State ex rel. Rice v. McGrath, 90-382
| Decision Date | 09 October 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-382,90-382 |
| Citation | 62 Ohio St.3d 70,577 N.E.2d 1100 |
| Parties | The STATE, ex rel. RICE, Appellant, v. McGRATH, Judge, Appellee. |
| Court | Ohio Supreme Court |
In 1985, the city of Westlake cited Brian Rice, appellant, for constructing and maintaining a fence that did not conform to Westlake's zoning code. Rice asked the Westlake Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance for the fence, but the board refused to grant one. After a second hearing, the board declared the fence to be non-conforming.
Rice appealed this finding to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, which dismissed the appeal for failure to comply with a local court rule. The court also denied a motion for relief from judgment.
Then, Rice filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and sought to enjoin Westlake from interfering with his maintenance of the fence. The case was assigned to Judge James J. McGrath, appellee.
The city evidently asked for a dismissal of the complaint. McGrath, finding that the prior administrative action was res judicata, dismissed the complaint with prejudice.
Rice appealed this dismissal to the court of appeals, but the court affirmed the dismissal and apparently returned the case to McGrath. Five months later, McGrath, on Westlake's motion, found Rice in contempt of McGrath's order (that dismissed the declaratory judgment action) "in fact or in the broad spectrum of the ruling." McGrath, after a hearing, ordered Rice to remove the fence or allow Westlake to remove the fence at Rice's expense.
Rice then filed a complaint for a writ of prohibition in the court of appeals to prevent McGrath from taking further action other than vacating the contempt order. The court of appeals denied the writ, ruling that Rice had an adequate remedy at law by appealing the contempt order.
The matter is before this court upon an appeal as of right.
Crede Calhoun, for appellant.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Pros. Atty., and Jerome E. Dowling, for appellee.
Under Zakany v. Zakany (1984), 9 Ohio St.3d 192, 9 OBR 505, 459 N.E.2d 870, syllabus, a court has statutory and inherent powers " * * * to punish the disobedience of its orders with contempt proceedings." Moreover, under Manrow v. Court of Common Pleas of Lucas Cty. (1985), 20 Ohio St.3d 37, 20 OBR 285, 485 N.E.2d 713, appealing a contempt order, pursuant to R.C. 2705.09, is an adequate remedy at law which will result in denial of the writ.
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