Title: State ex rel. Carr v. McDonnell

State: ohio

Issuer: Ohio Supreme Court

Document:

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as 
State ex rel. Carr v. McDonnell, Slip Opinion No. 2009-Ohio-6165.] 
 
 
 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in 
an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested 
to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 
65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or 
other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be 
made before the opinion is published. 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2009-OHIO-6165 
THE STATE EX REL. CARR, APPELLANT, v. MCDONNELL, 
JUDGE, ET AL., APPELLEES. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 
may be cited as State ex rel. Carr v. McDonnell,  
Slip Opinion No. 2009-Ohio-6165.] 
Appeal from denial of a complaint for writs of prohibition and mandamus — 
Judge does not patently and unambiguously lack jurisdiction to proceed — 
Adequate remedy at law available — Judgment affirmed. 
(No. 2009-1020 — November 18, 2009 — Decided December 1, 2009.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Cuyahoga County, No. 93138, 
2009-Ohio-2488. 
__________________ 
 
Per Curiam. 
{¶ 1} We affirm the judgment dismissing the complaint of appellant, 
Leonard F. Carr, for a writ of prohibition to prevent appellee Judge John P. 
O’Donnell of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas from exercising 
jurisdiction in Carr v. Acacia Country Club Co., Cuyahoga County Court of 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
2 
 
Common Pleas case No. CV-635329, and Carr v. Acacia Country Club Co., 
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas case No. CV-682363, and a writ of 
mandamus to command appellees Judge Nancy McDonnell and Judge Eileen A. 
Gallagher of that court to transfer those cases from the commercial docket of 
Judge O’Donnell to the docket of Judge Nancy M. Russo. 
{¶ 2} Judge O’Donnell does not patently and unambiguously lack 
jurisdiction to proceed in these cases.  See Temp.Sup.R. 1.03 and 1.04; Sup.R. 
4(B) and 36.  Carr has an adequate remedy by way of appeal from Judge 
O’Donnell’s rulings in the cases to raise his claim that Judge O’Donnell was 
improperly assigned to them.  See Keith v. Bobby, 117 Ohio St.3d 470, 2008-
Ohio-1443, 884 N.E.2d 1067, ¶ 14; State ex rel. Key v. Spicer (2001), 91 Ohio 
St.3d 469, 746 N.E.2d 1119 (“a claim of improper assignment of a judge can 
generally be adequately raised by way of appeal”); State ex rel. Berger v. 
McMonagle (1983), 6 Ohio St.3d 28, 30, 6 OBR 50, 451 N.E.2d 225 (mandamus 
and prohibition are not substitutes for appeal to contest alleged improper 
assignment of judge). 
Judgment affirmed. 
 
MOYER, 
C.J., 
and 
PFEIFER, 
LUNDBERG 
STRATTON, 
O’CONNOR, 
O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, and CUPP, JJ., concur. 
__________________ 
Leonard F. Carr, L. Bryan Carr, and Robert P. DeMarco, for appellant. 
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, L.L.P., Robert A. Zimmerman, 
and Mark D. Tucker, for appellees. 
______________________