State ex rel. Williams Ford Sales, Inc. v. Connor, 94-896

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Ohio
• Citation: 647 N.E.2d 804,72 Ohio St.3d 111
• Docket Number: No. 94-896,94-896
• Parties: The STATE ex rel. WILLIAMS FORD SALES, INC., Appellant, v. CONNOR, Judge, et al., Appellees.
• Decision Date: 26 April 1995

Page 111

72 Ohio St.3d 111 647 N.E.2d 804 The STATE ex rel. WILLIAMS FORD SALES, INC., Appellant,
v.
CONNOR, Judge, et al., Appellees. No. 94-896. Supreme Court of Ohio. Submitted March 7, 1995.
Decided April 26, 1995.

[647 N.E.2d 805]

Page 112

On May 24, 1993, appellant, Williams Ford Sales, Inc., a duly licensed automobile and truck dealer franchised by Ford Motor Company, filed a timely notice of appeal from a decision of intervenor appellee, Ohio Motor Vehicle Dealers Board ("board") in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. The administrative appeal was designated case No. 93CVF-05-3633 and was assigned to appellee, Judge John A. Connor.

On July 2, 1993, after the board failed to prepare and certify to the common pleas court a complete record of the proceedings in the case as required by R.C. 119.12, appellant filed a motion for judgment in its favor. Appellant requested that its initial protest, which it filed with the board against a proposed competing dealer relocation, be upheld. At no time prior to September 24, 1993 had the board attempted to certify its record in case No. 93CVF-05-3633. On that date, Judge Connor denied appellant's motion for judgment in its favor and granted the board's motion to consolidate appellant's administrative appeal with another appeal filed by a separate protesting Ford dealer.

On November 5, 1993, appellant filed a complaint in the Court of Appeals for Franklin County seeking a writ of mandamus to compel Judge Connor to issue a judgment upholding Williams Ford's protest filed with the board. The board was granted leave to intervene, and both it and Judge Connor filed motions to dismiss the complaint. On February 24, 1994, the court of appeals entered judgment granting respondent's motion and dismissed the action.

The cause is now before this court upon an appeal as of right.

Thomas P. Michael, Columbus, for appellant.

Michael Miller, Franklin County Pros. Atty., and Harland H. Hale, Asst. Pros. Atty., for appellee.

Betty D. Montgomery, Atty. Gen., and David B. Clouston, Asst. Atty. Gen., for intervenor appellee Motor Vehicle Dealers Bd.

[647 N.E.2d 806] PER CURIAM.

The board has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the basis that appellant possesses a plain and adequate remedy at law. However, since this is a timely filed appeal as of right, the board's dismissal motion is inappropriate. See State ex rel. Soley v. Dorrell (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 514, 515, 634 N.E.2d 215, 216. Therefore, appellant's motion to strike the board's dismissal motion is granted. However, the board's memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss will be treated as a brief on the merits. Id.

Page 113

In order to be entitled to a writ of mandamus, appellant had the burden to prove a clear legal right to the entry of judgment in its favor in the administrative appeal, a corresponding clear legal duty on the part of Judge Connor to enter judgment in its favor, and the absence of a plain and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. State ex rel. Seikbert v. Wilkinson (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 489, 490, 633 N.E.2d 1128, 1129.

In order to dismiss a complaint under Civ.R. 12(B)(6), failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, after presuming that all factual allegations are true and all reasonable...