Wood v. Dunn

2025 Ohio 242
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 27, 2025
Docket24 CAE 08 0053
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2025 Ohio 242 (Wood v. Dunn) 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
Wood v. Dunn, 2025 Ohio 242 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

[Cite as Wood v. Dunn, 2025-Ohio-242.]

COURT OF APPEALS DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

SARA E. WOOD, ET AL. JUDGES: Hon. William B. Hoffman, P.J. Plaintiffs-Appellants Hon. Craig R. Baldwin, J. Hon. Andrew J. King, J. -vs-

GARY K. DUNN, ET AL. Case No. 24 CAE 08 0053

Defendants-Appellees OPINION

CHARACTER OF PROCEEDINGS: Appeal from the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 22 CVH 08 0420

JUDGMENT: Affirmed

DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: January 27, 2025

APPEARANCES:

For Plaintiffs-Appellants For Defendants-Appellees for Richards And Ponzio LUTHER L. LIGGETT, JR. 5053 Grassland Drive ALLISION L. HARRISON Dublin, Ohio 43016 LIZETT M. SCHREIBER ALH Law Group For Defendant-Appellee Dunn 100 E. Broad Street, Suite 320 Columbus, Ohio 43215 JERRY E. PEER, JR. Peterson Connors 545 Metro Place South, Suite 435 Dublin, Ohio 43017 Delaware County, Case No. 24 CAE 08 0053 2

Hoffman, P.J. {¶1} Plaintiffs-appellants Sarah E. Wood and Brian K. Wood appeal the August

20, 2024 Final Judgment Entry entered by the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas,

which terminated their case against defendants-appellants Gary K. Dunn, AnnaLeisa

Richards, and EmmaLee Ponzio.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE

{¶2} Appellees Richards and Ponzio are the managing members and owners of

Maple Craft, LCC (“Maple Craft”). Appellee Dunn, as the sole employee of Maple Craft,

was authorized to operate the day-to-day activities of the business. Appellee Dunn is the

father of Appellees Richards and Ponzio.

{¶3} On November 29, 2021, Appellants entered into an agreement with Maple

Craft for the construction of a home on a 2.410-acre lot in Delaware County, Ohio, for the

purchase price of $434,255.00. Construction on the home was scheduled to begin on or

about January 17, 2022, and be completed within 210 days, or August 15, 2022.

Construction began as scheduled.

{¶4} On April 26, 2022, Appellee Dunn requested Appellants pay in advance of

work completed. According to Appellants, Appellee Dunn submitted false invoices and

payment affidavits, which misrepresented subcontractors had been paid for the work to

be performed. Appellants paid Maple Craft $103,803.90, in reliance on Appellee Dunn’s

representations. Appellants made the payment to Maple Craft with the expectation the

company would pay the subcontractors. Although Maple Craft had incurred $61,301.90,

in expenses relating to the construction of Appellants’ home, Maple Craft paid only Delaware County, Case No. 24 CAE 08 0053 3

$2,884.02, from Appellants’ $103,803.90 deposit to subcontractors or on invoices for

materials.

{¶5} In an email dated May 31, 2022, Appellee Dunn advised Appellants of

Maple Craft’s intention to cease all work on the construction of the home. Appellee Dunn

explained:

[O]ur cash flow has been very difficult over the last few months * * *

In other words after all money is collected from you and your lender and

then paid out to subs and vendors we will still owe almost $1,200,00, with

no money to pay. * * * At this point Maple Craft has no money. With no

funds and facing that insurmountable deficit there is no other course of

action than to cease operations immediately.

June 6, 2021 Amended Complaint.

{¶6} On July 15, 2022, Maple Craft filed for dissolution, and the company was

placed in receivership. See, Docket, In re Dissolution of Maple Craft, LLC, Franklin

County Court of Common Pleas No. 22-CV-004868. After the receiver filed his final

accounting and all of Maple Craft’s assets had been distributed, the Franklin County Court

of Common Pleas dismissed the matter on June 5, 2023. Unpaid subcontractor invoices

for work done on Appellants’ home totaled $58,417.00. On August 5, 2022, a

subcontractor filed a Mechanic’s Lien against Appellants’ property. Ultimately, Appellants

engaged a new contractor to complete the construction. The cost to complete the

construction was higher than the price Appellants agreed to with Maple Craft. Delaware County, Case No. 24 CAE 08 0053 4

{¶7} On August 11, 2022, while the dissolution matter was pending, Appellants

filed a complaint against Appellee Dunn. Appellants filed an amended complaint on June

21, 2023, adding Appellees Richards and Ponzio as defendants. The amended complaint

asserted claims for unjust enrichment and fraud, and sought to hold Appellees personally

liable through the piercing of the corporate veil of Maple Craft. Appellees Richards and

Ponzio filed an answer and cross-claim against Appellee Dunn on July 19, 2023. The

cross-claim against Appellee Dunn raised claims of fraud, misrepresentation, and breach

of fiduciary duty.

{¶8} On August 22, 2023, Appellees filed a joint motion for judgment on the

pleadings. Via Judgment Entry filed October 16, 2023, the trial court granted the motion

for judgment on the pleadings as to Appellees Richards and Ponzio, but denied the motion

as to Appellee Dunn. The trial court found Appellants did not allege facts sufficient to

show the corporate veil should be pierced as to Appellees Richards and Ponzio. The trial

court further found Appellee Dunn could be held personally liable, and Appellants had

alleged facts sufficient to show Appellee Dunn may have committed fraud or may have

been unjustly enriched.

{¶9} On October 30, 2023, Appellants filed a motion for summary judgment

against Appellee Dunn on the remaining claims of fraud and unjust enrichment. Via

Judgment Entry filed January 2, 2024, the trial court denied Appellants’ motion. The trial

court found genuine issues of material fact remain regarding whether Appellee Dunn

committed fraud. The trial court further found the undisputed facts did not establish

Appellee Dunn was unjustly enriched at the expense of Appellants. Delaware County, Case No. 24 CAE 08 0053 5

{¶10} At a pre-trial on May 13, 2024, counsel for Appellants was provided with a

copy of an agreed judgment entry between Appellees Richards and Ponzio and Appellee

Dunn, in which Appellee Dunn confessed judgment in favor of Appellees Richards and

Ponzio on the cross-claim in the amount of $175,000. Counsel for Appellants voiced his

objection, and on May 14, 2024, filed a written objection to the entry. The agreed

judgment entry was never filed.

{¶11} On May 15, 2024, Appellants filed a motion for reconsideration of the trial

court’s October 16, 2023 judgment entry granting judgment on the pleadings in favor of

Appellees Richards and Ponzio. Appellants set forth three arguments in support of their

motion. First, Appellants requested the trial court reconsider its decision in light of a

decision in a similar case against Appellees in Franklin County, in which the trial court

denied Appellees Richards and Ponzio’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. Next,

Appellants argued the trial court misapplied the legal standard by failing to construe the

allegations in Appellants’ amended complaint as true in reaching its conclusion Appellants

did not allege valid claims against Appellees Richards and Ponzio. Appellants further

asserted discovery in the case revealed Appellees were engaged in a pyramid scheme

and this newly discovered evidence warranted the trial court vacating its decision

dismissing Appellees Richards and Ponzio.

{¶12} Via Judgment Entry filed July 25, 2024, the trial court denied Appellants’

motion.

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Bluebook (online)
2025 Ohio 242, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wood-v-dunn-ohioctapp-2025.