Summary
The Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District dismissed a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to compel the Ashtabula County Auditor to update the tax list and duplicate to reflect an LLC's changed legal name. The court held that R.C. 5301.252 does not establish a clear legal right to such a tax-list change and that R.C. 319.28 does not impose a clear legal duty on the auditor to make the requested change. The court also overruled the relator's motion for summary judgment as moot.
Holdings
- R.C. 5301.252 does not provide a clear legal right to have tax lists reflect a property owner's correct legal name based on an affidavit recorded under that statute. The statute permits affidavits concerning facts that may affect title, including names, but does not establish the correctness of a name for tax-list purposes.
- R.C. 319.28 does not impose a clear legal duty on the county auditor to maintain tax lists reflecting the true owner of record as shown by duly recorded instruments or to change an owner's name based on an R.C. 5301.252 affidavit.
- Relator could not establish entitlement to a writ of mandamus because it could prove no set of facts establishing either a clear legal right to the requested relief or a clear legal duty on the auditor's part.
- Relator's motion for summary judgment was overruled as moot after the court dismissed the mandamus petition.
Questions Presented
- Whether R.C. 5301.252 gives relator a clear legal right to have the tax list and duplicate reflect its current legal name based on a recorded affidavit of fact relating to title.
- Whether R.C. 319.28 imposes a clear legal duty on the county auditor to change the tax list and duplicate to reflect a changed legal name based on a recorded affidavit.
- Whether relator could establish the elements required for a writ of mandamus.
- Whether relator's motion for summary judgment remained justiciable after dismissal of the mandamus petition.
Disposition
dismissed
Cases Cited (20)
- State ex rel. A.N. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Prosecutor's Office, 2021-Ohio-2071, ¶ 8(followed)
- State ex rel. Martre v. Reed, 2020-Ohio-4777, ¶ 12(followed)
- State ex rel. Gordon v. Summit Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 2025-Ohio-2927, ¶ 8(followed)
- State ex rel. Willis v. Sheboy, 6 Ohio St.3d 167, 168 (1983)(followed)
- State ex rel. Fed. Homes Properties, Inc. v. Singer, 9 Ohio St.2d 95, 96 (1967)(followed)
- State ex rel. Gadell-Newton v. Husted, 2018-Ohio-1854, ¶ 6(followed)
- State ex rel. Taraloca Land Co. v. Fawley, 1994-Ohio-456, ¶ 15(followed)
- Bogan v. Keith, 2023-Ohio-4159, ¶¶ 18-19 (2d Dist.)(followed)
- Williams v. McClain, 2019-Ohio-4802, ¶ 11 (2d Dist.)(followed)
- Catawba W., Inc. v. Domo, 75 Ohio App.3d 80, 83 (6th Dist. 1991)(followed)
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