[Cite as Benedict Firelands Platt, L.L.C. v. FTFT Supercomputing, Inc., 2026-Ohio-678.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT HURON COUNTY
Benedict Firelands Platt, LLC Court of Appeals No. {39}H-25-016
Appellee Trial Court No. CVG2401623
v.
FTFT Supercomputing, Inc. DECISION AND JUDGMENT
Appellant Decided: February 27, 2026
*****
Linda B. Ebersole and John J. Rutter, for appellee.
Paul V. Wolf, for appellant.
***** MAYLE, J.
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, FTFT Supercomputing, Inc., appeals the July 23, 2025
judgment of the Norwalk Municipal Court, striking its Civ.R. 60(B) motion for relief
from judgment entered in favor of Benedict Firelands Platt, LLC. For the reasons that
follow, we reverse the municipal court judgment.
I. Background
{¶ 2} FTFT Supercomputing entered into a commercial lease agreement with
Benedict Firelands Platt. Under that agreement, FTFT leased an industrial building owned by Benedict located at 55 North Garfield Avenue, Norwalk, Ohio. The initial
term of the lease was December 2023 through August 2028.
{¶ 3} On November 18, 2024, Benedict filed a complaint for forcible entry and
detainer in the Norwalk Municipal Court. Benedict alleged that it terminated the lease
agreement effective October 24, 2024, after FTFT defaulted, but despite posting a notice
to leave the premises on October 29, 2024, FTFT had not vacated or removed all its
personal property from the premises. Benedict alleged that FTFT continued to
unlawfully holdover and forcibly detain possession of the premises. It asked the
municipal court to issue a writ of restitution and possession in its favor and against FTFT.
It made no claim for money damages.
{¶ 4} Service of process was completed on November 27, 2024, and a hearing was
set for December 5, 2024. Despite proper service and additional notices, FTFT failed to
appear at the court hearing. In a judgment entered on December 6, 2024, the Norwalk
Municipal Court granted a writ of restitution of the premises. A notice of eviction was
posted on the entry door of the building that same day.
{¶ 5} FTFT did not appeal the ruling of the Norwalk Municipal Court or move for
relief from judgment under Civ.R. 60(B). Instead, on December 20, 2024—two weeks
after the December 6, 2024 judgment was entered—FTFT filed an answer and
counterclaims and a motion for temporary restraining order and permanent injunction.
On December 23, 2024, it filed a first amended answer and counterclaims, with a request
for damages in excess of $25,000, together with a Civ.R. 13(J) motion to transfer the case
2. to the Huron County Court of Common Pleas, on grounds that its counterclaims exceeded
the jurisdiction of the municipal court.
{¶ 6} Despite having already entered judgment on Benedict’s complaint, the
municipal court granted FTFT’s motion to transfer and certified the case to the Huron
County Court of Common Pleas on December 24, 2024. Benedict moved the common-
pleas court to strike and to dismiss FTFT’s pleadings and motions. It argued that because
FTFT filed its counterclaims after the municipal court entered judgment on the sole count
of Benedict’s complaint, there was no cause of action pending in the municipal court. As
such, Benedict claimed, FTFT’s counterclaims must be dismissed for failure to state a
claim under Civ.R 12(B)(6), and its answer and motions must be stricken as moot under
Civ.R. 12(F).
{¶ 7} In a judgment journalized on February 28, 2025, the Huron County Court of
Common Pleas granted Benedict’s motion. It found that FTFT’s answer and
counterclaims, first amended answer and counterclaims, motion for temporary restraining
order and permanent injunction, and motion to transfer were “untimely having been filed
after the conclusion and final judgment on the sole cause of action before the Norwalk
Municipal Court.” It ordered them “stricken and denied pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6) as
they fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
{¶ 8} FTFT appealed the February 28, 2025 judgment of the Huron County Court
of Common Pleas. On June 4, 2025, while that appeal was pending, FTFT filed a Civ.R.
60(B) motion in Norwalk Municipal Court seeking relief from the municipal court’s
3. December 6, 2024 judgment. In a judgment journalized on July 23, 2025, the Norwalk
Municipal Court struck the motion, finding that because the motion was filed in the
municipal court after the case was transferred to the common-pleas court, the municipal
court lacked jurisdiction to address it.
{¶ 9} FTFT filed the current appeal from the Norwalk Municipal Court’s July 23,
2025 judgment. On October 14, 2025, it voluntarily dismissed its appeal from the
February 28, 2025 judgment of the Huron County Court of Common Pleas. In the
present appeal, FTFT assigns the following error:
The trial court erred to the prejudice of Defendant-Appellant in holding that it was without jurisdiction to hear and consider Defendant- Appellant’s Motion for Relief from Judgment and, therefore, striking that Motion.
II. Law and Analysis
{¶ 10} In its sole assignment of error, FTFT argues that the municipal court erred
when it concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider its Civ.R. 60(B) motion. It
argues that the December 6, 2024 judgment of the municipal court was a final judgment
on the merits of the claims, which disposed of all the issues and left nothing for further
adjudication. Although FTFT—through its previous counsel—filed counterclaims then
sought a transfer of the case to common-pleas court, FTFT maintains that the municipal
court lacked jurisdiction to transfer the case because it had already entered a final
judgment on Benedict’s complaint. Likewise, it insists, the common-pleas court lacked
jurisdiction to consider the transferred case because the municipal court had already
4. disposed of all claims against all parties. FTFT contends that the Norwalk Municipal
Court retained jurisdiction to grant relief from its own final judgment.
{¶ 11} Benedict acknowledges that the December 6, 2024 judgment of the
municipal court was a final judgment on the merits, but it maintains that the time to
appeal the municipal court’s transfer order has passed, so “[a]ny arguments on this appeal
concerning the transfer to the Huron County Court are therefore time-barred.” It urges
that under the invited-error doctrine, FTFT cannot now seek reversal of the order granting
its request to transfer. Benedict complains that the appeal of the common-pleas court’s
February 28, 2025 judgment deprived the municipal court of jurisdiction. It claims that
FTFT’s Civ.R. 60(B) motion would interfere with this court’s ability to “reverse, modify,
or affirm” the February 28, 2025 judgment because it would nullify the municipal-court
judgment that formed the basis for the common-pleas court judgment. Finally, Benedict
argues that FTFT was not prejudiced by the municipal court’s judgment striking its
Civ.R. 60(B) motion, and it characterizes FTFT’s motion as a disguised appeal of the
municipal court’s December 6, 2024 judgment.
{¶ 12} FTFT replies that its Civ.R. 60(B) motion was timely-filed, and it timely
appealed the municipal court’s judgment striking its Civ.R. 60(B) motion. It disputes
Benedict’s contention that the failure to appeal the municipal court’s December 6, 2024
judgment precludes it from seeking relief from that judgment under Civ.R. 60(B). FTFT
contends that the invited-error doctrine is inapplicable here because it never appealed the
municipal court’s transfer order. It claims that the transfer of the case was a nullity since
5. final judgment had already been entered as to all the claims before the municipal court.
Finally, it points out that Benedict’s prejudice argument improperly suggests that this
court should itself consider—and deny—the merits of FTFT’s Civ.R. 60(B) motion.
{¶ 13} In its July 23, 2025 judgment, the municipal court concluded that it lacked
jurisdiction to address FTFT’s Civ.R. 60(B) motion. A trial court’s determination that it
lacks jurisdiction to determine a matter is a question of law that we review de novo.
Servpro v. Kinney, 2010-Ohio-3494, ¶ 11 (9th Dist.), citing Ohio Dept. of Taxation v.
Kroeger, 2007-Ohio-2859, ¶ 8 (11th Dist.), citing Burns v. Daily, 114 Ohio App.3d 693,
701 (11th Dist. 1996).
{¶ 14} There are two ways we can approach the issue presented in FTFT’s appeal,
both of which lead to the same result: that the municipal court had jurisdiction to
consider FTFT’s Civ.R. 60(B) motion. The first approach is to focus on the validity of
the municipal court’s purported transfer of the case after granting judgment to Benedict.
The second is to focus on the common-pleas court’s express reason for dismissing the
action—i.e., that FTFT’s pleadings failed to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted because a final judgment had already been entered when FTFT’s pleadings were
filed.
A. The municipal court’s transfer order had no effect because no case remained pending at the time of the purported transfer.
{¶ 15} An answer and counterclaim may not be filed after the trial court has
entered judgment on the sole cause of action before it. See Phillips v. Thompson, 2021-
Ohio-4500, ¶ 14-16 (9th Dist.) (“Ms. Hiner and Ms. Thompson have cited to no authority
6. authorizing the filing of a counterclaim after the trial court has entered judgment on the
sole cause of action before it; let alone authority indicating the same is appropriate when
that sole cause of action must be resolved in a summary proceeding.”). Nevertheless, two
weeks after the December 6, 2024 judgment was entered, FTFT filed an answer,
counterclaim, and various motions in municipal court, and sought transfer of the matter to
common-pleas court. Although the municipal court granted this motion, its transfer order
had no effect because there was no pending case to transfer.
{¶ 16} “It is well settled that a trial court loses jurisdiction over a case after issuing
the final judgment that resolves all claims before it.” In re Criminal Charges Against
Groves, 2018-Ohio-1406, ¶ 22 (4th Dist.), citing Palmer v. Bowers, 2017-Ohio-355, ¶ 11
(9th Dist.). “Thus, after a case has ended, a trial court may not continue to act, absent
specific authority as prescribed by the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure.” Id., citing Allstate
Ins. Co. v. Witta, 2011-Ohio-6068, ¶ 8 (9th Dist.). “If a trial court does act outside of the
specific post-judgment motions set forth in the civil rules, its ruling will be considered
void.” Id., citing Pitts v. Ohio Dept. of Transp., 67 Ohio St.2d 378, 380 (1981) and
Kitson v. Gordon Food Serv., 2016-Ohio-7079, ¶ 7 (9th Dist.).
{¶ 17} The Ninth District considered a similar issue in Servpro, 2010-Ohio-3494,
at ¶ 1 (9th Dist.). In Servpro, the plaintiff gave notice of satisfaction and dismissed its
claim against the defendants. The next day, the defendants filed an answer, counterclaim,
and cross-claim. They also filed a motion for attorneys fees, alleging that plaintiff
engaged in frivolous conduct. They prayed for damages in excess of the jurisdictional
7. limit in the municipal court. Notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff had dismissed its
claim before the defendants filed their pleadings, the municipal court ordered the transfer
of the case to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. The case proceeded for
almost eight months, during which time the parties participated in discovery and the trial
court conducted pre-trials. Ultimately, however, the common-pleas court recognized that
the transfer occurred after the plaintiff dismissed its claim. The common-pleas court
dismissed the case and found all pending motions moot.
{¶ 18} The file was returned to municipal court and the defendants requested a
hearing on their motion for attorneys fees. The municipal court heard argument, then
issued a judgment finding that because the common-pleas court had dismissed as moot
the defendants’ counterclaims, cross-claims, and motion for attorney fees, the municipal
court lacked authority to overturn the common-pleas-court decision dismissing the
motion. The defendants appealed the municipal court’s judgment, arguing that it erred by
failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing on their motion for attorneys fees.
{¶ 19} The Ninth District concluded that the municipal court lacked jurisdiction to
transfer the matter after the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed its complaint. It explained that
there was no case pending when the defendants purported to file their counterclaims and
cross-claims, therefore, there was no case in existence to transfer to the common-pleas
court. As such, the court concluded, the common-pleas court’s judgment finding the
defendants’ motion for attorney fees moot had no effect because there was no case
pending before it. Id. at ¶ 16. The appellate court explained that the motion for attorneys
8. fees was a collateral issue over which the municipal court had continuing jurisdiction,
and it remanded the case to the municipal court.
{¶ 20} Here, as in Servpro, there was no case pending at the time of the transfer.
As such, the transfer order and the common-pleas court judgment had no effect because
the December 6, 2024 judgment was final.1
{¶ 21} Civ.R. 60(B) permits a court to relieve a party from a final judgment, order
or proceeding for the following reasons:
(1) Mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect;
(2) Newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(B);
(3) Fraud . . ., misrepresentation or other misconduct of an adverse party;
(4) The judgment has been satisfied, released or discharged, or a prior judgment upon which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated, or it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application; or
(5) Any other reason justifying relief from the judgment.
A motion filed under Civ.R. 60(B) “shall be made within a reasonable time, and for
reasons (1), (2) and (3) not more than one year after the judgment, order or proceeding
was entered or taken.” “A motion to vacate a judgment must be filed in the court which
1 Importantly, in Schwarzmer v. Mazzone, 2025-Ohio-1246, cited in the dissenting opinion, the defendant’s counterclaim was filed before the plaintiff’s complaint was dismissed. Thus, there was a live counterclaim to transfer. Here, there was not.
9. rendered the judgment.” State v. Harroff, 1976 WL 191092, *2 (8th Dist. July 29, 1976),
citing Perdrix Machinery Sales, Inc. v. Papp, 116 Ohio App. 291, 294 (6th Dist. 1962).
{¶ 22} Here, FTFT’s motion was filed on June 4, 2025—less than six months after
the municipal court’s December 6, 2024 judgment. It was timely under Civ.R. 60(B).
Moreover, it was appropriately filed in the court that rendered the judgment. The
municipal court, therefore, had jurisdiction to consider the motion, and it erred when it
concluded otherwise.
{¶ 23} Benedict maintains that because the time to appeal the municipal court’s
transfer order has passed, “[a]ny arguments on this appeal concerning the transfer to the
Huron County Court are therefore time-barred.” However, “a void judgment can be
challenged at any time.” Lingo v. State, 2014-Ohio-1052, ¶ 25. In any event, even if the
transfer order and the common-pleas court judgment were not void and could not now be
challenged, we would reach the same conclusion based on the common-pleas court’s
disposition of the action in its February 28, 2025 judgment.
B. The common-pleas court dismissed the case because a final judgment was entered before FTFT filed its pleadings.
{¶ 24} Upon transfer of the action to the common-pleas court, Benedict promptly
moved to strike and dismiss FTFT’s answer, counterclaim, and motions because no
claims remained pending in the municipal court once it entered the December 6, 2024
judgment. The common-pleas court granted Benedict’s motion because FTFT’s filings
were all filed “after the conclusion and final judgment on the sole cause before the
Norwalk Municipal Court.” In other words, the common-pleas court ruled that the
10. municipal court’s December 6, 2024 judgment was a final judgment, and the common-
pleas court’s February 28, 2025 judgment did nothing to disturb that judgment. The
municipal court’s December 6, 2024 judgment is the judgment from which FTFT seeks
relief.
{¶ 25} As stated above, “[a] motion to vacate a judgment must be filed in the court
which rendered the judgment.” Harroff, 1976 WL 191092, at *2 (8th Dist. July 29,
1976), citing Perdrix Machinery Sales, 116 Ohio App. at 294 (6th Dist. 1962). Indeed,
“[a] court of common pleas has no power to vacate an order rendered by a municipal
court.” Lingo at paragraph four of the syllabus. Thus, only the municipal court had
authority to consider a motion to vacate its December 6, 2024 judgment, and the
municipal court erred when it concluded otherwise.
{¶ 26} In sum, whether the transfer order and the common-pleas court judgment
were nullities because the municipal court lacked jurisdiction to transfer this case, or
whether the common-pleas court’s February 28, 2025 judgment was effective, the end
result is that the municipal court’s December 6, 2024 judgment was a final judgment.
The municipal court—and only the municipal court—had jurisdiction to consider FTFT’s
timely motion for relief from that judgment.
{¶ 27} Accordingly, we find FTFT’s assignment of error well-taken.
III. Conclusion
{¶ 28} The municipal court’s decision to transfer FTFT’s answer, counterclaims,
and motion to the common-pleas court and the common-pleas court’s judgment were
11. nullities because FTFT’s pleadings and motions were filed after the municipal court
rendered its final judgment on December 6, 2024. Even if the transfer order and the
common-pleas court’s judgment dismissing the action were effective, the common-pleas
court’s judgment recognized and did not disturb the finality of the municipal court’s
December 6, 2024 judgment. Only the municipal court could consider a motion for relief
from its final judgment, and FTFT’s motion was timely-filed under Civ.R. 60(B).
Accordingly, the trial court erred when it concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider
FTFT’s motion. We find FTFT’s assignment of error well-taken.
{¶ 29} We reverse the July 23, 2025 judgment of the Norwalk Municipal Court
and remand for the municipal court to consider FTFT’s Civ.R. 60(B) motion. Benedict is
ordered to pay the costs of this appeal under App.R. 24.
Judgment reversed and remanded.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to App.R. 27. See also 6th Dist.Loc.App.R. 4.
Christine E. Mayle, J. ____________________________ JUDGE Charles E. Sulek, J. CONCUR. ____________________________ JUDGE Myron C. Duhart, J. DISSENTS AND WRITES SEPARATELY.
12. DUHART, J., dissenting,
{¶ 30} I respectfully dissent. I would affirm the judgment of the Norwalk
Municipal Court because the municipal court correctly determined that once it exercised
its jurisdiction and ordered the transfer of the case to the common pleas court on
December 24, 2024, it lacked jurisdiction to rule upon FTFT’s June 4, 2025 Civ.R. 60(B)
motion seeking relief from the municipal court’s December 6, 2024 judgment.
{¶ 31} The majority opinion concludes in this case that the municipal court’s
transfer order had no effect because “no case remained pending at the time of the
purported transfer,” or, alternatively, because the common pleas court’s February 28,
2025 judgment “did nothing to disturb” the municipal court’s December 6, 2024
judgment from which FTFT seeks relief. I believe that both of these conclusions are
faulty because they ignore the fact that the municipal court’s transfer, even if made in
error, vested jurisdiction over the case in the common pleas court, leaving the municipal
court without authority to rule on FTFT’s subsequently filed Civ.R. 60(B) motion.
{¶ 32} “Jurisdiction” includes both “jurisdiction over the subject matter and over
the person.” Pratts v. Hurley, 2004-Ohio-1980, ¶ 11. “[S]ubject-matter jurisdiction goes
to the power of the court to adjudicate the merits of a case, [and] it can never be waived
and may be challenged at any time.” Id. “A court’s subject-matter jurisdiction is
determined without regard to the rights of the parties involved in a particular case.” State
ex rel. Schwarzmer v. Mazzone, 2025-Ohio-1246, ¶ 13, citing Ank of Am., N.A. v. Kuchta,
13. 2014-Ohio-4275, ¶ 19. If a court acts without subject-matter jurisdiction, its orders are
void. Id.
{¶ 33} But “jurisdiction” has also been used to refer “to a court’s exercise of its
jurisdiction over a particular case.” Pratts at ¶ 12. This type of jurisdiction “encompasses
the trial court’s authority to determine a specific case within that class of cases that is
within its subject matter jurisdiction.” (Internal quotation and citation omitted.) Id.
{¶ 34} Thus, the Schwarzmer court has recognized “‘a distinction between a court
that lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over a case and a court that improperly exercises
that subject-matter jurisdiction once conferred upon it.’” Schwarzmer at ¶ 13, quoting
Pratts, at ¶ 10. “[L]ack of jurisdiction over [a] particular case merely renders [a]
judgment voidable.” Id.
{¶ 35} Regarding challenges to an order transferring a case, the Schwartzmer court
made clear that “[a] motion to transfer is not a final order subject to immediate appeal,
but the propriety of a court’s retaining a case after transfer may be challenged for an
abuse of discretion on appeal after a final judgment.” (Emphasis in original.) Id. at ¶ 21,
citing Civ.R. 3(H); State ex rel .Dannaher v. Crawford, 1997-Ohio-72, ¶ 20; see also In
re J.J. at ¶ 15-16 (where alleged erroneous transfer did not affect the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court, appellant had a duty to object and to timely preserve the issue for appeal;
in failing to do so, appellant waived the issue for purposes of review).
{¶ 36} Applying the foregoing authority to the facts of this case, my analysis
would begin with the question of whether the Huron Court of Common Pleas possessed
14. subject-matter jurisdiction in this case. If the common pleas court did possess subject-
matter jurisdiction, I believe the next question would be whether that court improperly
exercised that subject-matter jurisdiction once conferred upon it.
{¶ 37} Common pleas courts are courts of general subject-matter jurisdiction with
power over “‘all matters at law and in equity that are not denied to [them].’” Schwarzmer
at ¶ 14, quoting Saxton v. Seiberling, 48 Ohio St. 554, 558-559 (1891). “In civil cases, the
common pleas courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over all cases involving a value that
exceeds the monetary jurisdiction of the county courts.” Id., citing R.C. 2305.01; R.C.
1907.03.
{¶ 38} R.C. 1901.17 states in relevant part: “A municipal court shall have original
jurisdiction only in those cases in which the amount claimed by any party * * * does not
exceed fifteen thousand dollars[.]” R.C. 1901.22(E) provides: “In any action in a
municipal court in which the amount claimed by any defendant in any statement of
counterclaim exceeds the jurisdictional amount, the judge shall certify the proceedings in
the case to the court of common pleas.[.]” See also Civ.R. 13(J).
{¶ 39} In Schwartzmer, the Supreme Court characterized the transfer of the
appellant’s case from the municipal court to the common pleas court as “putatively
proper” because the monetary value of the damages alleged in the counterclaim exceeded
$15,000. Id. at ¶ 14. In this case, as well, there is no question that the transfer to the court
of common pleas court based on the monetary value of the damages alleged in the
15. counterclaim exceeding $25,000 was “putatively proper,” and, as a result, the court of
common pleas had subject-matter jurisdiction over the case.
{¶ 40} Having established that the common pleas court possessed subject-matter
jurisdiction in this case, I believe the next question should be whether the common pleas
court -- having received the case after the municipal court issued a final judgment on the
merits of Landlord’s complaint for forcible entry and detainer -- improperly exercised its
subject-matter jurisdiction once conferred upon it.
{¶ 41} The Schwarzmer court explained that “If a court has subject-matter
jurisdiction, any error in the invocation or exercise of jurisdiction over a particular
case…must wait to be challenged until appeal of the final judgment.” Id. at ¶ 13, citing
Schlegel v. Sweeney, 2022-Ohio-3841, ¶ 8, quoting State ex rel Huntington Natl. Bank v.
Kontos, 2015-Ohio-5190, ¶ 17 (“The availability of an ‘appeal is considered an adequate
remedy that will preclude a writ of prohibition.’”); see also In re J.J., 2006-Ohio-5484, at
paragraph one of the syllabus (the Ohio Supreme court clarified that in a court that
possesses subject-matter jurisdiction, procedural irregularities in the transfer of a case --
such as the transfer of a case to a visiting judge -- affect the court’s jurisdiction over the
particular case and render the judgment voidable, not void).
{¶ 42} Given the procedure prescribed in Schwarzmer for challenging the exercise
of jurisdiction over a case, I would find that any error in the common pleas court’s
exercise of that jurisdiction should have been raised on appeal of the common pleas
court’s judgment. See id. at ¶13, 21 (stating that if the appellant’s action failed in the
16. common pleas court, he could then “appeal the judgment and challenge the propriety of
the court’s discretionary decision to transfer the case [from the municipal court to the
common pleas court]”). There is no question that when FTFT appealed the common pleas
court’s February 27, 2025 final judgment, it could have challenged the propriety of the
municipal court’s discretionary decision to transfer the case – assuming it had preserved
the issue for appeal in the trial court.2 See id.; In re J.J., 2006-Ohio-5484, at ¶ 15-16. In
light of FTFT’s failure to make such a challenge, I would consider the matter to have
been waived. As jurisdiction remained vested in the common pleas court, I would
conclude that the municipal court was correct in its determination that it lacked
jurisdiction to address FTFT’s Civ.R. 60(B) motion for relief from judgment.
This decision is subject to further editing by the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Reporter of Decisions. Parties interested in viewing the final reported version are advised to visit the Ohio Supreme Court’s web site at: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/docs/.
2 I acknowledge that this might have been an unlikely challenge for FTFT to mount, since the decision to transfer was rendered at FTFT’s behest.
17.