[Cite as Weil v. Ohio Med. Marijuana Control Comm. , 2023
- Ohio
- 944.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT Adam Allen Weil, :

Plaintiff

- Appellant, : No. 22AP

- 469 v. : (Ct. of Cl. No. 2022

- 00281JD) The Ohio Medical Marijuana, : (REGULAR CALENDAR) Control Commission, :

Defendant

- Appellee. :

D E C I S I O N Rendered on March 23 , 2023

On brief: Adam A. Weil , pro se . On brief: Dave Yost , Attorney General, Amy S. Brown , and Shaun P. Omen , for a ppellee.

APPEAL from the Court of Claims of Ohio BOGGS, J. {¶ 1} Plaintiff

- a ppellant, Adam A

llen Weil, appeals a dismissal in the Court of Claims of Ohio of an action he filed against the “ Ohio Marijuana Control Commission. ” For the following reasons, we affirm the Court of C laims' dismissal

. {¶ 2} On March 28, 2022, Weil filed a complaint in the c ourt of c laims against the

“ Ohio Marijuana Control Commission, ” alleging that taxing medical

- marijuana sales violates state law. In response, defendant

- appellee, the state of Ohio moved t o dismiss Weil's complaint under Civ.R. 12(B)(1) and (6) for lack of subject

- matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. On June 27, 2022, the c ourt of

c laims granted the state's motion on the ground that Weil failed to name a properNo. 22AP

- 469 2

defendant. The c ourt of c laims found that there is no “ O hio Marijuana Control
Commission ” and that, under R.C. 3796.02, Ohio's “ medical marijuana control program ” is established within the Department of Commerce and the State Board of Pharmacy. (June 27, 2022 Journal Entry of Dismissal at 2.) The c ourt of c la ims reasoned that under R.C. 2743.13(A) and under L.C.C.R. 4(A) Weil failed to name a state agency as a defendant and did not seek to amend his complaint to name a proper defendant. {¶ 3} In his appeal to this court, Weil asserts that, in granting the motion t o dismiss, the c ourt of c

laims erred by not reaching the merits of his claims, “ not reviewing laws in business that are established by the ” Revised Code, and “ allowing the commission to operate beyond [its] scope of authority and collect a tax unlawfully. ” (Appellant's Brief at 5.) We jointly consider these assignments of error

. {¶ 4} This court reviews a trial court's decision on Civ.R. 12(B)(1) and 12(B)(6) motions under a de novo standard of review. See Pankey v. Ohio Dept

. of Rehab. & Corr. , 10th Dist. No . 13AP

- 701, 2014
- Ohio

- 2907, ¶ 7; Wiltz v. Accountancy Bd. Of Ohio , 10th Dist. No. 14AP

- 645, 2015

- Ohio

- 2493, ¶ 5

- 6. {¶ 5} Under R.C. 2743.02, the only defendant in original actions in the c ourt of

c laims is the state. R.C. 2743.13 (A) requires that a complaint fi led against the state in the

c ourt of c laims must “ name as defendant each state department, board, office, commission, agency, institution, or other instrumentality whose actions are alleged as the basis of complaint. ” Here, Weil named the “ Ohio Marijuana Control Commission ” as the sole defendant. As the c ourt of c laims noted, however, the Ohio Marijuana Control Commission does not exist. Rather, the state's medical

- marijuana program is jointly administered by the Department of Commerce and the State Boar d of Pharmacy . Therefore, Weil's complaint does not name as defendant any “ state department, board, office, commission, agency,No. 22AP

- 469 3

institution, or other instrumentality

. ” Id. Without a proper defendant as required by R.C.
2743.13 (A) , the c ourt of c laims does not have jurisdiction over the complaint. The c ourt of

c laims properly gave Weil an opportunity to amend his complaint to name a proper defendant and, when he did not do so, also properly dismissed his complaint. {¶ 6} Accordingly, w e find that the c ourt of c laims did not err when it dismissed plaintiff's complaint for failure to name a proper defendant under R.C. 2743.13(A). Weil's assignments of error are overruled , and we affirm the judgment of the Court of Claims of Ohio

. Judgment affirmed

. DORRI AN and LELAND , JJ., concur.