State ex rel. Fain v. Summit Cty. Adult Probation Dept.

• Decision Date: 05 April 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-2533,94-2533
• Citation: 646 N.E.2d 1113,71 Ohio St.3d 658
• Parties: The STATE ex rel. FAIN, Appellant, v. SUMMIT COUNTY ADULT PROBATION DEPARTMENT, Appellee.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 658

71 Ohio St.3d 658

646 N.E.2d 1113

The STATE ex rel. FAIN, Appellant, v. SUMMIT COUNTY ADULT PROBATION DEPARTMENT, Appellee.

No. 94-2533.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted Feb. 21, 1995.

Decided April 5, 1995.

Appellant, Hayward L. Fain, initiated an action for a writ of mandamus in the Court of Appeals for Summit County to compel appellee, Summit County Adult Probation Department, to remove any and all incorrect information from his probation record and to forward a corrected probation record to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Appellant, an inmate at Grafton Correctional Institution, alleged that incorrect information contained in a presentence investigation report was forwarded from appellee for inclusion in appellant's "Master File in Columbus." Appellant claimed that inaccurate information was contained in the report prepared by appellee which indicated that appellant had tied his stepson to a pole while appellant administered punishment to him, and that this information was later used by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority to deny appellant parole and continue his incarceration for an additional thirty-six months.

On November 2, 1994, the court of appeals granted appellee's motion to dismiss appellant's "complaint" for a writ of mandamus on the basis that appellant "ha[d] not demonstrated a duty on behalf of [appellee]" to provide the requested relief.

This cause is before the court upon an appeal as of right.

Hayward L. Fain, pro se.

Donna J. Carr, Summit County Pros. Atty. and James W. Armstrong, Asst. Pros. Atty., for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

In order to be entitled to a writ of mandamus, a relator has the burden of establishing that he has a clear legal right to the relief prayed for, that respondent has a clear legal duty to perform the requested act, and that relator has no plain and adequate remedy at law. State ex rel. Howard v. Ferreri (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 587, 589, 639 N.E.2d 1189, 1192. In determining whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted, all factual allegations of the complaint must be presumed to be true and all reasonable inferences must be made in favor of the nonmoving party. Perez v. Cleveland (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 397, 399, 613 N.E.2d 199, 200. In addition, in order to dismiss a complaint pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, it must appear beyond doubt from the complaint that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts warranting relief. Id.; O'Brien v. Univ. Community Tenants Union, Inc. (1975), 42 Ohio St.2d 242, 71 O.O.2d 223, 327 N.E.2d 753, syllabus.

Nevertheless, in similar cases, we have held that unsupported conclusions of a complaint are not considered admitted and are not sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. See, e.g., State ex rel. Hickman v. Capots (1989), 45 Ohio St.3d 324, 544 N.E.2d 639 (inmate required to plead specific facts on claimed exception to general rule concerning parole revocation to avoid dismissal of complaint for writ of mandamus); State ex rel. Seikbert v. Wilkinson (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 489, 633 N.E.2d 1128 (inmate required to plead specific facts as to right to release from prison to withstand dismissal of complaint for writ of mandamus); State ex rel. Carter v. Wilkinson (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 65, 637 N.E.2d 1 (inmate required to plead specific facts as to right to declaration of an overcrowding emergency in the state prison system to prevent...