State ex rel. Lee v. Trumbull County Probate Court

700 N.E.2d 4, 83 Ohio St. 3d 369
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 14, 1998
DocketNo. 98-411
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 700 N.E.2d 4 (State ex rel. Lee v. Trumbull County Probate Court) 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
State ex rel. Lee v. Trumbull County Probate Court, 700 N.E.2d 4, 83 Ohio St. 3d 369 (Ohio 1998).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Oral Argument

Lee requests oral argument “pursuant to the terms and provisions of’ S.Ct. Prac.R. IX(2)(B).

We deny Lee’s request for the following reasons. First, S.CiPrac.R. IX(2) does not mandate that the court order oral argument in this case. S.Ct.Prac.R. IX(2)(A) provides that in “an appeal that is not scheduled for oral argument pursuant to Section 1 of this rule, the Supreme Court may order oral argument on the merits either sua sponte or in response to a request by any party.” (Emphasis added.) Second, Lee neither established nor asserted any of the usual factors that might warrant oral argument. See State ex rel. McGinty v. Cleveland City School Disk Bd. of Edn. (1998), 81 Ohio St.3d 283, 287, 690 N.E.2d 1273, 1276. Third, Lee does not even specify why oral argument would be beneficial here.

Based on the foregoing, we proceed to the merits of Lee’s appeal.

Prohibition

Lee asserts in his propositions of law that the court of appeals erred in granting the probate court’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismissing his prohibition action. The court of appeals converted the probate court’s untimely Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted to a Civ.R. 12(C) motion for judgment on the pleadings. See State ex rel. Pirman v. Money (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 591, 592, 635 N.E.2d 26, 28.

[372]*372In order to be entitled to dismissal under Civ.R, 12(C), it must appear beyond doubt that Lee can prove no set of facts warranting the requested relief, after construing all material factual allegations in the complaint and all reasonable inferences therefrom in Lee’s favor. State ex rel. Findlay Publishing Co. v. Hancock Cty. Bd. of Commrs. (1997), 80 Ohio St.3d 134, 136, 684 N.E.2d 1222, 1224.

Lee requested a writ of prohibition, which'required him to establish that the probate court is about to exercise judicial power, that the exercise of that power is unauthorized by law, and that denial of the writ will cause injury for which no other legal remedy exists. State ex rel. Jones v. Garfield Hts. Mun. Court (1997), 77 Ohio St.3d 447, 448, 674 N.E.2d 1381, 1382. Lee sufficiently alleged that the probate court had exercised jurisdiction by appointing Neuman administrator of Isaly’s estate and that it was continuing to exercise jurisdiction over the administration of the estate.

Regarding the remaining requirements for a writ of prohibition, the general rule is that absent a patent and unambiguous lack of jurisdiction, a court having general subject-matter jurisdiction can determine its own jurisdiction, and a party challenging the court’s jurisdiction has an adequate remedy by appeal. State ex rel. Kaylor v. Bruening (1997), 80 Ohio St.3d 142, 144-145, 684 N.E.2d 1228, 1231. If, on the other hand, the inferior court patently and unambiguously lacks jurisdiction over the cause, prohibition will lie to prevent the unauthorized exercise of jurisdiction as well as to correct the results of previous jurisdictionally unauthorized actions. State ex rel. Litty v. Leskovyansky (1996), 77 Ohio St.3d 97, 98, 671 N.E.2d 236, 238.

Because the probate court is a court of limited jurisdiction, probate proceedings are restricted to those actions permitted by statute and by the Constitution. State ex rel. Lipinski v. Cuyahoga Cty. Court of Common Pleas, Probate Div. (1995), 74 Ohio St.3d 19, 22, 655 N.E.2d 1303, 1306; Corron v. Corron (1988), 40 Ohio St.3d 75, 531 N.E.2d 708, paragraph one of the syllabus. Under R.C. 2101.24(A)(1)(b) and (c), probate courts have general, exclusive jurisdiction “[t]o grant and revoke letters testamentary and of administration” and “[t]o direct and control the conduct and settle the accounts of executors and administrators and order the distribution of estates.” These provisions, however, do not bestow specific subject-matter jurisdiction to administer Isaly’s estate here.

In this regard, the probate court claimed in its dismissal motion that it had properly assumed jurisdiction over Isaly’s estate pursuant to R.C. 2107.11 and 2113.01. But neither of these statutes confers jurisdiction on the probate court to administer Isaly’s estate. R.C. 2107.11 does not apply because it merely addresses the jurisdiction of probate courts to probate a will. The probate court specifically found that Isaly died intestate. R.C. 2113.01 does not apply because it empowers the probate court to grant letters of administration only “[u]pon the [373]*373death of a resident of this state intestate.” (Emphasis added.) Despite the probate court’s contention that Isaly was domiciled in Trumbull County at the time of her death, this is irrelevant for purposes of R.C. 2113.01 because “domicile” is not synonymous with “residence.” See State ex rel. Overlander v. Brewer (1947), 147 Ohio St. 386, 397-398, 34 O.O. 338, 343, 72 N.E.2d 84, 90; In re Guardianship of Fisher (1993), 91 Ohio App.3d 212, 215, 632 N.E.2d 533, 535. It is uncontroverted here that Isaly was a resident of Hong Kong at the time of her death.

The court of appeals did not rely on either of the statutes cited by the probate court in its motion to dismiss. Instead, the court of appeals held that because the probate court “found that assets of the estate in question were located within Trumbull County, its exercise of jurisdiction was warranted * * The court of appeals relied on our decision in Howard v. Reynolds (1972), 30 Ohio St.2d 214, 59 O.O.2d 228, 283 N.E.2d 629.

The court of appeals erred in holding that the probate court’s jurisdiction was warranted based on Howard. In Howard, 30 Ohio St.2d at 215, 59 O.O.2d at 228, 283 N.E.2d at 630, we expressly limited the scope of the Ohio probate court’s jurisdiction to proceed with the administration of a nonresident, nondomiciliary’s estate to property located in Ohio:

“It is abundantly clear that ‘the power to regulate the transmission, administration, and distribution of * * * personal property on the death of the owner rests with the state of its situs * * *.’ * * * Accordingly, this state, as the situs state, may either transfer the property to the jurisdiction of the domicile state for probate or subject it to its own administration and processes.” (Emphasis added.)

Similarly, R.C. 2129.04 provides that probate court jurisdiction in ancillary administration proceedings of nonresident decedents extends only to Ohio property:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
700 N.E.2d 4, 83 Ohio St. 3d 369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-lee-v-trumbull-county-probate-court-ohio-1998.