State ex rel. England v. Franklin Cty. Clerk's Office

[Cite as State ex rel. England v. Franklin Cty. Clerk's Office, 2019-Ohio-3495.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO

TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

State ex rel. Richard England, :

Relator, : v. : No. 19AP-175 Franklin County Clerk of Courts, : (REGULAR CALENDAR)

Respondent. :

D E C I S I O N

Rendered on August 29, 2019

On brief: Richard England, pro se.

IN MANDAMUS

BROWN, J. {¶ 1} Relator, Richard England, has filed this original action requesting this court issue a writ of mandamus ordering respondent, Franklin County Clerk of Courts, to provide him with certain public records. {¶ 2} This matter was referred to a magistrate of this court, pursuant to Civ.R. 53 and Loc.R. 13(M) of the Tenth District Court of Appeals. The magistrate issued the attached decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, and recommended this court dismiss relator's complaint for a writ of mandamus. No objections have been filed to that decision. However, relator has filed a June 25, 2019 motion to amend writ of mandamus. {¶ 3} As there have been no objections filed to the magistrate's decision, and it contains no error of law or other defect on its face, based on an independent review of the file, this court adopts the magistrate's decision. Therefore, we dismiss relator's complaint

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for a writ of mandamus. Furthermore, relator's motion to amend writ of mandamus, being without merit, is denied. Action dismissed.

SADLER and BEATTY BLUNT, JJ., concur.

____________________

APPENDIX IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO

TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

The State ex rel. Richard England, :

Relator, : v. : No. 19AP-175 Franklin County Clerk of Courts, : (REGULAR CALENDAR)

Respondent. :

MAGISTRATE'S DECISION

Rendered on April 26, 2019

Richard England, pro se.

IN MANDAMUS ON SUA SPONTE DISMISSAL

{¶ 4} Relator, Richard England, has filed this original action requesting this court issue a writ of mandamus ordering respondent, Franklin County Clerk of Courts, to provide him with certain public records. Findings of Fact: {¶ 5} 1. Relator is an inmate currently incarcerated at Madison Correctional Institution.

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{¶ 6} 2. Relator filed this complaint on March 26, 2019. At the time he filed this complaint, relator did file an affidavit of indigency; however, relator failed to attach thereto an affidavit including a statement of the amount in his inmate account for each of the preceding six months, as certified by the institutional cashier, and a statement of all other cash and things of value owned by the inmate.

Conclusions of Law: {¶ 7} The magistrate recommends that this court sua sponte dismiss this action because relator has failed to comply with the requirements of R.C. 2969.25(C). {¶ 8} In regard to filing fees, R.C. 2969.25(C) and 2969.22 distinguish between paying the full amount of filing fees upon filing (referred to as "prepayment" of fees) and paying the fees pursuant to periodic deductions from the inmate's account maintained by the prison.1 Under R.C. 2969.25(C), an inmate who seeks waiver of prepayment on grounds of indigency must file an affidavit that includes: (1) a statement of the amount in the inmate's account for each of the preceding six months as certified by the institutional cashier, and (2) a statement of all other cash and things of value owned by the inmate. {¶ 9} Compliance with the provisions of R.C. 2969.25 is mandatory and failure to satisfy the statutory requirements is grounds for dismissal of the action. State ex rel. Washington v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth., 87 Ohio St.3d 258 (1999); State ex rel. Zanders v. Ohio Parole Bd., 82 Ohio St.3d 421 (1998); State ex rel. Alford v. Winters, 80 Ohio St.3d 285 (1997). {¶ 10} In State ex rel. Pamer v. Collier, 108 Ohio St.3d 492, 2006-Ohio-1507, the Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals from Medina County which had dismissed the complaint of George D. Pamer, an inmate at Mansfield Correctional Institution, for his failure to comply with the requirements of R.C. 2969.25(C). Specifically, the court stated: Pamer's cashier statement did not set forth the account balance for the month immediately preceding his mandamus complaint - August 2005. See R.C. 2969.25(C)(1), which requires an inmate filing a civil action against a government employee seeking waiver of prepayment of court filing fees to

1Under the statute, when the inmate has submitted the requisite affidavit of indigency, the clerk charges the inmate's account for funds in excess of ten dollars. Following that payment, all income in the inmate's account (excluding the ten dollars) is forwarded to the clerk each month until the fees are paid.

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file a "statement that sets forth the balance in the inmate account for each of the preceding six months, as certified by the institutional cashier." Pamer's failure to comply with R.C. 2969.25(C)(1) warranted dismissal of the complaint. State ex rel. Foster v. Belmont Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 107 Ohio St.3d 195, 2005-Ohio-6184, 837 N.E.2d 777, ¶ 5. Id. at ¶ 5-7.

{¶ 11} Likewise, in State ex rel. Ridenour v. Brunsman, 117 Ohio St.3d 260, 2008- Ohio-854, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Ross County Court of Appeals which had dismissed the complaint filed by William L. Ridenour because of his failure to comply with R.C. 2969.25(C). In that case, Ridenour had filed a motion for reconsideration attaching a statement setting forth his inmate account balance for the six months preceding the filing of his complaint; however, the statement was not certified by the institutional cashier. In affirming the judgment of the appellate court, the Supreme Court stated: "The requirements of R.C. 2969.25 are mandatory, and failure to comply with them subjects an inmate's action to dismissal." State ex rel. White v. Bechtel, 99 Ohio St.3d 11, 2003-Ohio-2262, 788 N.E.2d 634, ¶ 5. Ridenour failed to comply with R.C. 2969.25(C)(1), which requires an inmate filing a civil action against a government employee seeking waiver of prepayment of court filing fees to file with the complaint a "statement that sets forth the balance in the inmate account of the inmate for each of the preceding six months, as certified by the institutional cashier."

Moreover, although Ridenour claims that the court erred in failing to grant him leave to amend his complaint to comply with R.C. 2969.25(C)(1), he never filed a motion to amend his complaint. Instead, he filed a motion for reconsideration, which was "a nullity because his mandamus action was filed originally in the court of appeals, rendering App.R. 26(A) inapplicable." State ex rel. Washington v. Crush, 106 Ohio St.3d 60, 2005-Ohio-3675, 831 N.E.2d 432, ¶ 5.

Id. at ¶ 5-6.

{¶ 12} Pursuant to the above-cited authority and because relator cannot cure this deficiency now or at a later date, it is the magistrate's decision that this court should dismiss relator's complaint. Further, pursuant to the above-cited authority, inasmuch as

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relator did not prevail and did not establish indigency, this court should order relator to pay the costs of the proceedings.

/S/ MAGISTRATE STEPHANIE BISCA

NOTICE TO THE PARTIES

Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(a)(iii) provides that a party shall not assign as error on appeal the court's adoption of any factual finding or legal conclusion, whether or not specifically designated as a finding of fact or conclusion of law under Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(a)(ii), unless the party timely and specifically objects to that factual finding or legal conclusion as required by Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b).