Aurora Smile Ctr., L.L.C. v. Schmidt

Summary

The Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment against Corey J. Schmidt for breaching employment-agreement noncompetition and nonsolicitation provisions and engaging in telecommunications harassment. The court upheld a two-year injunction and an award of $59,295.09 in contractual attorney fees. The court held that Schmidt’s challenges to service, deemed admissions, summary judgment, injunctive relief, and fee reasonableness lacked merit or were waived.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in deeming the requests for admission admitted. The record supported a presumption of proper service, and Schmidt's bare assertion that he received nothing beyond the complaint was insufficient to rebut it.
2. Summary judgment was properly granted on appellees' breach-of-contract claim because the deemed admissions conclusively established the employment agreement, Schmidt's violations after termination, and the contractual basis for relief and damages.
3. Summary judgment was proper because no genuine issue of material fact remained and appellees were entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
4. Summary judgment was properly granted on the telecommunications-harassment claim because the admitted facts established that Schmidt knowingly sent communications with the purpose and intent to harass, intimidate, and threaten the recipients.
5. The trial court did not err in issuing the two-year injunction because appellees had filed a motion for preliminary injunction, the motion had been held in abeyance, and the injunction was issued after summary judgment and tailored to the established contractual and harassment violations.
6. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding $59,295.09 in attorney fees and expenses.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court properly deemed appellees' requests for admission admitted despite Schmidt's assertion that he did not receive them.
2. Whether the admitted requests for admission and other evidence established the absence of a genuine issue of material fact on appellees' breach-of-contract and telecommunications-harassment claims.
3. Whether the trial court erred by issuing a two-year injunction when the complaint's prayer for relief allegedly did not request injunctive relief.
4. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in awarding appellees $59,295.09 in attorney fees and expenses.
5. Whether Schmidt waived arguments concerning the validity and reasonableness of the attorney fees by failing to raise them in the trial court.

Disposition

affirmed