State ex rel. Varnau v. Wenninger, 128 Ohio St. 3d 361

Varnau sought a writ of quo warranto to oust Wenninger as Brown County Sheriff after the 2008 election.
The Brown County Board of Elections certified Wenninger’s candidacy for sheriff in 2000, 2004, and 2008 without deciding the merits of his qualifications after protests.
A 2004 protest by Sandra Martin against Wenninger was withdrawn; a 2008 protest by Varnau was denied for lack of standing.
Varnau previously filed mandamus; the Brown County Court of Common Pleas dismissed it, and the court of appeals affirmed the dismissal.
Varnau filed the quo warranto action in 2009; the Brown County Court of Appeals granted Wenninger summary judgment in 2010, denying the writ.
The Ohio Supreme Court reversed, holding that the board’s prior determinations were not preclusive because the board did not exercise quasi-judicial authority in those actions and remanded for further proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Do prior board determinations bar quo warranto?	Varnau argues res judicata/preclusion applies.	Wenninger contends prior determinations preclude relitigation.	No; prior determinations were not res judicata because the board did not exercise quasi-judicial authority.
Did the board exercise quasi-judicial authority in the protests?	Board proceedings may be quasi-judicial if hearing-like processes occurred.	There was no proper quasi-judicial hearing in these protests.	The board did not exercise quasi-judicial authority for these protests; thus no bar to relitigation.
Is quo warranto the proper vehicle to challenge a sheriff’s qualifications when the board’s actions are not quasi-judicial?	Quo warranto is the exclusive remedy to challenge an officer’s right to hold office.	If the board’s actions were not quasi-judicial, the remedy may differ and related protections apply.	The court did not decide conclusively on final remedy viability here; it remanded for further proceedings consistent with the holding.

State ex rel. Deiter v. McGuire, 119 Ohio St.3d 384 (2008-Ohio-4536) (quo warranto remedy governs right to hold office)
State ex rel. Battin v. Bush, 40 Ohio St.3d 236 (1988) (basis for quo warranto prerequisites)
State ex rel. Newell v. Jackson, 118 Ohio St.3d 138 (2008-Ohio-1965) (entitlement to office requires establishing unlawful holding)
State ex rel. Paluf v. Feneli, 69 Ohio St.3d 138 (1994) (standing and statutory protest requirements)
State ex rel. Tremmel v. Erie Cty. Bd. of Elections, 123 Ohio St.3d 452 (2009-Ohio-5773) (protests and board authority in elections context)
State ex rel. Wright v. Ohio Bur. of Motor Vehicles, 87 Ohio St.3d 184 (1999) (definition of quasi-judicial authority)
State ex rel. Wright v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections, 120 Ohio St.3d 92 (2008-Ohio-5553) (no quasi-judicial hearing required where not mandated by statute)
Zukowski v. Brunner, 125 Ohio St.3d 53 (2010-Ohio-1652) (standing limitations in party-protest contexts)
State ex rel. Murray v. Scioto Cty. Bd. of Elections, 127 Ohio St.3d 280 (2010-Ohio-5846) (standing and protest-related issues in elections)