[Cite as Malone v. Ford , 2021-Ohio-330.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT PIKE COUNTY FOREST J. MALONE, : Case No. 20CA903 Plaintiff-Appellant, :

v. : DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY RICHARD FORD, ET AL., : Defendants-Appellees. : RELEASED 1/29/2021

APPEARANCES: Forest J. Malone, Portsmouth, Ohio, pro se. Stacy M. Brooks, Waverly, Ohio, for appellees.

Hess, J. {¶1} Forest J. Malone appeals the trial court’s judgment in his favo r on his conversion claim and awarding him $150, plus interest and court costs. Malone argues that the award of $150 in damages is absurdly inadequate. He co ntends that he presented evidence that entitled him to an award of damages in the sum of $62,000. Malone contends that the judge, who served as the factfinder, was prej udiced, arguing that “there

must be a conflict of interest.” {¶2} Appellees argue that Malone’s appeal should be dismissed for fa ilure to file a brief that conforms with the Appellate Rules of Procedure. Al ternatively, appellees assert that the evidence presented in the trial court supports the damages award.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY {¶3} Malone filed a complaint against Richard Ford, Tracey Young, an d Michael Young alleging a conversion of his property as it relates to a mobile home trailer and itsPike App. No. 20CA903 2

contents situated on Lake White. The trial court conducted a be nch trial and found in favor of Malone on his claim of conversion of property. 1 The court found that Malone was entitled to damages but that he failed to establish the fair ma rket value of the property sufficient to rebut the testimony provided by Michael Young. Ma lone was awarded $150 in compensatory damages, plus statutory interest and court cost s. {¶4} Malone appealed the judgment and filed his brief. We ordered hi m to file a brief that complied with App.R. 16 and his original filing was stricken. Malone filed a second brief and again we informed him it was not compliant. Ma lone filed a third brief and we issued an order for appellees to file their responsive b rief. Although Malone’s brief does not comport with App.R. 16, we are able to discern t he purported error he raises and the relief he requests. Because we prefer to review a case on its merits rather than di smiss it due to procedural technicalities, we give considerable leniency to pro se litigants. “Limits do exist, however. Leniency does not mean th at we are required ‘to find substance where none exists, to advance an ar gument for a pro se litigant or to address issues not properly raised.’ ” We consider a pro se litigant's appellate brief if it contains some cognizabl e assignment of error. (Citations omitted.) Viars v. Ironton, 4th Dist. Lawrence No. 16CA8, 2016-Ohio-4912, ¶ 25. Therefore, in the interest of justice, we will review the merits of his appeal. {¶5} Malone contends that his damages award of $150 on his conversio n claim is absurdly inadequate and that the factfinder must have a conf lict of interest. He argues that the contents of the trailer had a value of $18,000, the tr ailer had a value of $24,000, and he experienced emotional “stress” and additional expenses r elated to boat storage,

1 A trial transcript was not included in the record.Pike App. No. 20CA903 3

which totaled another $20,000. He states that his total damages are $62,000, making the award of $150 woefully inadequate.

II. LAW AND ANALYSIS {¶6} A factfinder’s “determination of damages will ‘not be set aside unless the damages awarded were so excessive as to appear to have been awa rded as a result of passion or prejudice, or unless the amount is so manifestly aga inst the weight of the evidence as to show a misconception’ ” by the factfinder of its duties. Black v. Hicks , 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 108958, 2020-Ohio-3976, ¶ 78-82, quoting Berris v. Zaremba , 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 60043, 1992 WL 74222 (Apr. 9, 1992). The ass essment of damages is so thoroughly within the province of the factfinder that a r eviewing court is not at liberty to disturb the award “absent an affirmative finding of passion and prejudice or a finding that the award is manifestly excessive.” Moskovitz v. Mt. Sinai Med. Ctr. , 69 Ohio St.3d 638, 655, 635 N.E.2d 331 (1994). “The size of the verdict, stan ding alone, is insufficient to establish passion or prejudice.” Eisnaugle v. Munn , 4th Dist. Jackson No. 00CA12, 2000-Ohio-2037, *3. {¶7} A party seeking to challenge the factfinder’s determination of damages does so by filing a motion under Civ.R. 59 for new trial in the tria l court. The failure to raise an issue before the trial court waives that party's right to raise the issue on appeal. State ex

rel. Zollner v. Indus. Comm. , 66 Ohio St.3d 276, 278, 611 N.E.2d 830 (1993). “An appellate court will not consider any error which counsel for a party complaining of the trial court's judgment could have called but did not call to th e trial court's attention at a time when such error could have been avoided or corrected by th e trial court.” (Internal quotations omitted.) State v. Quarterman , 140 Ohio St.3d 464, 2014-Ohio-4034, 19Pike App. No. 20CA903 4

N.E.3d 900, ¶ 15. Thus, by failing to raise an issue to the tri al court, an appellant forfeits that issue on appeal. Risner v. Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources , 144 Ohio St.3d 278, 2015-Ohio-3731, 42 N.E.3d 718, ¶ 26; Black v. Hicks, 2020-Ohio-3976, at ¶ 81 (party

who fails to file a motion for a new trial under Civ.R. 59 forf eits any errors in the damages award on appeal). {¶8} Although Malone forfeited any error in the damages award by fai ling to object or otherwise raise the argument in the trial court, “[a] ppellate courts may, however, consider a forfeited argument using a plain-error analysis.” Eichenlaub v. Eichenlaub , 2018-Ohio-4060, 120 N.E.3d 380, ¶ 21 (husband failed to raise h is argument challenging spousal support award and thus forfeited it on appeal). However , “[a]n appellate court ‘must proceed with the utmost caution’ in applying the doctrine of plain error in a civil

case.” Risner at ¶ 27 , quoting Goldfuss v. Davidson , 79 Ohio St.3d 116, 121, 679 N.E.2d 1099 (1997); Jones v Cleveland Clinic Found. , __Ohio St.3d__, 2020-Ohio-3780, __N.E.3d__, ¶ 24. “Plain error should be strictly limited ‘to t he extremely rare case involving exceptional circumstances when the error, left unobjected to at the trial court, rises to the level of challenging the legitimacy of the underly ing judicial process itself.’ ” (Emphasis sic.) Risner at ¶ 27, quoting Goldfuss at 122; Berry v. Paint Valley Supply, LLC, et al. , 4th Dist. Highland No. 16CA19, 2017-Ohio-4254, ¶ 29-30. {¶9} We decline to apply the doctrine of plain error to this civil c ase. Malone failed to provide a trial transcript, thus we have no choice bu t to presume the validity of the trial court’s proceedings: Pursuant to App.R. 9(B), it is the appellant's responsibility t o order a complete transcript if he intends to argue that a finding is co ntrary to the weight of the evidence. This duty falls upon the appellant “bec ause the appellant bears the burden of showing error by reference to mat ters in thePike App. No. 20CA903 5

record.” Plum Run, Inc. v. Cantor , 4th Dist. Jackson No. 02CA14, 2003– Ohio-5545, ¶ 11. Where an appellant fails to provide the portio ns of the transcript required by an appellate court to resolve the assign ed errors, “the appellate court has no choice but to presume the validity of th e trial court's judgment and affirm.” Id. Am. Family Ins. Co. v. Hoop , 4th Dist. Adams No. 13CA983, 2014-Ohio-3773, ¶ 36; 5 Ohio Jur. 3d Appellate Review § 455 (“An appellate court has no thing to pass on if the appellant fails to provide a transcript of the lower court's pr oceedings, and the appellate court has no choice but to presume the validity of the lower co urt's proceedings”).

III. CONCLUSION {¶10} Malone forfeited any errors in the determination of damages whe n he failed to preserve the issue for appellate review and because he faile d to provide a trial transcript, we presume the trial court’s damages determination was valid. We overrule Malone’s assignment of error and affirm the judgment of the tri al court.

JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.Pike App. No. 20CA903 6

JUDGMENT ENTRY It is ordered that the JUDGMENT IS AFFIRMED and that Appellant shall pay the costs. The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal. It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court d irecting the Pike County Court of Common Pleas to carry this judgment into execution. Any stay previously granted by this Court is hereby terminated as of the date of this entry. A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pu rsuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. Smith, P.J.: Concurs in Judgment and Opinion. Abele, J.: Concurs i n Judgment Only.

For the Court

BY : ________________________________ Michael D. Hess, Judge

NOTICE TO COUNSEL Pursuant to Local Rule No. 14, this document constitutes a fin al judgment entry and the time period for fu rther appeal commences from the date of filing with the clerk.