State ex rel. Rodriguez v. Lorain County Joint Vocational School

2025 Ohio 127

• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals
• Decided: January 21, 2025
• Docket: 22CA011911
• Status: Published

Opinion

[Cite as State ex rel. Rodriguez v. Lorain County Joint Vocational School, 2025-Ohio-127.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF LORAIN )

STATE OF OHIO EX REL. JASON RODRIGUEZ C.A. No. 22CA011911 Relator

v. ORIGINAL ACTION IN LORAIN COUNTY JOINT MANDAMUS VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

Respondent

Dated: January 21, 2025

PER CURIAM.

{¶1} Relator, Jason Rodriquez, has petitioned this Court for a writ of mandamus

compelling Respondent, the Lorain County Joint Vocational School District, to convert his limited

teaching contract to a continuing contract. The District has moved to dismiss the petition, and Mr.

Rodriguez has responded. This Court grants the District’s motion to dismiss because this matter

is moot.

Mr. Rodriguez’s Petition

{¶2} Mr. Rodriguez’s petition alleges that he was employed by the District under a three-

year limited instructional contract for the school years 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022. He

alleges that he became eligible for continuing-contract status in January 2021; that he informed

the District of his eligibility; and that by operation of law, his reemployment for the 2021-2022

school year was under a continuing contract. Mr. Rodriguez also alleges that, by operation of law,

his one-year limited contract of employment for the 2022-2023 school was under a continuing C.A. No. 22CA011911 Page 2 of 4

contract. According to Mr. Rodriguez, the District refused to enter into a continuing contract with

him for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. His complaint maintains that he had a clear legal right to

employment under a continuing contract for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, that the District had a

corresponding clear legal duty to employ him under a continuing contract for those terms, and that

he did not have an adequate remedy at all. Consequently, Mr. Rodriguez petitioned this Court for

a writ directing the District to employ him under a continuing contract for the 2021-2022 and 2022-

2023 school years.

Requirements for a Writ of Mandamus

{¶3} The appropriate vehicle to secure rights under R.C. 3319.08 is mandamus. See

State ex rel. Voss v. Northwest Loc. Bd. of Educ., 66 Ohio St.2d 274, 276-277 (1981). To establish

that he is entitled to a writ of mandamus, Mr. Rodriguez must therefore demonstrate that he has a

clear legal right to the relief that he has requested, that the District has a clear legal duty to provide

it, and that he has no adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. State ex rel. Singer v. Fairland

Loc. School Dist. Bd. of Educ., 2017-Ohio-8368, ¶ 7.

The Mootness Doctrine

{¶4} It is this Court’s duty to decide actual controversies, and when an actual controversy

no longer exists, we must dismiss a case as moot. State ex rel. Grendell v. Geauga Cty. Bd. of

Commrs., 2022-Ohio-2833, ¶ 9. “Mandamus will not issue to compel a vain act.” State ex rel.

Burdons v. Beachwood, 2022-Ohio-748, ¶ 14. The Supreme Court of Ohio has observed that “[a]n

act is in vain when the underlying dispute has become moot, such that relief in the pending lawsuit

would not affect the outcome.” Id. Stated differently, “A case is moot when ‘“without any fault

of the defendant, an event occurs which renders it impossible for [a] court, if it should decide the

case in favor of the plaintiff, to grant him any effectual relief whatever.”’” State ex rel. Wood v. C.A. No. 22CA011911 Page 3 of 4

Rocky River, 2021-Ohio-3313, ¶ 13, quoting State ex rel. Eliza Jennings, Inc. v. Noble, 49 Ohio

St.3d 71, 74 (1990).

{¶5} When this Court declines to exercise jurisdiction over a moot question, we do not

reach the issue of whether the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

Tavenner v. Pittsfield Twp. Bd. of Trustees, 2022-Ohio-4444, ¶ 7 (9th Dist.). Although a court

cannot rely on evidence outside the complaint in determining a Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion, a court

can rely on extrinsic evidence to determine that a matter is moot. State ex rel. Ames v. Summit

Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 2020-Ohio-354, ¶ 5-6. See also State ex rel. Richard v. Wells, 64

Ohio St.3d 76 (1992) (concluding that mootness can be determined based on evidence submitted

by the parties).

Mr. Rodriguez’s Petition is Moot

{¶6} In its motion to dismiss, the District maintained that Mr. Rodriguez’s petition is

moot because the District terminated his employment on January 30, 2023. The District provided

this Court with minutes of a special board meeting conducted on that date that indicated a pre-

disciplinary hearing had been scheduled, but Mr. Rodriguez did not attend. The minutes also

included a resolution to suspend Mr. Rodriguez without pay pending termination for cause. Mr.

Rodriguez’s response did not deny that his employment had been terminated, but he argued that

his petition was not moot as a result. Specifically, he argues that under R.C. 3319.11(B), having

been granted continuing-contract status by the District would shorten the amount of time that he

had to wait to obtain that status in a subsequent teaching position.

{¶7} R.C. 3319.11(B) provides that continuing-contract status can be granted to teachers

who are qualified under R.C. 3319.08(D) and who have taught in a district for at least three of the

last five years. As Mr. Rodriguez suggests, that period of employment is shortened to two years C.A. No. 22CA011911 Page 4 of 4

for “those teachers who, having attained continuing contract status elsewhere, have served two

years in the district or center . . . .” Nonetheless, Mr. Rodriguez’s employment with the District

was terminated for cause. He no longer is party to a contract of any kind with the District. This

Court cannot give him the relief that he requests, and this Court cannot compel the District to enter

into a new contract with an employee who has been terminated for cause. Accordingly, this Court

agrees that Mr. Rodriguez’s petition is moot.

Conclusion

{¶8} Mr. Rodriguez’s petition is moot. The District’s motion to dismiss is granted, and

this case is dismissed.

JENNIFER L. HENSAL FOR THE COURT

STEVENSON, J. FLAGG LANZINGER, J. CONCUR.

APPEARANCES:

JASON RODRIGUEZ, Pro Se, Relator.

NICOLE M. DONOVSKY and ERIN E. BUTCHER, Attorneys at Law, for Respondent.