Court Opinion

ID: 6770274
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-07-21 00:42:49.047955+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:02:43.821791
License: Public Domain

A. William Sweeney, J.,
dissenting. Until today, this court has adhered to the long-held principle of contract law that writings executed as part of the same transaction should be read together. See Edward A. Kemmler Mem. Found. v. 691/733 E. Dublin-Granville Rd. Co. (1992), 62 Ohio St.3d 494, 499, 584 N.E.2d 695, 698; Ctr. Ridge Ganley, Inc. v. Stinn (1987), 31 Ohio St.3d 310, 314, 31 OBR 587, 590, 511 N.E.2d 106, 109; Thayer v. Luce (1871), 22 Ohio St. 62, paragraphs one and two of the syllabus; and White v. Brocaw (1863), 14 Ohio St. 339, paragraph three of the syllabus.
*279The majority’s distinction embodied in the syllabus — the so-called doctrine of “contract integration” — ignores the fact that the TAA and SEA herein were executed at virtually the same time. The TAA was signed on March 6, 1986, while the SEA was signed on the very next day. To exalt a distinction such as that propounded by the majority opinion, which essentially renders the terms of the SEA unenforceable, defies logic, fairness and common sense.
Given the fact that the transfer between appellants and TRINOVA was voluminous and complex, I believe the majority errs in permitting the lower courts to exclude relevant evidence of the SEA and Closing Book which were executed and compiled in combination with the TAA. The maxim which is at stake in the cause sub judice is one that this court so eloquently noted in another recent case: “Let the jury decide [the evidence]!” McFarland v. Bruno Mach. Corp. (1994), 68 Ohio St.3d 305, 312, 626 N.E.2d 659, 664.
For these reasons, I would reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the cause for a new trial, in order to let the jury consider the terms of the SEA in deciding the rights and liabilities of the instant parties.
Wright and Grady, JJ., concur in the foregoing dissenting opinion.