State ex rel. Swain v. Bartleson

2009 Ohio 4690, 914 N.E.2d 403, 123 Ohio St. 3d 125

Opinion

Per Curiam.

{¶ 1} We affirm the judgment dismissing the petition of appellant, inmate Sean Swain, for a writ of mandamus to compel appellee, the inspector of institutional services at Toledo Correctional Institution, to answer his grievances. “The requirements of R.C. 2969.25 are mandatory, and failure to comply with them subjects an inmate’s action to dismissal.” State ex rel. White v. Bechtel, 99 Ohio St.3d 11, 2003-Ohio-2262, 788 N.E.2d 634, ¶ 5; State ex rel. Manns v. Henson, 119 Ohio St.3d 348, 2008-Ohio-4478, 894 N.E.2d 47, ¶ 4. R.C. 2969.25(C)(1) required Swain, who filed a declaration of indigency in which he claimed an inability to pay the costs and fees associated with his mandamus case, to file a statement setting forth his inmate account “for each of the preceding six months, as certified by the institutional cashier.” He did not do so, and his claims on appeal concerning the inapplicability of R.C. 2969.25(A) are insufficient to justify reversal of a judgment that was properly premised in part on R.C. 2969.25(C)(1). We will not reverse a correct judgment simply because some or all of a lower court’s reasons are erroneous. State ex rel. Deiter v. McGuire, 119 Ohio St.3d 384, 2008-Ohio-4536, 894 N.E.2d 680, ¶ 21.

Judgment affirmed.

Moyer, C.J., and Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O’Connor, O’Donnell, Lanzinger, and Cupp, JJ., concur. Sean Swain, pro se. Richard Cordray, Attorney General, and Melissa Montgomery, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.