State ex rel. Yeager v. McCarty

2021 Ohio 2492
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided July 21, 2021·No. 29626·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

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

STATE OF OHIO EX REL. ANDRE C.A. No. 29626 YEAGER

Relator v.

HON. ALISON MCCARTY, JUDGE, ORIGINAL ACTION IN ET AL. MANDAMUS AND PROHIBITION

Respondents

Dated: July 21, 2021

PER CURIAM.

{¶1} Relator, Andre Yeager, has petitioned this Court for writs of mandamus and prohibition to compel Respondents, Judge Alison McCarty and Judge Richard Reinbold, to vacate and stop enforcement of two journal entries. Respondents have moved to dismiss pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6). Mr. Yeager responded to the motion to dismiss. For the following reasons, this Court grants the motion to dismiss.

{¶2} When this Court reviews a motion to dismiss under Civ.R. 12(B)(6), we must generally presume that all of the factual allegations in the petition are true and make all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. State ex rel. Seikbert v. Wilkinson, 69 Ohio St.3d 489, 490 (1994). A petition can only be dismissed when, having

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viewed the complaint in this way, it appears beyond doubt that the relator can prove no set of facts that would entitle him to the relief requested. Goudlock v. Voorhies, 119 Ohio St.3d 389, 2008-Ohio-4787, ¶ 7.

Mr. Yeager’s Complaint

{¶3} Mr. Yeager filed a lengthy complaint. Many of the paragraphs repeat the same allegations or conclusions. Because Ohio is a notice-pleading state, a plaintiff is not ordinarily required to plead operative facts with particularity. Cincinnati v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp., 95 Ohio St.3d 416, 2002-Ohio-2480, ¶ 29. Under the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint need only contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the party is entitled to relief.” Civ.R. 8(A)(1).

{¶4} Mr. Yeager went beyond a “short and plain statement of the claim” in his complaint. The introduction alone is six pages long, and the entire complaint is well over 300 pages consisting of 745 numbered paragraphs (along with many more that are unnumbered). Notwithstanding the length of the complaint, our focus must be on the facts alleged, not the unsupported conclusions that may be included among factual statements. See, e.g., Newman v. Univ. of Dayton, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 28815, 2021-Ohio-1609, ¶ 54.

{¶5} A complaint must consist of more than bare assertions of legal conclusions.

Copeland v. Summit Cty. Probate Court, 9th Dist. Summit No. 24648, 2009-Ohio-4860,

¶ 10. Allegations must be supported by facts. Conclusions in the complaint that are not supported by factual allegations in the complaint cannot be deemed admitted and are

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insufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. State ex rel. Hickman v. Capots, 45 Ohio St.3d 324, 324 (1989); Mitchell v. Lawson Milk Co., 40 Ohio St.3d 190, 193 (1988).

{¶6} When reviewing the complaint, we may also review the material incorporated into the complaint; it is considered as part of the complaint for purposes of considering a Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion to dismiss. State ex rel. Edwards v. Toledo City School Dist. Bd. of Edn., 72 Ohio St.3d 106, 109 (1995). The attachments serve an important purpose, and a “court is not required to accept allegations in a complaint as true when they are contradicted by documents attached to the complaint.” State ex rel. Washington v. D’Apolito, 156 Ohio St.3d 77, 2018-Ohio-5135, ¶ 10. We must exercise our review of the complaint at the motion to dismiss stage with caution because this is not the time to weigh the facts or to reject a relator’s allegations as false. Id. at ¶ 11.

{¶7} With this standard in mind, we turn to the complaint.

Brief Background

{¶8} According to the complaint, and attachments, Mr. Yeager was indicted in two criminal cases. He was tried before a jury on both cases at the same time. In March 2017, Judge Reinbold, a retired judge serving by assignment, presided over Mr. Yeager’s trial. A jury found Mr. Yeager guilty of various offenses. Immediately after the guilty verdicts were returned, Judge Reinbold orally imposed sentence. On April 12, 2017, two orders were filed that imposed sentence. Those orders were signed by Judge McCarty.

{¶9} In case number CR-2016-07-2429-A, the April 12, 2017 order imposed sentences on Count 1 and Count 6. In case number CR-2016-11-3971, the April 12, 2017 order imposed sentences on Counts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

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Complaint and attachments

{¶10} As mentioned above, Mr. Yeager filed a lengthy complaint seeking writs of mandamus and prohibition. He also filed numerous attachments with his complaint:

1. Indictment for case number CR 2016-07-2429 AB, 2. April 12, 2017 journal entry for CR 2016-07-2429A, 3. April 12, 2017 journal entry for CR 2016-11-3971, 4. Letter from Andre Yeager, 5. Andre Yeager affidavit, 6. First request for admissions, 7. First request for production of documents, 8. First set of interrogatories, request for production of documents, and request for admission, 9. Andre Yeager affidavit, 10. Andre Yeager affidavit of facts, 11. Andre Yeager affidavit, and 12. Transcript of proceedings.

{¶11} The drafting and organization of Mr. Yeager’s complaint makes it difficult to differentiate legal conclusions from facts. Further, Mr. Yeager’s allegations are contradicted by other statements in the complaint and, more particularly, the attachments to the complaint. With that in mind, we summarize the allegations contained in Mr. Yeager’s complaint and attachments.

{¶12} Mr. Yeager was charged in two criminal cases. According to the indictment and April 12, 2017 journal entries that Mr. Yeager attached to his petition, there were seven counts in case number CR 2016-07-2429. The jury returned guilty verdicts on counts 1 and 6; counts 2 and 7 were dismissed by the court and counts 3, 4, and 5 only alleged crimes against a co-defendant. There were four counts in case number CR 2016- 11-3971. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all four counts.

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{¶13} The two cases were tried together before visiting Judge Reinbold in March 2017. After the jury returned guilty verdicts, Judge Reinbold proceeded directly to sentencing. Mr. Yeager attached the transcript of his sentencing hearing to his complaint.

{¶14} Four of the counts in CR 2016-11-3971 involved breaking and entering in local businesses. One of those businesses was Novus Eye Care. When the trial court imposed sentences on these four counts, it referred to the names of the businesses related to those counts, but it only mentioned the count number, “Count 6,” not Novus Eye Care, when imposing sentence on this count. The transcript reflects, however, that Mr. Yeager reviewed the verdict forms and argued to the trial court about his sentence and referred to “Count 6” and Novus together.

{¶15} Later, on April 12, 2017, the trial court filed two journal entries, one for each case. Those journal entries contained a recitation of the procedural history, the findings of guilt, the sentence imposed, and other findings and advisements.

{¶16} Mr. Yeager’s complaint contains eleven enumerated causes of actions.

Some of those causes of action are simply labeled, as the first one is, “FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION.” Others, however, use more descriptive terms: “THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION VACATE APRIL 12, 2017 JOURNAL ENTRIES.” Regardless of whether there is a label or not, the eleven causes of action repeat the same allegations and themes.

Cause of Action Claims First Cause of Action  Correct April 12, 2017 journal entries.

 Clear legal right to be present at sentencing on April 12, 2017.

 Court patently and unambiguously lacked statutory authority to modify

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sentence on April 12, 2017 without him present.

 Court patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to resentence.

 Clear legal right to have Novus Eye Care conviction vacated because no sentence stated in court.

 Court patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to make findings three weeks after sentencing.

Second Cause of Action  Court lacked jurisdiction and plain error by imposing consecutive sentences.

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State ex rel. Yeager v. McCarty, 2021 Ohio 2492 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021).

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