Watts v. Fledderman

2018 Ohio 2732
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 13, 2018
DocketC-170255
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2018 Ohio 2732 (Watts v. Fledderman) 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
Watts v. Fledderman, 2018 Ohio 2732 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

[Cite as Watts v. Fledderman, 2018-Ohio-2732.] IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

LOUISE E. WATTS, : APPEAL NO. C-170255 TRIAL NO. A-1603834 Plaintiff-Counterclaim : Defendant-Appellee, : O P I N I O N. vs. : ANNE M. FLEDDERMAN, Executor of the Estate of : Thomas A. Fledderman, Deceased, : and : ANNE M. FLEDDERMAN, : Defendants-Counterclaim Plaintiffs-Appellants, :

and :

ANNE M. FLEDDERMAN, : Escrow Agent, et al., : Defendants. :

Civil Appeal From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed

Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: July 13, 2018

G. Robert Hines, for Plaintiff-Counterclaim Defendant-Appellee,

Anne M. Fledderman, for Defendants-Counterclaim Plaintiffs-Appellants. OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

D ETERS , Judge.

{¶1} This appeal involves a dispute over the proceeds of a parcel of real

property that was sold in April 2016. Plaintiff-counterclaim defendant-appellee

Louise Watts filed a claim for a declaratory judgment asserting that she was entitled

to the sale proceeds because she was the record owner of the property when it was

sold. Defendants-counterclaim plaintiffs-appellants Anne M. Fledderman,

individually and in her capacity as the executor of the estate of the decedent, Thomas

A. Fledderman, filed an answer and two counterclaims.

{¶2} Fledderman asserted that the decedent Thomas Fledderman was the

equitable owner of the property by virtue of an oral land contract that Watts and her

deceased husband, John Watts, had entered into with Thomas Fledderman on March

11, 1998. Alternatively, she argued that if the decedent Thomas Fledderman had

resided in the property as a tenant from March 1998 until October 2015, the Wattses

had breached what she claimed was a residential lease agreement by collecting

payments in excess of the lease agreement and by charging the decedent for expenses

and obligations that were the Wattses’ statutory responsibility under R.C. Chapter

5321, Ohio’s Landlord-Tenant Act. Following a bench trial, the trial court rendered

judgment in favor of Watts on her claim and Fledderman’s counterclaims.

{¶3} Fledderman raises five assignments of error, contending that the trial

court erred by (1) denying her motion for default judgment on her counterclaims and

granting Watts’s motion to file her answer out of time, (2) adopting verbatim Watts’s

proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, (3) dismissing her counterclaims

with prejudice, and (4) admitting hearsay evidence and rendering a judgment for

Watts that was contrary to manifest weight of the evidence. Finding none of her

assignments of error meritorious, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

2 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

Background

{¶4} In 1998, Thomas Fledderman was operating an antique furniture and

antique art pottery retail business in Mt. Healthy. When his landlord demanded

possession of the retail space and the second-floor apartment that Thomas

Fledderman had occupied, Thomas Fledderman attempted to purchase a commercial

storefront building located on Spring Grove Avenue in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

When Fledderman lacked he creditworthiness to do so, his good friend, John Watts

offered to purchase the building and rent the building it to Thomas Fledderman so

that he could continue operating his business.

The Wattses’ Purchase of the Property

{¶5} In February 1998, John Watts entered into a purchase contract for the

property with Paul G. Schoenharl for $60,000. John and Louise Watts obtained a

$48,000 mortgage from the North Side Bank and Trust Company using their own

credit and an unsecured $20,000 interest-free loan from Thomas Fledderman’s

parents, Raymond and Betty Fledderman. The $20,000 interest-free loan from

Raymond and Betty Fledderman to John and Louise Watts was memorialized by a

promissory note dated February 12, 1998, which stated,

1. Payment of [the] principal shall be made only upon the sale of the

real property located at 3940 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio

45223 and only if the property is sold to someone other than Thomas

A. Fledderman. It is the intention of the Makers and the Payees of this

note that Thomas A. Fledderman shall purchase the within described

real estate at some future date from Makers for the sum of $40,000.00

at which time and upon which occurrence this note shall become void.

3 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

{¶6} On March 9, 1998, the real estate closing for the property was held at

North Side Bank and Trust. Paul Shoenharl’s deed to John and Louise Watts, in

survivorship, was recorded on March 11, 1998.

The Commercial Lease Agreement

{¶7} On March 26, 1998, John and Louise Watts, as lessors, and Thomas

Fledderman, as lessee, entered into a lease agreement for the entire commercial

storefront building located on the property. The lease agreement was executed at

North Side Bank and Trust and witnessed by two bank employees. Under the terms

of the lease agreement, Thomas Fledderman agreed to pay rent in the amount of

$650 per month.

{¶8} Paragraph 4 of the lease contained a right to purchase the property for

the sum of $40,000.00 that was nearly identical to that contained in the Wattses’

promissory note to Raymond and Betty Fledderman:

4. Lessee shall have the right to purchase the real estate at 3940

Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45223 from Lessor for the sum

of $40,000.00 at any time during the term of this agreement. Should

Lessee decide to exercise his right to purchase the real estate for the

sum of $40,000.00, then it is understood by the parties hereto that a

promissory note in the sum of $20,000.00 between Lessor (John F.

Watts and Louse E. Watts) and [(] Raymond A. Fledderman and Betty

Fledderman) shall become void.

Lessor retains the right to sell the real estate to any other

prospective purchaser at any time during the terms of this lease. If

Lessor receives an offer to purchase the premises during the term of

the Lease, or any renewal thereof, Lessee shall have the first right to

4 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

purchase said property for the sum of $40,000.00. In addition, if

Lessor grants an option to purchase, at such time, Lessee may elect to

proceed under the right of first refusal to purchase the Premises for the

sum of $40,000.00. Lessee shall have fifteen (15 days) from receipt of

said offer in which to signify his intention to exercise his right of

refusal to purchase the Premises, otherwise he waives such right.

{¶9} The lease itself used terms consistent with commercial activity such as

business and merchandise and it referred to the lessee’s continued operation at the

leased premises. Additionally, in paragraphs 5 through 11, and 14 of the lease

agreement, Thomas Fledderman, as lessee, assumed obligations consistent with a

commercial lease. As lessee he was required to fully maintain the premises at his

sole expense, including the driveways and public walkways included in or adjacent to

the premises, and to keep them free of all obstructions, including merchandise. As

the lessee he was also required to pay for all utilities and rubbish removal, to carry

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Bluebook (online)
2018 Ohio 2732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watts-v-fledderman-ohioctapp-2018.