DeVries Dairy, L.L.C. v. White Eagle Coop. Assn., Inc., 132 Ohio St. 3d 516

District court in Northern District of Ohio, Western Division certified a state-law question to the Ohio Supreme Court about whether Ohio recognizes a tortious acts in concert claim under Restatement (Second) of Torts §876.
Question asked: under applicable circumstances, does Ohio recognize a cause of action for tortious acts in concert under §876?
Ohio Supreme Court answered in the negative, holding Ohio has never recognized such a claim under §876 and declines to adopt it for the case.
The majority rationale: Ohio has not expressly adopted §876(b) and would not recognize the claim in these circumstances.
Dissent argues Ohio recognizes a cause of action in concert, citing de facto recognition in Tobias and discussion in Pierce, Boyd, and Schuergerv.
Case involves certified question not facts specific to liability in the instant case; focus is on whether the tort exists in Ohio law.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Ohio recognizes a cause of action for tortious acts in concert under §876	Pfeifer argues Ohio recognizes it; de facto recognition in Tobias; §876 should apply	Ohio has not expressly adopted §876 and has not recognized the tort in prior decisions	Ohio does not recognize the cause of action

Great Cent. Ins. Co. v. Tobias, 37 Ohio St.3d 127 (1988) (tortious acts in concert discussed; de facto recognition considered)
Pierce v. Bishop, 2011-Ohio-371 (2011) (court noted §876 cited but not expressly adopted)
Boyd v. Lincoln Elec. Co., 2008-Ohio-6143 (2008) (discussion of concert of action theory; not adopted)
Schuergerv. Clevenger, 2005-Ohio-5333 (2005) (court declined to address concert claim; not recognizing tort)