Hoops v. United Telephone Co.

553 N.E.2d 252, 50 Ohio St. 3d 97, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 157, 56 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,748, 52 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1135
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedApril 11, 1990
DocketNo. 88-1871
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 553 N.E.2d 252 (Hoops v. United Telephone Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoops v. United Telephone Co., 553 N.E.2d 252, 50 Ohio St. 3d 97, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 157, 56 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,748, 52 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1135 (Ohio 1990).

Opinion

Holmes, J.

The appellant sets forth two propositions of law:

“Proposition of Law No. 1: Section 5 of Article I of the Constitution of Ohio guarantees the right of trial by jury in those cases of the kind triable by a jury prior to its adoption.”

“Proposition of Law No. 2: R.C. 4101.17 establishes a civil action for damages of the kind triable by a jury prior to the adoption of Section 5 of Article I of the Constitution of Ohio.”

We shall discuss both of these propositions together in answering the basic query whether a jury trial is made available to a claimant in an action pursuant to R.C. 4101.17 alleging age discrimination by his employer.

R.C. 4101.17, in pertinent part, is as follows:

“(A) No employer shall discriminate in any job opening against any applicant or discharge without just cause any employee between the ages of forty and seventy who is physically able to perform the duties and otherwise meets the established requirements of the job and laws pertaining to the relationship between employer and employee.

“(B) Any person between the ages of forty and seventy discriminated against in any job opening or discharged without just cause by an employer in violation of division (A) of this section may institute a civil action against the employer in a court of competent jurisdiction. If the court finds that an employer has discriminated on the basis of age, the court shall order an appropriate remedy which shall include reimbursement to him for the costs, including reasonable attorney fees, of the action, or to reinstate the employee in his former position with compensation for lost wages and any lost fringe benefits from the date of the illegal discharge and to reimburse him for the costs, including reasonable attorney fees, of the action. The remedies available under this section are coexistent with remedies available pursuant to sections 4112.01 to 4112.11 of the Revised Code; except that any person instituting a civil action under this section is, with respect to the practices complained of, thereby barred from instituting a civil action under division (N) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code or from filing a charge with the Ohio civil rights commission under section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.”

The appellant argues that Section 5, Article I of the Ohio Constitution guarantees him a right to a jury trial in this cause of action claiming age discrimination and cites Belding v. State, ex ret. Heifner (1929), 121 Ohio St. 393, 169 N.E. 301, in support of this proposition.

This court stated as syllabus law in paragraph one of the syllabus in Belding:

“Section 5 of Article I of the Constitution of Ohio only guarantees the right of trial by jury in those cases where it existed previous to its adoption.”

The court in Belding stated that “[t]hat guaranty only preserves the right of trial by jury in cases where under the principles of the common law it existed previously to the adop[99]*99tion of the Constitution. * * *” Id. at 396, 169 N.E. at 302. This statement, the appellant argues, means that, since the principles of the common law applied to contract and tort actions and since R.C. 4101.17 provides a remedy for an intentional tort and a breach of contract, trial by jury is guaranteed for appellant’s claims, which include a claim for money.

We must reject this argument of appellant, pointing to the following commentary of the court within Belding:

“ * * * The right of trial by jury has uniformly been recognized and enforced in this state in actions for money, where the claim is an ordinary debt, but it is equally well recognized that many special proceedings for the enforcement of a moral duty, where the payment of money is the ultimate relief granted, does [sic] not entitle the parties to a jury trial. Nearly all alimony proceedings are for the recovery of money, and an order for payment of money either in bulk or in installments is usually granted. No one would contend that a jury trial was guaranteed in that character of cases. * * *” (Emphasis added.) Id. at 396-397, 169 N.E. at 302.

It is clear that an age-discrimination action pursuant to R.C. 4101.17 is not an action for money where the claim is an ordinary debt. And, as we will discuss subsequently, this section of law was enacted not to provide legal damages, but only equitable relief.

In Pokorny v. Local No. 310 (1974), 38 Ohio St. 2d 177, 67 O.O. 2d 195, 311 N.E. 2d 866, one of the questions was whether R.C. 163.18, providing for the distribution of compensation in appropriation proceedings, was unconstitutional because it did not provide for a jury trial. This court stated at 179, 67 O.O. 2d at 196, 311 N.E. 2d at 868:

“* * * Pursuant to R.C. 163.18, upon motion by any owner for distribution of the jury award, ‘the court shall hear evidence as to the respective interests of the owners in the property and may make distribution of the deposit or award accordingly.’ (Emphasis added.) Appellee argues, in effect, that insofar as R.C. 163.18 does not allow for a jury trial, it is unconstitutional * * *.”

As to Section 5, Article I of the Ohio Constitution, this court then stated, at 180, 67 O.O. 2d at 196, 311 N.E. 2d at 869:

“* * * It provides that: ‘The right of trial by jury shall be inviolate * * *.’ This constitutional guarantee applies only where trial by jury existed previous to its adoption. Belding v. State, ex rel. Heifner (1929), 121 Ohio St. 393. In Willyard v. Hamilton (1836), 7 Ohio 398, 402, this court determined that there was no common-law right to a jury trial in land appropriations. Consequently, there are no common-law or constitutional bars to our reading of R.C. 163.18.” (Emphasis added.)

In the same vein, this court in Armstrong v. Marathon Oil Co. (1987), 32 Ohio St. 3d 397, 513 N.E. 2d 776, set forth at paragraph four of the syllabus:

“The requirement in R.C. 1701.85 (B) that ‘[t]he court shall thereupon make a finding as to the fair cash value of a share’ dispenses with the requirement of a jury trial in such special statutory proceeding.”

In that case, appellant argued that the court’s refusal to grant a jury trial upon the issue of fair cash value violated Section 5, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. In response, this court determined that there was no right of jury trial under R.C. 1701.85(B), which provides a mechanism for determining the fair cash value of a share of cor[100]*100porate stock. In so doing, this court compared R.C. 1701.85(B) with special proceedings, established by the territorial legislature prior to the adoption of the Constitution, for assessment by commissioners, not a jury, of damages from appropriation. This court went on to state:

“In contrast to appellant’s claim R.C. 1701.85(B) provides that: ‘The court thereupon shall make a finding as to the fair cash value of a share, and shall render judgment against the corporation for the payment of it * * *.’ (Emphasis added.) Quite clearly, this provision dispenses with the requirement of a jury trial and requires that the finding be made by the trial court, with or without the aid of an appointed appraiser.

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Bluebook (online)
553 N.E.2d 252, 50 Ohio St. 3d 97, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 157, 56 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,748, 52 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1135, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoops-v-united-telephone-co-ohio-1990.