Title: Berea City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision

State: ohio

Issuer: Ohio Supreme Court

Document:

[Cite as Berea City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision, 111 Ohio St.3d 
1219, 2006-Ohio-5601.] 
 
 
BEREA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, APPELLEE, ET AL. v. 
CUYAHOGA COUNTY BOARD OF REVISION ET AL., APPELLEES; MANLAW 
INVESTMENT COMPANY, LTD., APPELLANT. 
[Cite as Berea City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision, 
111 Ohio St.3d 1219, 2006-Ohio-5601.] 
Appeal from Board of Tax Appeals — Tax Commissioner not timely served with 
notice of appeal — Appeal dismissed. 
(No. 2006-1526 — Submitted October 3, 2006 — Decided November 1, 2006.) 
APPEAL from the Board of Tax Appeals, Nos. 2002-V-2595 and 2002-V-2800. 
ON MOTION TO DISMISS 
__________________ 
{¶ 1} Appellant has filed a notice of appeal from a decision of the Board 
of Tax Appeals (“BTA”) and a supplemental certificate of service.  Appellee 
Berea City School District Board of Education has filed a motion to dismiss the 
appeal and a motion to strike the supplemental certificate of service.  Appellant 
has also filed a motion to suspend ruling on the motion to dismiss. 
{¶ 2} In Olympic Steel, Inc. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision, 110 Ohio 
St.3d 1242, 2006-Ohio-4091, 852 N.E.2d 178, the BTA had issued a decision in 
an appeal from a county board of revision, and we dismissed the appeal therefrom 
because the appellant had failed to serve the Tax Commissioner who, by 
operation of R.C. 5717.03(B) and 5717.04, is a party to such appeals.  We now 
hold that the certified-mail service required by R.C. 5717.04 must be initiated 
within the thirty-day period prescribed by R.C. 5717.04 for the filing of an appeal.  
For purposes of complying with this requirement, service is "initiated" when the 
notice of appeal is placed in the mail.  In this case, appellant initiated certified 
mailing of the notice of appeal to the Tax Commissioner after the expiration of 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
the thirty-day period, and that act failed to comply with the jurisdictional 
requirement of service under R.C. 5717.04. 
{¶ 3} Accordingly, the motion to suspend ruling on the motion to 
dismiss is denied, the motion to strike is deemed to be a supplemental motion to 
dismiss, the motions to dismiss are granted on the authority of Olympic Steel, and 
the appeal is dismissed.  Appellant's motion to add the Tax Commissioner as an 
appellee is denied as moot. 
 
MOYER, C.J., RESNICK, LUNDBERG STRATTON, O’CONNOR, O’DONNELL 
and LANZINGER, JJ., concur. 
PFEIFER, J., dissents for the reason stated in his dissent in Olympic Steel, 
Inc. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision, 110 Ohio St.3d 1242, 2006-Ohio-4091, 
852 N.E.2d 178, ¶ 5. 
__________________ 
 
Kadish, Hinkel & Weibel, Kevin M. Hinkel, and Rita M. Jarrett, for 
appellee Berea City School District Board of Education. 
 
Siegel, Siegel, Johnson & Jennings Co., L.P.A., Fred Siegel, and Nicholas 
M.J. Ray, for appellant. 
______________________