Morgensen v. Pullin

2026 Ohio 695
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 2, 2026
DocketCA2025-08-071
StatusPublished

This text of 2026 Ohio 695 (Morgensen v. Pullin) 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
Morgensen v. Pullin, 2026 Ohio 695 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

[Cite as Morgensen v. Pullin, 2026-Ohio-695.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO

WARREN COUNTY

DAVID MORGENSEN, : CASE NO. CA2025-08-071 Appellee, : OPINION AND vs. : JUDGMENT ENTRY 3/2/2026 JAMES PULLIN, et al., :

Appellants. :

:

CIVIL APPEAL FROM WARREN COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No. 17CV90599

Hoffer Law, LLC, and Tyler J. Hoffer, for appellee.

DannLaw, and Andrew M. Engel and Marc E. Dann, for appellant.

____________ OPINION

SIEBERT, J.

{¶ 1} Appellants, James and Rebekah Pullin (collectively, the "Pullins"), appeal a

decision from the Warren County Court of Common Pleas, denying their motion to vacate.

We conclude, based on this opinion's reasoning, that the Warren County court had

jurisdiction to resolve this matter, that the Pullins' arguments regarding the effect of the Warren CA2025-08-071

bankruptcy proceedings are without merit, and all of their ancillary assertions are likewise

meritless. Accordingly, the Warren County court did not err in denying the motion to

vacate.

I. Facts and Procedural History

2015 Lawsuit

{¶ 2} This case arises from a dispute between the Pullins and David Morgensen,

Rebekah's father, and James' father-in-law. In June 2015, Morgensen filed suit against

James in the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas ("Clinton County court") following a

failed business partnership (the "2015 Lawsuit"). On March 9, 2017, Morgensen and

James entered into an agreed judgment entry resolving the 2015 Lawsuit in Morgensen's

favor in the amount of $43,162 (the "Settlement").

{¶ 3} At the time of the 2015 Lawsuit, James owned a one-half interest in real

property located at 150 Valley Street in Midland, Ohio (the "Midland Property"), and

Rebekah owned the remaining one-half interest. In March 2016, the Pullins sold the

Midland Property for $148,000 and purchased a new residence at 5355 Harveysburg

Road, Waynesville, Ohio (the "Waynesville Property") for $272,000. Although the Midland

Property had been titled in both of their names, the Pullins titled the Waynesville Property

solely in Rebekah's name.

Fraudulent Conveyance Lawsuit

{¶ 4} On September 11, 2017, Morgensen filed a fraudulent conveyance action

("Fraudulent Conveyance Lawsuit") against the Pullins in the Clinton County court, arising

from the sale of the Midland Property. The complaint alleged that the Midland Property

contained significant equity and that the Pullins transferred that equity from their joint

ownership interest in the Midland Property to Rebekah's sole ownership of the

Waynesville Property, with the actual intent to defraud, hinder, or delay Morgensen in

-2- Warren CA2025-08-071

collecting on his judgment for the 2015 Lawsuit.

{¶ 5} On November 30, 2017, the Pullins moved to dismiss the Fraudulent

Conveyance Lawsuit or, in the alternative, to transfer venue to Warren County, Ohio

because the Waynesville Property was located in Warren County. On December 14,

2017, the Clinton County judge signed an agreed entry the parties had executed, which

stated the matter should be transferred to the Warren County Court of Common Pleas

("Warren County court") pursuant to Civ.R. 3(D).

{¶ 6} On December 15, 2017, James filed for bankruptcy in the United States

District Court ("federal bankruptcy court)" triggering an automatic stay of the proceedings

as to him. The Clinton County Clerk of Courts ("Clinton County Clerk") journalized the

agreed entry described in the preceding paragraph, which authorized the transfer of the

case to the Warren County court on December 20, 2017, at 11:46 am. James filed a

Suggestion of Stay in the Clinton County court on December 20, 2017, at 2:09 pm. On

December 26, 2017, the Clinton County Clerk transferred the case and the corresponding

record to the Warren County court, pursuant to the agreed judgment entry journalized on

December 20, 2017.

{¶ 7} Morgensen thereafter sought relief from the stay in federal bankruptcy court.

Although the federal bankruptcy court denied that request, it clarified that the automatic

stay did not apply to Rebekah or to any action against property1 owned by her, including

1. The parties to this action used the Latin phrase "in rem," which translates to "against a thing." Black's Law Dictionary (12th Ed. 2024). The parties use this to refer to the portion of the relevant lawsuits where Morgensen only pursued relief against the property at issue (e.g., through a lien). "In personam" is the Latin phrase the parties use for any argument related to a judgment or action against James or Rebekah personally—it translates to "against a person." Black's Law Dictionary (12th Ed. 2024). This court finds it important that everyone reading its opinions can understand them, so it generally avoids the use of Latin phrases, especially when they impact a substantive or critical question before the court. Therefore, this opinion will only use "against the [property]" or "against James [or Rebekah] personally" when necessary to distinguish the terms.

-3- Warren CA2025-08-071

the Waynesville Property.2

{¶ 8} On July 24, 2018, the federal bankruptcy court lifted the stay, and the

Warren County court ordered Morgensen to file an amended complaint. The amended

complaint again alleged that the Pullins transferred real estate equity in the Midland

Property to Rebekah with the actual intent to defraud, hinder, or delay the collection of

the Settlement proceeds. It further specified that, in light of James' bankruptcy discharge,

Morgensen sought no relief against James personally; any remedy would be against the

Waynesville Property only, based on James' potential dower interest in it.

{¶ 9} On September 20, 2018, the Pullins sold the Waynesville Property and

purchased a new residence at 1024 Spruce Glenn, Morrow, Ohio (the "Morrow Property").

James and Rebekah held joint fee simple title to the Morrow Property, with rights of

survivorship. Following trial, the Warren County court amended the complaint pursuant

to Civ.R. 15(B), to be against the Morrow Property in order to conform with the evidence

presented.

{¶ 10} The matter thereafter proceeded to a bench trial. On March 5, 2020, the

magistrate issued a decision ("Magistrate's Decision") finding that the Pullins had

fraudulently transferred assets and awarded Morgensen an equitable lien against the

Morrow Property in the amount of $43,162.3

{¶ 11} The Pullins filed objections, but the Warren County court overruled them

and adopted the Magistrate's Decision. In its June 17, 2020 entry ("June 2020 Decision"),

2. Although the action could have proceeded against Rebekah, the record reflects that little activity occurred on the docket. The record shows that Morgensen filed a motion to reactivate the case, to which the Pullins filed a response, and Morgensen filed a reply. The Warren County court subsequently issued a notice scheduling a hearing on the motion to reactivate; however, no further action was taken.

3. The Magistrate's Decision permitted an amendment to the pleadings to conform with the evidence presented at trial, to allow for the imposition of an equitable lien on the Morrow Property. See Civ.R. 15(B).

-4- Warren CA2025-08-071

the Warren County court found that Rebekah qualified as an "insider" under R.C.

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2026 Ohio 695, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morgensen-v-pullin-ohioctapp-2026.