2020 Ohio 2693
Ohio Ct. App.2020Background
- Curry complained to the City from 2012–2016 about bad water, sewer/leakage, yard saturation, and basement flooding; city inspections found her lateral had possible issues but city mains and lift stations were fine.
- Curry reported a gas smell in 2013 and alleged an explosion at the adjacent abandoned house on March 16, 2015; Columbia Gas inspected and found no leak or explosion and the neighbor’s gas had been disconnected since 2011.
- Curry submitted a FAIR Plan homeowner’s claim (March 20, 2015); PT&C|LWG inspected and found no evidence of explosion; FAIR Plan denied the claim and the denial was affirmed administratively; Curry’s appeal to the common pleas court was untimely and dismissed.
- Curry sued Columbia Gas, FAIR Plan, ODI, the City (and Land Bank), PT&C|LWG, and attorney Corley for various torts and administrative relief; defendants moved to dismiss or for summary judgment on multiple grounds.
- The trial court granted motions to dismiss/summary judgment for FAIR Plan (failure to exhaust/timely appeal), ODI (jurisdiction and failure to state claim), PT&C|LWG (insufficient allegations), Columbia Gas (res judicata/no evidence of explosion), and City/Land Bank (sovereign/governmental immunity); a magistrate awarded Curry $1,300 against attorney Corley, which was sustained.
- On appeal, the Tenth District affirmed all trial-court rulings and noted Curry’s appellate brief failed to comply with App.R. 16 (no assignments of error, no record citations, inadequate argument).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FAIR Plan claim denial | Denial was improper; sought coverage for alleged explosion damage | Appellant failed to timely exhaust administrative remedies; denial supported by inspector’s report | Dismissal affirmed for failure to timely appeal to court (exhaustion) | ||
| ODI (Superintendent) | Challenged administrative affirmance; sued ODI in common pleas | Court lacks jurisdiction over untimely/previously dismissed administrative appeals and claim against ODI; complaint fails to state claims | Motion to dismiss affirmed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and insufficient allegations | ||
| Columbia Gas — explosion/liability | Gas leak/explosion caused property damage and structural movement | No evidence an explosion occurred; prior administrative/res judicata reasons; inspections found no gas leak | Summary judgment for Columbia Gas affirmed; no genuine issue of material fact on explosion | ||
| City / Land Bank — negligence & property damage | City/land bank actions (demolition/fill) caused flooding and property damage | Sovereign/governmental immunity bars tort claims against municipalities/land reutilization corp | Summary judgment for City and Land Bank affirmed on immunity grounds | ||
| PT&C | LWG — inspector liability | Inspector/consultant negligently failed to find explosion | Complaint lacked factual allegations specific to PT&C | LWG | Motion to dismiss affirmed for failure to plead facts against them |
| Attorney Corley — malpractice/negligence | Sought recovery for attorney’s conduct | Trial-level magistrate found negligence and awarded $1,300; court overruled objections | Judgment for $1,300 against Corley affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- None (the opinion primarily cites Ohio appellate decisions and court rules without official reporter citations) (court relied on App.R. requirements and precedent to assess procedural and pleading defects)