In re Disinterment of Irene J. Glass, Deceased; In re Disinterment of Marion J. Glass, Deceased

Summary

The Second District Court of Appeals of Ohio reversed the probate court’s denial of Larry Mullins’s motion to modify a stipulated protective order. The court held that the motion sought modification of the protective order rather than relief from a final judgment under Civ.R. 60(B), and directed the probate court to permit the specified deposition materials to be filed under seal in related stock litigation.

Holdings

1. A motion seeking modification of a protective order is not a motion to vacate a final judgment under Civ.R. 60(B); modification of the protective order is committed to the trial court's discretion.
2. On the record presented, any decision denying modification of the protective order to permit the specified deposition testimony to be filed under seal in the pending stock litigation would be unreasonable and therefore an abuse of discretion.
3. The appellate court did not decide the ultimate relevance, use, or admissibility of the deposition testimony; those issues remain for the court handling the stock-disposition case.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the probate court applied the correct legal standard when it treated a motion to modify a stipulated protective order as a motion for relief from judgment under Civ.R. 60(B).
2. Whether, under the applicable abuse-of-discretion standard, the protective order should be modified to permit specified deposition testimony to be filed under seal and used in related stock-disposition litigation.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded