[Cite as State ex rel. Spates v. Donnelly, 2015-Ohio-111.]

Court of Appeals of Ohio 

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT 

COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA 

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION 

No. 101840

STATE EX REL. LAVELLE A. SPATES

RELATOR 

vs. 

HONORABLE MICHAEL P. DONNELLY

RESPONDENT 

JUDGMENT: 

WRIT DENIED 

Writ of Mandamus 

Motion No. 478632 

Order No. 479930 

RELEASE DATE: January 9, 2015
FOR RELATOR 

Lavelle A. Spates, pro se #641-474

Trumbull Correctional Camp 

P.O. Box 640 

Leavittsburg, Ohio 44430 

ATTORNEYS FOR RESPONDENT

Timothy J. McGinty 

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor 

By: James E. Moss 

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney 

Justice Center - 9th Floor 

1200 Ontario Street 

Cleveland, Ohio 44113 

KENNETH A. ROCCO, J.: 
{¶1} Lavelle A. Spates has filed a complaint for a writ of mandamus. Spates seeks an 

order from this court that requires Judge Michael P. Donnelly to render a ruling with regard to a 

“motion for an order to establish payment plan for court costs” filed in State v. Spates, Cuyahoga 

C.P. Nos. CR-11-552263 and CR-13-571384. Judge Donnelly has filed a motion for summary 

judgment, which we grant for the following reasons. 

{¶2} Attached to Judge Donnelly’s motion for summary judgment is a copy of a judgment 

entry, journalized on September 19, 2014, which demonstrates that a ruling has been rendered 

with regard to Spates’s motion to establish a payment plan for court costs. Thus, the complaint 

for a writ of mandamus is moot. State ex rel. Jerninghan v. Cuyahoga Cty. Court of Common 

Pleas, 74 Ohio St.3d 278, 658 N.E.2d 723 (1996); State ex rel. Gantt v. Coleman, 6 Ohio St.3d 5, 

450 N.E.2d 1163 (1983). 

{¶3} In addition, Spates’s complaint for a writ of mandamus is defective. Spates’s 

complaint failed to comply with Loc.App.R. 45(B)(1)(a), which requires that his complaint 

contain a sworn affidavit that specifies the details of his claim. State ex rel. Hopson v. 

Cuyahoga Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 135 Ohio St.3d 456, 2013-Ohio-1911, 989 N.E.2d 49; 

State ex rel. Leon v. Cuyahoga Cty. Court of Common Pleas, 123 Ohio St.3d 124, 

2009-Ohio-4688, 914 N.E.2d 402. Spates has also failed to comply with R.C. 2969.25(A), 

which mandates that he provide this court with a sworn affidavit that contains a description of 

each civil action or appeal of a civil action filed in the previous five years in any state or federal 

court. State ex rel. McGrath v. McDonnell, 126 Ohio St.3d 511, 2010-Ohio-4726, 935 N.E.2d 

830. Finally, Spates has failed to comply with R.C. 2969.25(C)(1), which mandates that he file 

a statement setting forth his inmate account “for each of the preceding six months, as certified by 

the institutional cashier.” State ex rel. Castro v. Corrigan, 129 Ohio St.3d 342, 
2011-Ohio-4059, 952 N.E.2d 497. 

{¶4} Accordingly, we grant Judge Donnelly’s motion for summary judgment. Costs to 

Judge Donnelly. Costs waived. The court directs the clerk of courts to serve all parties with 

notice of this judgment and the date of entry upon the journal as required by Civ.R. 58(B). 

{¶5} Writ denied. 

_____________________________________________ 

KENNETH A. ROCCO, JUDGE 

FRANK D. CELEBREZZE, JR., P.J., and 

EILEEN T. GALLAGHER, J., CONCUR