State ex rel. Dunlap v. Sarko

Summary

The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed Scott Dunlap’s mandamus action against Violet Township officials and related respondents. The court held that the jurisdictional-priority rule barred the action because previously filed, substantially overlapping mandamus proceedings were pending in the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

Holdings

1. The jurisdictional-priority rule barred the Supreme Court of Ohio from exercising original mandamus jurisdiction because the previously filed court-of-appeals actions and the Supreme Court action involved essentially the same parties and part of the same whole issue.
2. The court would not address propositions and claims for which Dunlap presented no argument in his merit brief.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Supreme Court of Ohio could exercise original mandamus jurisdiction when Dunlap had already filed a substantially duplicative mandamus action in the Fifth District Court of Appeals concerning the same public-records requests and essentially the same parties.
2. Whether the court should address propositions and claims for which Dunlap presented no argument in his merit brief.

Disposition

dismissed