Schutte v. Strittmatter, 2018 Ohio 3472

Robert Schutte (with wife and daughter) sued the City of Green and neighbors over a property dispute; defendants ultimately won summary judgment on the Schuttes’ claims.
Neighbor Brian Fitzgibbon filed a compulsory counterclaim against Robert Schutte asserting intentional interference with contractual relations and criminal acts against property.
The magistrate scheduled a bench trial on Fitzgibbon’s counterclaim; Schutte filed a motion for clarification and an objection asserting a jury demand was made in the Schuttes’ original complaint.
The magistrate and trial court concluded no jury demand applied to the counterclaim and the matter proceeded as a bench trial; magistrate found for Fitzgibbon and awarded damages.
The trial court adopted the magistrate’s decisions; Schutte appealed, raising (1) denial of jury trial and (2) legal error on tortious-interference claim. The appellate court reversed on the jury issue and remanded; the tortious-interference claim was rendered moot.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Schutte was entitled to a jury trial on issues raised by Fitzgibbon’s counterclaim	Schutte: a general jury demand in the Schuttes’ verified complaint preserved his right to a jury on all triable issues and was not waived	Trial court/Fitzgibbon: no jury demand appeared in Fitzgibbon’s counterclaim/answer; summary judgment on the Schuttes’ complaint rendered the original jury demand moot	Appellate court held Schutte’s general jury demand survived; trial court abused its discretion by denying the jury demand and remanded for further proceedings
Whether disclosures of accurate information can support tortious interference with contract	Schutte: legal error — truthful disclosures cannot give rise to tortious interference; also argued Fitzgibbon consented to contract cancellation	Fitzgibbon/magistrate: the magistrate found liability on interference and damages	Court declined to decide as moot given reversal on the jury-trial issue

Soler v. Evans, St. Clair, & Kelsey, 94 Ohio St.3d 432 (Ohio 2002) (a general jury demand stands and dismissal of the pleading containing the demand is not a recognized method to waive the jury right)
Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (Ohio 1983) (standard for abuse of discretion review)