Williams v. State, Ex Rel.

• Citation: 188 N.E. 654,127 Ohio St. 398
• Decision Date: 20 December 1933
• Docket Number: 24213
• Parties: Williams, Dir. Of Department Of Public Safety, Et Al. v. The State, Ex Rel. Gribben Et Al.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Ohio

188 N.E. 654

127 Ohio St. 398

Williams, Dir. Of Department Of Public Safety, Et Al. v. The State, Ex Rel. Gribben Et Al.

No. 24213

Supreme Court of Ohio

December 20, 1933

Municipal corporations - Civil service - Reinstatement of employees wrongfully persuaded or induced to tender resignations - Mandamus - Payment of unliquidated claim of indefinite amount, not enforced.

Mr John L. Davies, city attorney, Mr. E. W. McCormick and Mr Charles R. Petree, for plaintiffs in error.

Messrs Pugh & Pugh, for defendants in error.

Mr James I. Boulger, for C.C. Williams and D.C. Throckmorton.

BY THE COURT.

Similar actions in mandamus were instituted by each of the relators named to require reinstatement to the position held as an appointee within the civil service in the division of building regulations of the city of Columbus. A writ, as prayed, was awarded in each case by the common pleas court and that judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Upon motion the record was certified to this court for review. By agreement all the cases were certified together as one case in this court, the evidence having been embodied in one bill of exceptions upon which the Court of Appeals decided all the cases, and that is the record before this court.

It is conceded that these relators held their respective positions permanently under the charter of the city and the rules and regulations of the civil service commission. On January 11, 1932, an ordinance was passed by the council of the city of Columbus, which by reason of the absence of the approval of the civil service commission was repassed as an emergency ordinance on February 1, 1932, the object and purpose of which was the reduction in the number of employees in said department from seventeen to eleven. Prior to January 30, 1932, the chief building inspector, who was the head of the division, acting under the direction of his superior, the director of the department of public safety, procured the written resignations of all appointees in his department. These were all signed prior to January 23d, though undated, but, as finally transmitted, each bore the date of January 27, 1932. Each resignation was addressed to the director of public safety and stated that it was "to take effect at your pleasure." The resignations of all but three of said appointees Were on February 1st transmitted by the director to the civil service commission, accompanied by a notice of the provisional appointment of these six relators to their respective positions. Approval thereof was refused by the civil service commission on the ground that thereby said employees would be subject to another examination which would not be required of others whose resignations had been received. Attention was at the same time directed to the rule of the commission under which "employees may be reinstated to the positions from which they have resigned without examination."

The relators had no official notice of their provisional appointment, and on February 6th they were notified of the termination of their services. On February 8th a list of names of persons not therefore regularly...