State v. Ide

2024 Ohio 5527, 259 N.E.3d 634
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 22, 2024
DocketL-23-1266, L-23-1267, L-23-1268
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2024 Ohio 5527 (State v. Ide) 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
State v. Ide, 2024 Ohio 5527, 259 N.E.3d 634 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Ide, 2024-Ohio-5527.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT LUCAS COUNTY

State of Ohio/City of Maumee Court of Appeals Nos. L-23-1266 L-23-1267 L-23-1268 Appellee Trial Court Nos. CRB2200738 CRB2200855 CRB2300055 v.

Timothy Ide DECISION AND JUDGMENT

Appellant Decided: November 22, 2024

*****

Daniel C. Arnold, City of Maumee Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

Laurel A. Kendall, for appellant.

DUHART, J.

{¶ 1} This is a consolidated appeal by appellant, Timothy Ide, from the judgments

of the Maumee Municipal Court, rendered September 28, 2023. For the reasons that

follow, we affirm the trial court’s judgments, in part, and reverse, in part. {¶ 2} Ide sets forth two assignments of error:

I. Mr. Ide’s conviction for failing to obtain a building permit was not

supported by the manifest weight of the evidence.

II. The trial court abused its discretion when it denied Mr. Ide’s motion for

acquittal pursuant to Crim.R. 29 based on insufficient evidence.

Background

{¶ 3} In August 2017, Ide and Megan Bremer purchased a home for cash in

Maumee, Ohio (“Maumee home”), and the deed was recorded in Bremer’s name only.

{¶ 4} In or around 2018, the City of Maumee became aware that remodeling and

construction was occurring at the Maumee home when Bremer engaged a foundation

repair contractor. The contractor pulled a permit for the job from the city, there were

inspections conducted by the city, then the foundation job “went south” and was not

finished by the contractor. Also, in or around 2018, two additional permits were

obtained, one for electrical work and one for plumbing work at the Maumee home.

Thereafter, construction continued on the Maumee home, but without permits,1 including

the building of a porch/deck.2

1 The record indicates Bremer recently obtained permits, but that has no bearing on this case. In addition, Bremer was issued a mechanical permit on January 1, 2023, for a furnace replacement, which also has no bearing on this case, as Ide was not charged with or convicted of installing a furnace. 2 There are references in the record to a porch and a deck; both terms refer to the same structure. We will refer to the structure as a deck.

2. {¶ 5} On June 28, 2021, the city conducted an inspection of the Maumee home’s

deck. The city subsequently issued a stop work order to Bremer.

{¶ 6} According to Ide, he “was summonsed on October 24, 2022 for ‘failing to

register as a contractor’ (22CRB[]0738) . . . He was also summonsed on December 21,

2022 (22CRB[]0855) for allegedly constructing a deck without a proper permit . . . On

January 26, 2023, he was summonsed for allegedly performing plumbing and/or

electrical work which violated the City of Maumee building code[,]” (Maumee Municipal

Court case No. 23-CRB-055.)

{¶ 7} A bench trial for all of the charges was held on June 21, 2023. Three

witnesses testified: Mark Westcott, Building Inspector for Maumee; Curt Smith,

Information and Technologies Manager for Maumee; and Ide. The judge found Ide

guilty of all of the charged offenses, and Ide was sentenced. Ide appealed.

Bench Trial

{¶ 8} The relevant witness testimony is summarized below.3

{¶ 9} The city called Building Inspector Mark Westcott, who testified that in

Maumee, permits are needed for just about everything other than minor home repairs. If

a homeowner pulls a permit to do work themselves, the homeowner does not need to be a

licensed contractor. Also, a homeowner’s friend can provide “assistance lifting

something or helping move something,” without being a licensed contractor, so Bremer,

3 Additional relevant testimony is set forth in the parties’ arguments.

3. as the homeowner, could have a “family member or something” help her for “a water

heater or something like that, you know, something small.” Ide, however, was not able to

pull a permit himself, because the proper person to pull permits for the Maumee home

were either Bremer, as the homeowner, or a licensed contractor.

{¶ 10} Westcott further testified that Ide never registered as a contractor in the

city, and Westcott agreed that “there is a process that you can . . . register as a contractor

for somebody that’s going to perform work at a premises in Maumee[.]” Westcott

discussed photos posted online on Ide’s Flickr account of the Maumee home, and other

online posts by Ide regarding the Maumee home.

{¶ 11} After the city rested, Ide’s defense attorney made a Crim.R. 29 motion to

dismiss the charges, arguing the two issues on trial were Ide performing work without the

proper licensure, and Ide pulling permits. Counsel asserted, inter alia, that according to

Maumee Municipal Code (“MMC”) 1305.03, the intent of the chapter was for building

construction companies, not private individuals. Counsel claimed the city was trying to

label Ide as a contractor, but no testimony was offered that he worked as contractor. The

Crim.R. 29 motion was denied.

{¶ 12} Ide testified that he and Bremer paid cash for the Maumee home and

Bremer owned it. The Maumee home was in Bremer’s name because he is 20 years older

than she. He posted hundreds of posts on the city’s Facebook page that “we are

performing work with no permits, we need help.” He and Bremer tried to work with the

city, but they did not hear from the city until July 2021. Ide “didn’t know how to do

4. plumbing and electrical so [he] didn’t do it[,]” but he helped the homeowner who did

these projects with her family.

{¶ 13} Ide further testified that he is not a contractor, he was not legally contracted

to do anything, and according to the law, a contractor is in business, but he is not in the

business. He does not have a business address or a business card, and he was never paid

for any work at the Maumee home other than with ‘kisses and pork chops.”

Ide’s Appeal

{¶ 14} We will examine Ide’s assignments of error together, as he presents many

of the same arguments in both assigned errors. We note that Ide sets forth sections of the

MMC in the portion of his brief before the arguments in support of his assigned errors.

Ide did not refer to MMC sections in his arguments, as required by App.R. 16(A)(7)

(“The appellant shall include in its brief . . . [a]n argument containing the contentions of

the appellant . . . and the reasons in support of the contentions, with citations to the

authorities, statutes, and parts of the record on which appellant relies.”) and Sixth District

Loc.R. 10(C) (“Case citations and other legal authorities must appear in the text of the

argument after the point of law for which the case or legal authority is cited, . . . and must

include the volume and page number of the case, and the particular page or paragraph

number where the point of law is found.”). We address Ide’s arguments as presented,

mindful that “appellant has the burden of demonstrating error on appeal[.]” State v.

Knight, 2022-Ohio-1787, ¶ 46 (6th Dist.).

5. First Assignment of Error

Ide’s Arguments

{¶ 15} Ide argues his conviction for failing to obtain a building permit for the deck

was not supported by the manifest weight of the evidence. He contends he should be

found to fit the definition of a homeowner, as a person who owns a home, and, pursuant

to the Maumee building code, as an occupier of the premises.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Sims
2025 Ohio 5827 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Mosley
2025 Ohio 5259 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Gibson
2025 Ohio 5073 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Carter
2025 Ohio 2545 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2024 Ohio 5527, 259 N.E.3d 634, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ide-ohioctapp-2024.