court. In the first instance, it happened for a lack of a final appealable order. In the second, the court ultimately decided the case had already been mooted. It turns out there’s a third possibility — a jurisdictional defect. Dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction  Although we tend to focus on the state courts here at... More
• Appealing discovery orders compelling production of confidential information By Brad Hughes    As previously posted, Ohio’s final appealable order statute, Ohio Revised Code Section 2505.02, is complex and fraught with traps for the unwary. It can be difficult for counsel to discern or advise their clients with any high degree of confidence whether a given interlocutory decision by a trial judge is subject to immediate appeal, or whether that fight must await an appeal after final judgment. One specific context in which this vexing issue can arise relates to discovery... More
• Appellate mergers and acquisitions (and retirements): The Legally Speaking Ohio legacy By Terry Posey    At Ohio Appellate Insights, we are happy to announce that Porter Wright has “acquired” the long-running and well-regarded blog, Legally Speaking Ohio. Legally Speaking Ohio was run by University of Cincinnati Professor Emerita (and former First District Court of Appeals Judge) Marianna Brown Bettman, who is retiring this summer. Professor Bettman announced the transition here. Since 2012, Legally Speaking Ohio provided analyses of cases pending before the Ohio Supreme Court. Professor Bettman, along with student contributors, previewed upcoming cases,... More
• 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