Spinner v. Barger, 2017 Ohio 1489

In Nov. 2013 Spinner and Lapadot (landlords) leased residential property to Gregory and Amanda Barger (tenants).
Plaintiffs sued after alleging unpaid rent/fees, utilities, and that tenants unlawfully remained in possession past a May 18, 2015 notice to vacate (vacated May 31, 2015); plaintiffs sought $2,385.10 in damages including repairs for dog damage.
Defendants counterclaimed alleging landlord failed to maintain furnace, unlawfully entered premises, and failed to provide an itemized damage list under R.C. 5321.16.
Bench trial occurred; the municipal court awarded plaintiffs $1,451.02 plus interest and costs but declined to award attorney fees to either party.
Plaintiffs appealed, raising two assignments: (1) trial court erred by not awarding attorney fees under R.C. 5321.05(C)(1); (2) trial court applied incorrect standard and improperly denied recovery for dog-caused damages.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether plaintiffs were entitled to attorney fees under R.C. 5321.05(C)(1) and, if so, whether the trial court abused its discretion in the amount awarded	Spinner: entitlement to mandatory fees and trial court misallocated/denied fees despite finding violation	Barger: (implicit) no reversible error in fee decision; appellee did not file a brief	Court: Plaintiffs were entitled to fees but appellants failed to supply a transcript; absent transcript, appellate court presumes trial court acted properly and finds no abuse of discretion; first assignment overruled.
Whether damages for dog-caused injury should have been awarded (and whether trial court applied wrong standard)	Spinner: entitled to recovery of $668.35 estimated repair costs under R.C. 5321.05(C)(1); landlord need not repair before re-renting to recover	Barger: (implicit) trial court correctly assessed damages and considered wear-and-tear vs. extraordinary damage	Court: Without trial transcript, appellate court cannot review weight/assessment of evidence; presumes trial court's findings correct and overrules second assignment.

Smith v. Padgett, 32 Ohio St.3d 344 (1987) (trial court must determine reasonable attorney fees when mandatory)
C.E. Morris Co. v. Foley Constr. Co., 54 Ohio St.2d 279 (1978) (civil judgments supported by competent, credible evidence will not be reversed as against manifest weight)
Seasons Coal Co. v. Cleveland, 10 Ohio St.3d 77 (1984) (trial court best positioned to judge witness credibility)
Knapp v. Edwards Laboratories, 61 Ohio St.2d 197 (1980) (when necessary transcript portions are omitted, reviewing court must presume regularity of trial court proceedings)
Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (1983) (abuse-of-discretion standard defined)
Bittner v. Tri-County Toyota, Inc., 58 Ohio St.3d 143 (1991) (appellate review of discretionary determinations)
Hartt v. Munobe, 67 Ohio St.3d 3 (1993) (failure to provide complete trial transcript is fatal to manifest-weight challenge)