Case Title: State ex rel. White v. Bechtel

Citation: 2003-Ohio-2262

Docket Number: 20022218

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2003-05-07T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Cite as State ex rel. White v. Bechtel, 99 Ohio St.3d 11, 2003-Ohio-2262.] 
 
 
THE STATE EX REL. WHITE, APPELLANT, v. BECHTEL, CASHIER, ET AL., 
APPELLEES. 
[Cite as State ex rel. White v. Bechtel, 99 Ohio St.3d 11, 2003-Ohio-2262.] 
Mandamus — Writ sought to compel Lima Correctional Institution cashier et al. 
to return money withdrawn from relator’s prison account — Court of 
appeals’ dismissal of complaint affirmed. 
(No. 2002-2218 — Submitted April 15, 2003 — Decided May 7, 2003.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Allen County, No. CA20020086. 
__________________ 
 
Per Curiam. 
{¶1} 
In October 2002, appellant, Michael Turner White, an inmate at 
the Lima Correctional Institution, filed a petition in the Court of Appeals for 
Allen County for a writ of mandamus.  White had previously filed a request for a 
writ of replevin in the Lima Municipal Court, seeking the return of money 
withdrawn from his prison account.  In his petition for a writ of mandamus, White 
alleged that he did not receive notice of the dismissal of the replevin action until 
the time had passed for filing a timely appeal.  White appears to be claiming that 
he now has no plain and adequate remedy to recover money wrongfully removed 
from his prison account. 
{¶2} 
The court of appeals1 dismissed White’s mandamus action for 
failure to comply with the provisions set forth in R.C. 2969.25(A) and (C) relating 
to previously filed lawsuits.  The court of appeals deemed White’s petition 
insufficient because his R.C. 2969.25(A) affidavit did not include a statement as 
to whether White’s previous actions or appeals were dismissed as frivolous or 
                                                 
1. 
A panel from the Sixth District Court of Appeals was assigned to preside in the Third 
District Court of Appeals to hear White’s case. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
malicious and whether any awards were made against White for frivolous or 
malicious conduct.  See R.C. 2969.25(A)(4).  The court of appeals also found that 
White’s statement of his prison account was not certified by the prison cashier as 
required by R.C. 2969.25(C)(1). 
{¶3} 
In his appeal as of right, White does not contend that the court of 
appeals erred in determining that he failed to comply with the requirements of 
R.C. 2969.25(A) and (C).  Instead, he claims that R.C. 2969.25 is being 
retroactively applied to him in violation of Section 28, Article II, Ohio 
Constitution.  White argues that R.C. 2969.25 cannot apply to him because he was 
sentenced before the statute was enacted. 
{¶4} 
White’s claim is meritless.  R.C. 2969.25 was not retroactively 
applied to White’s mandamus complaint.  R.C. 2969.25 was enacted in 1996, 
Sub.H.B. No. 455, 146 Ohio Laws, Part III, 5109, 5128, and White filed his 
mandamus action in October 2002, well after the effective date of R.C. 2969.25.  
In addition, R.C. 2969.25 applies to civil actions, and, contrary to White’s 
assertions, his conviction and prison sentence have no relevance to the statute. 
{¶5} 
The court of appeals did not err in dismissing White’s complaint.  
The requirements of R.C. 2969.25 are mandatory, and failure to comply with 
them subjects an inmate’s action to dismissal.  State ex rel. Alford v. Winters 
(1997), 80 Ohio St.3d 285, 286, 685 N.E.2d 1242.  See, also, State ex rel. 
Jefferson v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth. (1999), 86 Ohio St.3d 304, 714 N.E.2d 926. 
{¶6} 
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the court of appeals. 
Judgment affirmed. 
 
MOYER, C.J., RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK, LUNDBERG 
STRATTON and O’CONNOR, JJ., concur. 
__________________ 
 
Michael Turner White, pro se. 
January Term, 2003 
3 
 
Jim Petro, Attorney General, and Scott M. Campbell, Assistant Attorney 
General, for appellee Jackie Bechtel. 
 
David E. Bowers, Allen County Prosecuting Attorney, and William G. 
Kendall, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellees Anne E. Geiger, Julie 
Hites, Judge Stephen R. Shaw, Judge Thomas F. Bryant, and Judge Sumner E. 
Walters. 
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