Howell Tax Accounting, Inc. v. Monto

Summary

The Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of a final, appealable order. The trial court’s judgment on the pleadings dismissed the requested constructive-trust remedy but did not resolve any underlying causes of action, and therefore did not satisfy R.C. 2505.02(B)(1); the Civ.R. 54(B) certification was consequently irrelevant.

Holdings

1. An order that precludes a party from obtaining a constructive trust, without resolving any underlying cause of action or a separate and distinct branch of the case, is not a final, appealable order under R.C. 2505.02(B)(1).
2. Civ.R. 54(B) language is relevant only after an order independently qualifies as final and appealable under R.C. 2505.02; it cannot make a nonfinal order appealable.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court's order granting judgment on the pleadings as to appellants' requested constructive trust was a final, appealable order under R.C. 2505.02(B)(1).
2. Whether Civ.R. 54(B) certification could make the order appealable when the order did not otherwise qualify as final under R.C. 2505.02.

Disposition

dismissed