State ex rel. Rosnick v. Geauga Cty. Sheriff's Office

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio denied Jocelyn Rosnick’s request for a writ of mandamus seeking contracts, drafts, and related memoranda allegedly executed by the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office with federal agencies. The court held that Rosnick failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the sheriff’s office possessed responsive records and that the office could assert during litigation that it did not possess such records. The court also denied statutory damages, attorney fees, court costs, and Rosnick’s motion to file rebuttal evidence.

Holdings

1. Rosnick's motion for leave to file rebuttal evidence was untimely because S.Ct.Prac.R. 12.06(B) required the motion to be filed within the time permitted for her reply brief, and she filed it after that period.
2. Rosnick was not entitled to a writ of mandamus because she failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the sheriff's office possessed responsive records that it had failed to produce.
3. R.C. 149.43 does not prohibit a public office from asserting for the first time in litigation that it does not possess responsive records.
4. Rosnick was not entitled to statutory damages, attorney fees, or court costs because she failed to establish that the sheriff's office violated an obligation under R.C. 149.43(B).

Questions Presented

1. Whether Rosnick's motion to submit proposed rebuttal evidence was timely under S.Ct.Prac.R. 12.06(B).
2. Whether Rosnick proved by clear and convincing evidence that the sheriff's office possessed responsive public records that it had failed to produce.
3. Whether R.C. 149.43 prohibits a public office from asserting for the first time in litigation that it does not possess responsive records.
4. Whether Rosnick was entitled to statutory damages, attorney fees, or court costs.

Disposition

writ_denied