Hey Listen Mandyhan, L.L.C. v. Trody

CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 18, 2026
DocketL-25-00199
StatusPublished

This text of Hey Listen Mandyhan, L.L.C. v. Trody (Hey Listen Mandyhan, L.L.C. v. Trody) 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
Hey Listen Mandyhan, L.L.C. v. Trody, (Ohio Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

[Cite as Hey Listen Mandyhan, L.L.C. v. Trody, 2026-Ohio-2348.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT LUCAS COUNTY

Hey Listen Mandyhan, LLC Court of Appeals No. {48}L-25-00199

Appellee Trial Court No. CVG-25-08806

v.

Rick Trody DECISION AND JUDGMENT

Appellant Decided: June 18, 2026

*****

Daniel J. Maloney, for appellee.

Rashad Z. Daoudi, for appellant.

ZMUDA, J.

I. Introduction

{¶ 1} Appellant, Rick Trody, appeals from the August 14, 2025 judgment of the

Toledo Municipal Court overruling his objections to the magistrate’s decision granting

possession of the disputed property to appellee, Hey Listen Mandyhan, LLC

(“Mandyhan”). For the following reasons, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and

remand this matter for further proceedings. A. Facts and Procedural Background

{¶ 2} This appeal arises from Mandyhan’s attempt to evict Trody from a parcel of

land it owned in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. The parcel contains a single structure—a

garage that was previously used as an auto repair business. Mandyhan filed a complaint

for forcible entry and detainer of the parcel, pursuant to R.C. Chapter 1923, on May 28,

2025. Mandyhan attached a copy of a “Residential Real Estate Lease Agreement” that

the parties executed on January 4, 2022.1 The lease obligated Trody to pay monthly rent

in the amount of $459.10 on or before the first day of each month. It is undisputed that

Trody paid the monthly rent through March, 2025. Trody did not make the rent

payments in April and May, 2025. As a result, On May 2, 2025, Mandyhan posted a

three-day notice at the property ordering Trody to vacate the property. Trody did not

vacate the property and Mandyhan filed its complaint.

{¶ 3} The matter proceeded to a hearing before the magistrate on July 8, 2025. In

an opening statement, Trody informed the court that he intended to show that the parties

had contemporaneously entered into both the lease and a purchase agreement for the

property, and that these agreements constituted a land installment contract pursuant to

R.C. 5313.02. He noted that if the parties had entered into a land installment contract,

that he was entitled to a ten-day period to repay the arrearage and, that since he had

already paid more than 20 percent of the purchase price, that any proceedings seeking to

1 Mandyhan executed the agreements described herein on December 14, 2021. The parties agree that the agreements were executed “simultaneously” and assign Trody’s signature on January 4, 2022, as the date they became effective. 2. forfeit his interest in the property and evict him had to be accomplished through

foreclosure proceedings rather than a forcible entry and detainer action. Mandyhan

declined to make an opening statement and the matter proceeded to a hearing, during

which Mandyhan’s witnesses provided the following testimony:2

Testimony of Jennifer Marie

{¶ 4} Jennifer Marie testified that she is a representative for Mandyhan. Her

responsibilities include collecting rent from tenants and paying the taxes and insurance on

their properties. She confirmed that Mandyhan is the owner of the disputed property.

When presented with Exhibit B of the complaint, she identified it as the lease agreement

between the parties for the property. The lease agreement required Trody to pay monthly

rent of $459.10 to Mandyhan and, at the time of the hearing, he had been delinquent in

those payments since March 1, 2025.

{¶ 5} She next identified Exhibit C of the complaint as the three-day notice to

vacate that her “associate” Garrison Hill had posted at the property on May 2, 2025.

Trody attempted to make the delinquent payments after he received the notice.

Mandyhan declined them.

{¶ 6} On cross-examination, Marie further described the terms of the lease

agreement, noting that it required Trody to provide a security deposit of $3,000. She

denied knowledge of another agreement between the parties titled “Residential Real

Estate Purchase Agreement.” Trody then presented her with a copy of that agreement.

2 Testimony that is not relevant to our analysis has been omitted. 3. After reviewing the document, she confirmed its basic terms—a down payment of

$3,000, a purchase price of $35,000, and seller financing of $32,000. She next stated that

while the lease agreement stated the rent price, Trody actually paid $570 month. The

additional funds were allocated towards taxes and insurance on the property. The

purchase agreement Trody introduced included a term requiring him to pay the taxes and

“assessments” on the property.

{¶ 7} Trody then introduced a payment ledger prepared by Mandyhan reflecting

his rent payments. Marie could not calculate the total amounts paid according to the

ledger and what the remaining balance of the purchase price would be, assuming the sales

agreement was valid.3 She confirmed, however, that she did not provide Trody with a

ten-day notice to make the delinquent payments.

{¶ 8} On redirect examination, Marie testified that the property was zoned

“commercial.” She then identified exhibit C as “the zoning” for the property, which

identified it as “neighborhood commercial." She also identified Exhibit D as the

definition of neighborhood commercial, providing “[t]he CN * * * zoning district is

intended to accommodate pedestrian oriented small-scale retail and service businesses

that serve nearby residential areas.” Over Trody’s objection, Marie testified that she did

not believe the zoning permitted residential structures. She also recognized the lease

3 Trody requested that the trial court take judicial notice of this and all other calculations referenced during the hearing. The trial court never explicitly ruled on these requests, simply instructing Trody to “proceed.” 4. agreement’s inclusion of a “purchase portion” but concluded that if appellant defaulted

on his rent, that the purchase portion would be terminated.

{¶ 9} On recross examination, Marie could not recall whether there were any other

residential properties in the area. She also denied having any knowledge that appellant

was residing at the property under the lease agreement. She concluded her testimony

through an additional redirect examination by stating that the parties had not entered into

a land installment contract.

Testimony of Garrison Hill

{¶ 10} Mr. Hill testified that he posted the three-day notice at the property on May

2, 2025. On cross-examination, he confirmed that the notice did not provide appellant

with ten days to vacate the premises.

{¶ 11} At the conclusion of Mr. Hill’s testimony, Trody moved for a judgment in

his favor. He argued that the preponderance of the evidence showed that the parties had

entered into a land installment contract and, therefore, that Mandyhan could not proceed

with an eviction that only provided a three-day notice to vacate rather than the ten-day

notice to cure the delinquent payments as required under R.C. 5313.06. He further

argued that because he had paid more than 20% of the purchase price on the contract

through prior rent payments that Mandyhan had to proceed through a foreclosure action

rather than an eviction pursuant to R.C. 5313.07. The court took the motion under

advisement and Trody proceeded with the presentation of his defense, during which the

parties elicited the following testimony:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Johnson v. Maxwell
554 N.E.2d 1370 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1988)
Kassoudji v. Stamps
2016 Ohio 7693 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)
Retirement Mgt. Co. v. Nsong
2017 Ohio 5869 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Slak v. Strozier
2024 Ohio 286 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2024)
American Eagle Invests., Inc. v. Marco's Franchising, L.L.C.
2024 Ohio 3038 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2024)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Hey Listen Mandyhan, L.L.C. v. Trody, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hey-listen-mandyhan-llc-v-trody-ohioctapp-2026.