City of Akron v. Otis K. Krumroy & Sons, Inc.

240 N.E.2d 103, 15 Ohio App. 2d 203, 44 Ohio Op. 2d 366, 1968 Ohio App. LEXIS 364
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 3, 1968
Docket6123
StatusPublished

This text of 240 N.E.2d 103 (City of Akron v. Otis K. Krumroy & Sons, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Akron v. Otis K. Krumroy & Sons, Inc., 240 N.E.2d 103, 15 Ohio App. 2d 203, 44 Ohio Op. 2d 366, 1968 Ohio App. LEXIS 364 (Ohio Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

Doyle, J.

This action was commenced by the city of Akron, in the Court of Common Pleas of Summit County, against Alfred C. Gienow, Director, Department of Public Works, state of Ohio, and Otis K. Krumroy & Sons, Inc., a corporation. A declaratory judgment was there sought “on the following legal questions: (a) Must the state of *204 Ohio submit its plans for approval to the Akron Building Department, when building in the city of Akron? (b) Must the state of Ohio conform to the requirements of the Akron Building Code, when building in the city of Akron; and for other and further relief in law or equity.”

The facts giving rise to the above request are set out in the pleading substantially as follows:

Akron, Ohio, is a “charter city with home rule powers”; Otis K. Krumroy & Sons, Inc., is a private corporation engaged in the business of “ * * * erection and construction of a proposed building on East Market Street for the owner, the state of Ohio, Bureau of Unemployment Compensation”; Alfred C. Gienow is the “duly appointed Director of Public "Works for the state of Ohio and in such capacity is charged with the responsibility for the construction and erection of the proposed subject building on East Market Street.”

The petition continues:

“Plaintiff says further that defendant, Otis K. Krum-roy & Sons, Incorporated, did commence construction on the subject building on East Market Street without first making application and receiving a permit from the Sup-erintendant of Building Inspection for the city of Akron, and denies any legal obligation to do so; and that defendant, Alfred C. Gienow, representative of the owner of the proposed subject building did not make application and did not receive a permit before commencement of construction of the subject building and denies any legal obligation to do so.”

It is asserted by the plaintiff that, under the provisions of the city charter, a department of building inspection was created for such city and that the ordinances of the city, and statutes of the state, require that prior to construction the approval of the building plans be secured from the Municipal Building Department; that neither the builder nor the state Department of Public Works submitted to the city its plans for construction, nor obtained a permit of approval from the city officials; and that the defendants deny a legal obligation to comply with the city ordinances.

*205 After the Court of Common Pleas had overruled a motion of the state Department of Public Works to quash service of summons, the case came on for trial, and the following judgment was entered, from which the instant appeal is taken:

ÍÍ * # #
“The matter was submitted upon the pleadings, evidence, briefs and argument of counsel.
“The court, upon consideration of all of the evidence and law with particular consideration of the statutory laws of this state, answers the questions (a) and (b) above in the affirmative and further finds: that the definition of ‘public building’ in Section 3781.06, Revised Code, includes buddings erected by the state government; and that the Department of Public Works, state of Ohio, is bound by Section 3791.04, Revised Code, and must submit its plans to the Akron Building Department with reference to the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation building and must meet and conform to the requirements of the Akron Building Code.
“The defendant, Alfred C. Gienow, Director of Public Works of the state of Ohio, having appeared specially and having renewed his motion for an order quashing service of summons on him, this court does not find said motion to be well taken and accordingly overrules the same.
i l # # # J >

The appellant Director of Public Works, in his first assignment of error, says:

“The Court of Common Pleas erred in refusing to sustain the motion to quash and in its finding that the Court of Common Pleas of Summit County has venue over a case in which the primary issue involves official acts of the head of a department of the state government of the state of Ohio, specifically the Director of Public Works.”

Pertinent to this claim is Section 2307.35, Revised Code, which, in part, is:

“Actions for the following causes must be brought in the county where the cause of action or part thereof arose:
ii * # #
“(B) Against a public officer, for an act done by him *206 in virtue or under color of his office, or for neglect of his official duty.”

It has been forcefully declared by the Supreme Court of Ohio that this statute “is not only a venue statute but a jurisdictional one as well.” (State, ex rel. Hawley, v. Industrial Commission, 137 Ohio St. 332 at 334.) Consequently, if the challenged conduct of the state official was “done by him in virture or under color of his office,” and the acts of which complaint is made occurred in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, the seat of state government, and the official residence of the Department of Public Works, the Summit County court had no jurisdiction over the action.

By virtue of Section 123.01, Revised Code, the Department of Public Works has power “to have general supervision over the construction of any projects, improvements, or public buildings constructed for the state government, or any department, office, or institution thereof, and over the inspection of materials previous to their incorporation into such project, improvement, building, or works;” and “to make contracts for and supervise construction of any projects and improvements, or construction and repair of buildings under the control of the state government, or any department, office, or institution thereof * *

There are certain exceptions following the above quoted part of the statute, which, however, are not applicable to the case now under examination.

In a decision rendered by this court more than a quarter of a century ago, we held that a mandamus suit to compel the Industrial Commission to grant a rehearing, or to command it to revoke a finding that a Summit County claimant under the workmen’s compensation law is not entitled to further compensation, involves a subject matter of which Courts of Appeals of the state generally have jurisdiction, but a particular Court of Appeals does not have jurisdiction of a particular suit of such character unless such suit is brought in a county where the cause of action, or part thereof, arose; and that, in the case before us, the official acts of the Industrial Commission, which, it is claim *207 ed, gave rise to such a cause of action against it, occurred in Franklin County, and that is where the cause of action arose. State, ex rel. Hawley, v. Industrial Commission, 64 Ohio App. 271. We there applied Section 11271, General Code, to the facts before us.

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Related

State Ex Rel. Hawley v. Industrial Commission
28 N.E.2d 654 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1940)
State Ex Rel. Hawley v. Industrial Commission
30 N.E.2d 332 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1940)
State ex rel. Gregory v. Masheter
208 N.E.2d 926 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1965)

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Bluebook (online)
240 N.E.2d 103, 15 Ohio App. 2d 203, 44 Ohio Op. 2d 366, 1968 Ohio App. LEXIS 364, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-akron-v-otis-k-krumroy-sons-inc-ohioctapp-1968.