Dublin City Schools Bd. of Edu. v. Franklin Co. Bd. of Revision
2019 Ohio 1069
| Ohio Ct. App. | 2019Background
- Dublin City Schools Board of Education (BOE) appealed a Franklin County Board of Revision decision to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals (BTA); this court initially reversed the BTA, finding BOE's appeal timely and remanding for further proceedings.
- Lowe's Home Centers (Lowe's) filed an App.R. 26(A) application for reconsideration and a motion to dismiss two business days before this court issued its May 22, 2018 decision, arguing lack of jurisdiction because BOE's notice of appeal did not include assignments of error as required by R.C. 5717.04.
- BOE's notice of appeal did not list any assignments of error; BOE pointed to its docketing statement where it wrote "See Attached," but no assignments were actually attached.
- The court noted the Supreme Court's reaffirmation (Yanega) that R.C. 5717.04's assignment-of-error requirement is jurisdictional, and BOE acknowledged the statutory requirement.
- Because neither the notice of appeal nor the docketing statement contained assignments of error, the court concluded it lacked jurisdiction, granted reconsideration, vacated its prior decision, and dismissed the appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether BOE's notice of appeal complied with R.C. 5717.04 by setting forth assignments of error | BOE: assignments were effectively provided via the docketing statement ("See Attached") | Lowe's: notice contained no assignments; compliance is jurisdictional, so appeal must be dismissed | Court: BOE failed to set forth any assignments in the notice or docketing statement; lack of assignments deprived court of jurisdiction; appeal dismissed |
| Whether this court should grant reconsideration to address Lowe's late-filed jurisdictional motion | BOE: court decided merits before Lowe's motion was fully litigated | Lowe's: filed motion to dismiss before decision; court should consider it | Court: application for reconsideration was appropriate; reconsideration granted and prior decision vacated |
Key Cases Cited
- Matthews v. Matthews, 5 Ohio App.3d 140 (10th Dist. 1981) (standards for applications for reconsideration)
- State v. Owens, 112 Ohio App.3d 334 (11th Dist. 1996) (applications for reconsideration cannot be used to relitigate disagreement with court's reasoning)