State v. Rock, 2017 Ohio 7294

David V. Rock, Jr. was convicted (Mar. 30, 2015) of a felony OVI and a repeat-offender specification; sentenced to consecutive terms including to an Ashland County sentence.
This court remanded because the trial court failed to make required consecutive-sentence findings; the trial court later ordered concurrent service and this court affirmed.
Rock filed a postconviction petition under R.C. 2953.21 on June 10, 2016; the trial court denied it as untimely on July 26, 2016. Rock did not appeal that denial.
On Dec. 7, 2016, Rock filed a Civ.R. 60(B) motion seeking relief from the July 26 denial, arguing the prison "three-day mailbox rule" (Civ.R. 6(E)) made his postconviction petition timely.
The trial court denied the Civ.R. 60(B) motion on Dec. 28, 2016; Rock timely appealed from that denial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Rock)	Held
Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying Rock's Civ.R. 60(B) motion	Rock improperly uses Civ.R. 60(B) as a substitute for a timely appeal; no grounds for relief	The three-day mailbox rule should make his postconviction petition timely, justifying relief under Civ.R. 60(B)(1) or (5)	Affirmed: 60(B) cannot substitute for a direct appeal; Rock failed GTE requirements and showed no meritorious claim
Whether the mailbox rule (Civ.R. 6(E)) made Rock's postconviction petition timely	N/A (State opposed application)	Mail delay in prison (June 3–6, 2016) excuses late filing	Rejected: Rock did not show that applying the mailbox rule would have changed the untimeliness outcome or that he had a meritorious claim

GTE Automatic Elec., Inc. v. ARC Indus., Inc., 47 Ohio St.2d 146 (three-prong test for Civ.R. 60(B) relief)
Rose Chevrolet, Inc. v. Adams, 36 Ohio St.3d 17 (all three GTE prongs must be satisfied)
Griffey v. Rajan, 33 Ohio St.3d 75 (trial court's Civ.R. 60(B) decision reviewed for abuse of discretion)
Key v. Mitchell, 81 Ohio St.3d 89 (Civ.R. 60(B) cannot be used as substitute for a timely appeal)