Court Opinion

ID: 9929413
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-02 16:12:34.724409+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:19:43.586413
License: Public Domain

[Cite as State ex rel. Kelleys Island Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Ohio Dept. of Edn., 2024-Ohio-285.]

                             IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
                                 SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
                                       ERIE COUNTY

State of Ohio, ex rel. The Kelleys Island                    Court of Appeals No. E-23-020
School District Board of Education
                                                             Trial Court No. 2021 CV 0351
        Appellant

v.

The Ohio Department of Education,
et al.                                                       DECISION AND JUDGMENT

        Appellees                                            Decided: January 26, 2024

                                                   *****

        Matthew John Markling, for appellant.

        Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General, and
        Anthony J. Farris, Assistant Ohio Attorney General,
        for appellee, Ohio Department of Education.

                                                   *****

        MAYLE, J.

        {¶ 1} Appellant, Kelleys Island Local School District Board of Education (“the

board”), appeals the February 10, 2023 decision of the Erie County Court of Common

Pleas dismissing its prohibition and mandamus claims against appellees, Ohio
Department of Education and the superintendent of public instruction (collectively

“ODE”).1 Although the trial court failed to rule on the merits of the prohibition claim,

despite having jurisdiction over it, and incorrectly relied on res judicata to dismiss the

mandamus claim, the errors were not prejudicial, so we affirm.

                                 I. Background and Facts

       {¶ 2} The procedural facts that led to the board filing its petition for writs of

prohibition and mandamus are generally not in dispute. In 2013, the Erie County Court

of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division (“juvenile court”), entered orders awarding legal

custody of A.A. and T.A. to their grandmother. The orders do not include a designation

of the school district responsible for the cost of the children’s educations, as required by

R.C. 2151.362(A)(1).2 At the time of the custody order, the children’s parents lived in

1
  Appellee, Perkins Local School District Board of Education (“Perkins”), was joined as a
defendant in the trial court, and eventually sought judgment on the pleadings under
Civ.R. 12(C). The trial court granted Perkins’s motion. Although the board included the
trial court’s judgment entry on Perkins’s 12(C) motion in its notice of appeal, it did not
assign any errors related to the 12(C) judgment, and Perkins did not file a brief, despite
counsel filing a notice of appearance. We find that the board is not appealing any issues
related to Perkins, and we confine our review to issues involving ODE. See App.R.
12(A); App.R. 16(A).
2
  On October 3, 2023, new versions of R.C. 2151.362 and 3313.64 went into effect as
part of an overhaul of ODE and the state board of education. See 2023 Am.Sub.H.B. No.
33. The new versions substitute “department of education and workforce” for
“department of education” and “director of education and workforce” for “superintendent
of public instruction”—shifting the power to make decisions under R.C. 2151.362 and
3313.64 to a newly-created agency—but are otherwise unchanged. We presume that
statutes apply prospectively unless the legislature expressly makes them retrospective.
R.C. 1.48. The legislature did not make any of the changes to R.C. 2151.362 and

2.
the Perkins district. When the children were old enough, they enrolled in Perkins

schools.

       {¶ 3} In 2020, Perkins sent a letter to the state superintendent of public instruction

claiming that it and the board disagreed on the district of residence for the children and

asking the superintendent to resolve the disagreement, as provided for by R.C.

3313.64(K). It asked the superintendent to designate Kelleys Island as the children’s

district of residence because their parents were living on Kelleys Island. The gist of

Perkins’s request was that its communications with grandmother and the parents

indicated that grandmother and the children lived in the Kelleys Island district,

grandmother wanted the children to attend Kelleys Island schools, and the parents either

resided in or were in the process of becoming residents of the Kelleys Island district,

despite owning and occasionally staying at property in the Perkins district. Perkins’s

request prompted a flurry of strenuous objections from the board.

       {¶ 4} In December 2020, the board apparently moved to intervene in the juvenile

custody cases. According to the juvenile court’s December 2020 judgment entries, which

ODE included with the motion to stay that it filed in the trial court, the board wanted to

intervene in the custody cases so that it “can ask the Court for a determination of

responsible school district per R.C. 2151.362 * * *.” However, the juvenile court

3313.64 (or any of the other education statutes) in 2023 Am.Sub.H.B. No. 33
retrospective, so we presume that these changes apply prospectively, and we refer only to
the versions in effect before October 3, 2023.

3.
dismissed the motions, finding that it lacked jurisdiction over a custody matter involving

children with married parents who reside together.

       {¶ 5} In response, the board filed motions for reconsideration or transfer to the

domestic relations division, which the juvenile court also denied.

       {¶ 6} Following that, the board filed second motions for

“RECONSIDERATION/CLARIFY [sic] OF THE RECORD,” which included requests

for the juvenile court to issue writs of mandamus and prohibition to ODE. In April 2021,

the juvenile court again denied the board’s motions.

       {¶ 7} The board appealed the April 2021 judgment entries, but we dismissed the

appeals because they were untimely (i.e., we found that the board should have appealed

the juvenile court’s December 2020 judgment entries determining that it did not have

jurisdiction). In re A.A., 6th Dist. Erie No. E-21-013 (July 28, 2021); In re T.A., 6th Dist.

Erie No. E-21-014 (July 28, 2021). The Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear the board’s

appeals. In re A.A., 165 Ohio St.3d 1457, 2021-Ohio-4033, 176 N.E.3d 763; In re T.A.,

165 Ohio St.3d 1457, 2021-Ohio-4033, 176 N.E.3d 763.

       {¶ 8} Meanwhile, according to a series of emails that ODE attached to its motion

for summary judgment,3 ODE agreed to wait until the juvenile court cases were resolved

3
  In its brief, the board argues that summary judgment was inappropriate because ODE’s
summary-judgment exhibits—including these emails—were not certified or incorporated
into an affidavit, as required by Civ.R. 56(C) and (E). Pollard v. Elber, 2018-Ohio-4538,
123 N.E.3d 359, ¶ 21-22 (6th Dist.). Although this is true, ODE resolved the issue in its
summary-judgment reply by attaching certified copies of court documents and

4.
to decide Perkins’s residency-change request. After the juvenile court denied the board’s

first motions for reconsideration, ODE moved forward with its residency-determination

process. In the emails, which were sent between January and March of 2021, ODE’s

counsel explained that ODE was handling Perkins’s request as a disagreement under R.C.

3313.64(K), not a change of district of residence under R.C. 2151.362(A). The board

disagreed with ODE’s assessment of Perkins’s request and argued that ODE’s position

was contrary to its “District of Residence Change (DRC) Guidance Document”

(“redetermination guidance”). There is nothing in the record explaining what happened

with ODE’s internal decision-making process from early March to mid-September 2021,

when the board filed the case underlying this appeal. Nor is there anything indicating

that the superintendent has decided the residency disagreement that Perkins submitted in

October 2020.

       {¶ 9} In September 2021, the board filed a verified complaint and petition seeking

writs of prohibition and mandamus against ODE. The board alleged that (1) ODE

incorporating other documents into the affidavit of Jason Wagner, deputy chief legal
counsel and records custodian for ODE. The record does not show that the board moved
to strike ODE’s exhibits or otherwise objected to ODE correcting its evidentiary errors,
so it has forfeited this issue on appeal. See Charlesgate Commons Condo. Assn. v. W.
Reserve Group, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-14-1039, 2014-Ohio-4342, ¶ 13 (“[W]hen a new
argument is presented in a reply brief, the non-moving party should move to strike the
reply or be allowed to file a surreply.”); U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Edmon, 6th Dist. Erie
No. E-17-048, 2018-Ohio-2987, ¶ 20-21 (“Here, the record reflects that appellant did not
file a surreply or move to strike the reply brief or additional affidavits filed by appellee in
support of its motion for summary judgment. Consequently, appellant is precluded from
now raising the challenge on appeal.”).

5.
patently and unambiguously lacked jurisdiction to issue a redetermination of the

children’s residency under R.C. 2151.362(A)(2) because the juvenile court never issued

an initial determination under R.C. 2151.362(A)(1); (2) by ignoring the process in R.C.

2151.362(A), ODE was “usurping” the power of the judicial branch; (3) ODE was

violating R.C. Chapter 119 by not following its redetermination guidance or affording the

board notice and a hearing; (4) the board will suffer “approximately $300,000.00, if not

more * * *” in damages each year that it is responsible for the cost of the children’s

education; and (5) the board had “exhausted all other remedies * * *.” The board asked

the trial court to

               (1) declare that the ODE has no authority to change the any [sic]

       residency determination regarding A.A. and T.A. to any school district

       other than Perkins; (2) require the ODE to follow the two-part statutory

       residency adjudication process established by the Ohio General Assembly

       in R.C. 2151.362(A)(l) and R.C. 2151.362(A)(2); [and] (3) require the ODE

       to follow the due process rights granted to the Kelleys Island Board in R.C.

       Chapter 119 prior to the ODE issuing residency re-determination

       adjudications * * *.

       {¶ 10} At ODE’s request, the trial court stayed this case pending the Supreme

Court’s decision to accept or decline jurisdiction over the juvenile court appeals. After

the Supreme Court declined jurisdiction in November 2021 and the trial court reinstated

6.
the case, ODE moved to dismiss the prohibition claim for lack of subject-matter

jurisdiction under Civ.R. 12(B)(1) and for summary judgment on the mandamus claim.

In its motion, ODE argued that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to issue a writ of

prohibition; the board’s mandamus claim was barred by res judicata; and if res judicata

did not apply, the mandamus claim failed because the plain language of the statutes

showed that R.C. 3313.64(K) applied and school districts cannot enforce due process

rights against the state.

       {¶ 11} In its response to ODE’s motion, the board argued that ODE was relying on

improper evidence; it did not have an opportunity to obtain the evidence it needed for its

case; issues of fact remained because ODE relied on improper evidence; the trial court

had jurisdiction to issue a writ of prohibition; the board met the requirements for writs of

prohibition and mandamus to issue; res judicata did not apply because a valid final

judgment on the merits of the issue did not exist; assuming that the provisions of R.C.

2151.362 and 3313.64 conflicted, R.C. 2151.362 controlled; and the board had due

process rights that ODE was violating by not following the redetermination guidance and

not providing notice and a hearing. The board also filed a motion for a continuance to

permit discovery under Civ.R. 56(F).

       {¶ 12} On February 10, 2023, the trial court issued its decision granting ODE’s

motion for summary judgment, dismissing the board’s complaint and petition for writs of

prohibition and mandamus, and denying the board’s Civ.R. 56(F) motion. In doing so,

7.
the court determined that ODE’s evidence (as resubmitted with its reply memorandum)

was properly before it and within the bounds of Civ.R. 56. The court also found that the

board provided “absolutely no indication of the sort of relevant facts it wants to discover”

before the court decided the summary judgment motion, the parties’ dispute had been

going on for more than two years, and the board’s filings belied its need for additional

discovery. Accordingly, the court denied the board’s Civ.R. 56(F) motion.

         {¶ 13} Regarding the residency statutes, the trial court explained that R.C. 3313.64

is the statute that school districts use to determine which students are entitled to free

schooling, and that a student’s residence is determined using the criteria in the statute,

regardless of whether the residency determination is made under R.C. 2151.362(A) or

3313.64(K). If districts disagree, R.C. 3313.64(K) provides that the superintendent of

public instruction will make the decision. The court characterized R.C. 2151.362(A) as

an “exception” to the general rules in R.C. 3313.64, which allows the juvenile court to

determine the district that must pay for a student’s education. When a juvenile court

determines a responsible district under R.C. 2151.362(A)(1), the superintendent cannot

use R.C. 3313.64(K) to name a responsible district because doing so might violate the

court order. The trial court saw R.C. 2151.362(A)(2) as solving the problem by explicitly

allowing the superintendent to change the district of residence determined by the juvenile

court.

8.
       {¶ 14} The trial court went on to find that the board did not provide any authority

to support its argument that R.C. 3313.64(K) somehow “‘circumvents the legal mandates’

of * * * [or] ‘applies as an unwritten administrative loophole * * *’” around R.C.

2151.362(A), and determined that the board’s argument that “unless and until the juvenile

court amends its 2013 judgment entry * * * both Perkins and ODE are powerless to make

any changes in the responsible school district” was meritless.

       {¶ 15} Regarding the board’s arguments about due process and ODE failing to

follow the redetermination guidance, the trial court found that the redetermination

guidance dealt with changes of residence under R.C. 2151.362(A)(2), not proceedings

under R.C. 3313.64(K)—the statute that applied to this case—so the redetermination

guidance was not relevant to ODE’s determination. The court also determined that the

board did not explain, specifically, what due process right it was being deprived of and

that one state agency does not have constitutional due process rights when dealing with

another state agency. It also pointed out that the board could “exercise whatever R.C.

Chapter 119 rights that it has, if any” after the superintendent issued a decision on the

children’s residence.

       {¶ 16} The court concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to issue a writ of

prohibition, and the board’s mandamus claims were barred by res judicata because it had

“thoroughly argued its claims for a writ of mandamus before the Erie County Common

Pleas Juvenile Court.”

9.
        {¶ 17} The board now appeals, raising three assignments of error:

                 A. The Trial Court erred in dismissing the requested writs of

        prohibition and mandamus as (1) the Ohio Department of Education was

        about to exercise judicial or quasi-judicial power, (2) the exercise of that

        power was unauthorized by law, and (3) denying the writ will result in

        injury for which no other adequate remedy exists in the ordinary course of

        law[.]

                 B. The Trial Court erred in dismissing the requested writ of

        mandamus as res judicata does not apply in this case[.]

                 C. The Trial Court erred in dismissing the requested writs of

        prohibition and mandamus as genuine issues of material fact remain to be

        litigated[.]

                                      II. Law and Analysis

      A. The trial court had subject-matter jurisdiction over the prohibition claim.

        {¶ 18} In its first assignment of error, the board argues that the trial court erred by

dismissing its request for a writ of prohibition against ODE because ODE was about to

exercise quasi-judicial power, its exercise of power was unauthorized by law, and without

the writ, the board would suffer injury for which no adequate remedy exists in the

ordinary course of the law. The board does not address the issue of the trial court’s

jurisdiction over the prohibition claim in its merit brief, but in its reply brief, it argues

10.
that jurisdiction was proper in the trial court because a common pleas court is a court of

general jurisdiction that has subject-matter jurisdiction over all justiciable matters.

       {¶ 19} In its brief, ODE raises the issue of the trial court’s subject-matter

jurisdiction over the prohibition claim. It argues that the trial court correctly dismissed

the prohibition claim because “[c]ommon pleas courts do not have subject matter

jurisdiction to grant relief in prohibition.” ODE also argues that the prohibition claim

fails on its merits because its actions were neither quasi-judicial nor unauthorized by law.

       {¶ 20} We review a Civ.R. 12(B)(1) motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter

jurisdiction de novo. Dargart v. Ohio Dept. of Transp., 171 Ohio App.3d 439, 2006-

Ohio-6179, 871 N.E.2d 608, ¶ 12 (6th Dist.). The standard for dismissal under Civ.R.

12(B)(1) is whether the complaint raises “any cause of action cognizable by the forum *

* *.” State ex rel. Bush v. Spurlock, 42 Ohio St.3d 77, 80, 537 N.E.2d 641 (1989).

       {¶ 21} The Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Section 4(B), gives common pleas

courts “such original jurisdiction over all justiciable matters * * * as may be provided by

law.” The Ohio Supreme Court has interpreted this provision to mean that the common

pleas courts’ subject-matter jurisdiction—i.e., their power to “entertain and adjudicate a

particular class of cases”—is defined entirely by statute. Bank of Am., N.A. v. Kuchta,

141 Ohio St.3d 75, 2014-Ohio-4275, 21 N.E.3d 1040, ¶ 19; Highland Tavern, LLC v.

DeWine, Slip Opinion No. 2023-Ohio-2577, --- N.E.3d ----, ¶ 22. In other words, “the

jurisdiction of the common pleas courts is limited to whatever the legislature may choose

11.
to bestow.” Cent. Ohio Transit Auth. v. Transport Workers Union of Am., Local 208, 37

Ohio St.3d 56, 60, 524 N.E.2d 151 (1988), citing State ex rel. Miller v. Keefe, 168 Ohio

St. 234, 152 N.E.2d 113 (1958), paragraph one of the syllabus.

       {¶ 22} The General Assembly has defined common pleas courts’ jurisdiction by

giving them “original jurisdiction in all civil cases in which the sum or matter in dispute

exceeds the exclusive original jurisdiction of county courts * * *.” R.C. 2305.01. Thus,

“[a] common pleas court is a court of general jurisdiction, with subject-matter jurisdiction

that extends to all matters at law and in equity that are not denied to it.” (Internal

quotations omitted.) Ohio High School Athletic Assn. v. Ruehlman, 157 Ohio St.3d 296,

2019-Ohio-2845, 136 N.E.3d 436, ¶ 7, citing Kuchta at ¶ 20; and Saxton v. Seiberling, 48

Ohio St. 554, 558-559, 29 N.E. 179 (1891). This general grant of jurisdiction means that

“a court of common pleas has jurisdiction over any case in which the matter in

controversy exceeds the jurisdictional limit unless some statute takes that jurisdiction

away.” Id. at ¶ 9. For example, a statute vesting a specific court or commission with

exclusive jurisdiction over a matter divests the common pleas court of its general subject-

matter jurisdiction. Id. (citing cases).

       {¶ 23} Although the General Assembly has enacted legislation regarding some

extraordinary writs (e.g., writs of mandamus in R.C. Chapter 2731 and writs of habeas

corpus in R.C. Chapter 2725), it has not enacted legislation regarding writs of

prohibition. State ex rel. Tubbs Jones v. Suster, 84 Ohio St.3d 70, 73, 701 N.E.2d 1002

12.
(1998) (“[N]either the Constitution nor the General Assembly has defined the parameters

of prohibition.”). Nor is there any specific statutory provision preventing the common

pleas courts from exercising jurisdiction over prohibition actions. Further, although the

courts of appeals and the Supreme Court each have original jurisdiction over writs of

prohibition—i.e., they can issue decisions on petitions for writs independent of an

appeal—they do not have exclusive jurisdiction. Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Sections

2(B)(1)(d) and 3(B)(1)(d); compare R.C. 2733.03 (limiting jurisdiction over quo

warranto actions by mandating that “[a]n action in quo warranto can be brought only in

the supreme court, or in the court of appeals * * *”). Thus, we conclude that neither the

constitution nor the legislature has taken subject-matter jurisdiction over prohibition

actions from the common pleas courts, so a common pleas court is not precluded from

hearing a prohibition case.

       {¶ 24} However, despite having subject-matter jurisdiction, a common pleas court

issuing or attempting to issue a writ of prohibition seems to be rare. Indeed, we were

unable to find many cases addressing the issue beyond the three cases that the parties

cited, i.e., Miller, 168 Ohio St. 234, 152 N.E.2d 113; State ex rel. Bernges v. Common

Pleas Court, 23 Ohio App.2d 89, 260 N.E.2d 839 (1st Dist.1970); and State ex rel.

Russell v. Shaker Hts. Mun. Court, 87 Ohio App.3d 511, 622 N.E.2d 697 (8th Dist.1993).

Although each of these cases found that a common pleas court could not issue a writ of

prohibition, they are each distinguishable.

13.
          {¶ 25} In Miller, the relator filed a prohibition petition in a common pleas court

asking the court to prohibit a municipal court from trying a criminal case. Miller at 234.

The Supreme Court specifically held that “[t]he Court of Common Pleas does not, in the

absence of statutes conferring it, have original jurisdiction in prohibition.” Id. at

paragraph two of the syllabus. The court has never explicitly overruled this decision.

Regardless, it is inapplicable to the board’s case because it was decided under an older

version of the Ohio Constitution that conferred narrower jurisdiction on common pleas

courts because it did not grant those courts “general common-law jurisdiction * * *.” Id.

at 237.

          {¶ 26} Before the Ohio Constitution was amended in 1968, Article IV, Section 4,

read, in its entirety, “The jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas, and of the judges

thereof shall be fixed by law.” Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Section 4 (former version

in effect from Sept. 1, 1851 to May 7, 1968). Under this version of Article IV, Section 4,

the Constitution “‘confers no jurisdiction whatever upon [a court of common pleas],

either in civil or criminal cases. It is given a capacity to receive jurisdiction in all such

cases, but it can exercise none, until “fixed by law.”‘“ Miller at 236-237, quoting Stevens

v. State, 3 Ohio St. 453, 455 (1854). At the time, R.C. 2305.01 gave common pleas

courts “‘original jurisdiction in all civil cases where the sum or matter in dispute exceeds

the exclusive original jurisdiction of justices of the peace * * *.’” Id. at 237. Despite this

broad statutory grant of jurisdiction, the court found that the constitution did not “confer[]

14.
on the Court of Common Pleas general common-law jurisdiction, * * *” and prohibition

was not a “civil action[.]” Id. at 237-238. Thus, because the legislature had not enacted

statutes granting common pleas courts jurisdiction over prohibition actions, and common

pleas courts’ “jurisdiction in an original proceeding does not exist in the absence of

statutes conferring it[,]” the court concluded that the common pleas court in the

underlying case did not have jurisdiction to issue the writ of prohibition. Id. at 239.

       {¶ 27} The current version of the constitution seems to have fixed the

jurisdictional problem at issue in Miller. Article IV, Section 4(B), now gives courts of

common pleas “original jurisdiction over all justiciable matters and such powers of

review of proceedings of administrative officers and agencies as may be provided by

law.” (Emphasis added.) The Supreme Court has determined that this provision,

combined with the broad, general grant of jurisdiction over civil cases in R.C. 2305.01,

means that a common pleas court is entirely without subject-matter jurisdiction over a

class of cases only when a statute explicitly removes the court’s jurisdiction, for example,

by granting exclusive jurisdiction to another court or agency. See, e.g., Ohio High School

Athletic Assn., 157 Ohio St.3d 296, 2019-Ohio-2845, 136 N.E.3d 436, at ¶ 9; State ex rel.

Gray v. Kimbler, 169 Ohio St.3d 424, 2022-Ohio-3937, 205 N.E.3d 494, ¶ 15, citing

Ostanek v. Ostanek, 166 Ohio St.3d 1, 2021-Ohio-2319, 181 N.E.3d 1162, ¶ 29.

Prohibition is a “civil action,” so it falls within the jurisdictional parameters of R.C.

2305.01, which grants common pleas courts jurisdiction over “all civil cases” that exceed

15.
the amount over which municipal courts have exclusive, original jurisdiction. State ex

rel. Hare v. Russell, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-210344, 2022-Ohio-1932, ¶ 4.

       {¶ 28} Considering the changes in the constitution since Miller was decided, we

think that it is no longer controlling law regarding common pleas courts’ subject-matter

jurisdiction over prohibition actions. Specifically, the 1968 amendment resolved the lack

of “general common-law jurisdiction” that the Miller court believed was necessary for

prohibition to be within the common pleas courts’ jurisdiction. Miller at 237 (“If the

Constitution of Ohio conferred on the Court of Common Pleas general common-law

jurisdiction, we would be inclined to agree with counsel and to hold that such jurisdiction

included that necessary to issue a writ of prohibition.”).

       {¶ 29} Regarding the other cases, despite deciding these cases after the 1968

amendments to Article IV, Section 4, each court found that common pleas courts lacked

the authority to issues writs of prohibition. In Bernges, 23 Ohio App.2d at 90, 260

N.E.2d 839, the First District reached its conclusion by summarily conflating original

jurisdiction with exclusive jurisdiction. That is, the court found that the common pleas

court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction over a prohibition action because “such

jurisdiction [is] reserved to the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals by Section 2

and 3, respectively, of Article IV of the Constitution of the state of Ohio.” Id. However,

although Section 2(B)(1)(d) grants the Supreme Court “original jurisdiction in * * *

[p]rohibition[,]” and Section 3(B)(1)(d) grants the courts of appeals “original jurisdiction

16.
in * * * [p]rohibition[,]” neither section grants either court exclusive jurisdiction over

prohibition actions.

       {¶ 30} Critically, original jurisdiction and exclusive jurisdiction are not the same.

See, e.g., In re Black, 36 Ohio St.2d 124, 125-127, 304 N.E.2d 394 (1973) (explaining

that juvenile courts have original jurisdiction over habeas corpus cases involving child

custody, which they share with the Supreme Court and appeals courts, but their

jurisdiction is exclusive only in relation to common pleas courts and probate courts).

Contrary to the First District’s decision, the constitution does not limit prohibition

jurisdiction solely to the higher courts. Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Sections 2(B) and

3(B); see also State ex rel. Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Wortham, 176 Ohio App.3d 611,

2008-Ohio-2873, 893 N.E.2d 209, ¶ (2d Dist.) (reversing, without discussing lower

court’s subject-matter jurisdiction, common pleas court’s dismissal of prohibition petition

against city’s human relations council because council lacked jurisdiction to proceed with

its discrimination complaint against relator); compare R.C. 2733.03 (limiting jurisdiction

over quo warranto actions exclusively to the Supreme Court and courts of appeals).

       {¶ 31} In Russell, 87 Ohio App.3d at 513, 622 N.E.2d 697, the Eighth District

found that appellant filing a prohibition action in the common pleas court was frivolous

conduct under R.C. 2323.51 because he pursued the writ after appellee raised the issue of

the common pleas court’s jurisdiction. The court cited Miller, Bernges, and Sections

2(B) and 3(B) to support its finding that the common pleas court lacked jurisdiction

17.
because it was not statutorily granted jurisdiction over prohibition actions, and

prohibition is properly sought in the Supreme Court or a court of appeals because those

courts have original jurisdiction in prohibition. Id. But, as we have discussed, the

current version of Article IV, Section 4, and recent Supreme Court caselaw support a

more expansive definition of common pleas courts’ jurisdiction, and original jurisdiction

does not necessarily equal exclusive jurisdiction.

         {¶ 32} In short, we find that the earlier cases determining that a common pleas

court does not have jurisdiction over prohibition actions are inapplicable to the board’s

petition in this case. Thus, the board raised a claim cognizable in the trial court, and the

trial court erred in finding that it lacked jurisdiction to decide the board’s prohibition

claim.

              B. The prohibition claim was nonetheless properly dismissed.

         {¶ 33} Although the trial court incorrectly determined that it lacked jurisdiction

over the prohibition claim, this error did not prejudice the board because, as explained

below, the board cannot prevail on its prohibition claim as a matter of law.

         {¶ 34} An appellate court only has jurisdiction to review, affirm, modify, set aside,

or reverse lower court judgments that are based on the lower court’s commission of

prejudicial errors. Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Section 3(B)(2); R.C. 2501.02(C). An

appellate court cannot reverse a lower court decision that is legally correct even if it is a

result of erroneous reasoning (i.e., when it achieves the right result for the wrong reason)

18.
because the error is not prejudicial. Brown v. State, 2019-Ohio-4376, 147 N.E.3d 1194, ¶

41 (6th Dist.), citing Toledo v. Schmiedebusch, 192 Ohio App.3d 402, 2011-Ohio-284,

949 N.E.2d 504, ¶ 37 (6th Dist.); and Reynolds v. Budzik, 134 Ohio App.3d 844, 846, 732

N.E.2d 485 (6th Dist.1999), fn. 3. This rule applies when the trial court erroneously

dismisses a case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction (i.e., it does not reach the merits of

the underlying claim), but the underlying claim fails as a matter of law. Hassey v.

Columbus, 2018-Ohio-3958, 111 N.E.3d 1253, ¶ 33 (10th Dist.) (affirming trial court’s

decision—despite its error in finding that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction and its

consequent refusal to consider the merits of the case—because appellant could not show

that the plain language of a collective bargaining agreement applied to him).

       {¶ 35} A writ of prohibition is an “extraordinary remedy that is granted in limited

circumstances with great caution and restraint.” State ex rel. Corn v. Russo, 90 Ohio

St.3d 551, 554, 740 N.E.2d 265 (2001). To be entitled to a writ of prohibition, the relator

must establish that “(1) [the respondent] is about to exercise judicial or quasi-judicial

power, (2) the exercise of that power is unauthorized by law, and (3) denying the writ

would result in injury for which no other adequate remedy exists in the ordinary course of

law.” State ex rel. Smith v. Hall, 145 Ohio St.3d 473, 2016-Ohio-1052 50 N.E.3d 524, ¶

7. A writ of prohibition will not issue if the relator has an adequate remedy in the

ordinary course of law. Id. at ¶ 8. To be adequate, an alternate remedy must be

complete, beneficial, and speedy. State ex rel. Evans v. Blackwell, 111 Ohio St.3d 1,

19.
2006-Ohio-4334, 854 N.E.2d 1025, ¶ 37 (“Evans I”). When the respondent patently and

unambiguously lacks jurisdiction to act, the relator need not show the lack of an

adequate, alternate remedy. State ex rel. Sapp v. Franklin Cty. Court of Appeals, 118

Ohio St.3d 368, 2008-Ohio-2637, 889 N.E.2d 500, ¶ 15.

       {¶ 36} Here, the board has not shown that the superintendent of public instruction

patently and unambiguously lacks the authority to settle the residency dispute between it

and Perkins. On its face, R.C. 3313.64(K) gives the superintendent the authority to

determine residency disagreements between school districts. See Forest Hills Local

School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Huegel, 12th Dist. Clermont No. CA2002-07-050, 2003-Ohio-

3444, ¶ 11, fn. 1 (The statute “clearly requires that a residency dispute for school

purposes be determined by the state superintendent.”). And nothing in R.C. 2151.362(A)

explicitly precludes the superintendent from making a determination about a child’s

residency in accordance with the rules laid out in R.C. 3313.64. Thus, we cannot say that

ODE patently and unambiguously lacks jurisdiction. See State ex rel. Drouhard v.

Morrow Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 161 Ohio St.3d 357, 2020-Ohio-4160, 163 N.E.3d 518, ¶

29 (because the statute governing removal of appointed members of hospital board did

not specify how members of the appointing authority were to schedule removal hearings

or decide on removal, board of county commissioners, which made up the majority of the

appointing authority, did not patently and unambiguously lack authority to schedule a

removal hearing); State ex rel. M.L. v. O’Malley, 144 Ohio St.3d 553, 2015-Ohio-4855,

20.
45 N.E.3d 971, ¶ 15, 17 (When a trial court “arguably has jurisdiction” pursuant to

statute, “[a]ny lack of jurisdiction is not patent and unambiguous.”).4

       {¶ 37} Because the superintendent of public instruction does not patently and

unambiguously lack the authority to settle the residency dispute, the board must

demonstrate that it lacks an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. The board

cannot make this showing, as a matter of law, because an action for a declaratory

judgment, provided for in R.C. Chapter 2721, combined with a prohibitory injunction (as

opposed to a mandatory injunction) is an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law

that precludes a writ of prohibition. Evans I at ¶ 38.

       {¶ 38} A declaratory judgment action can “declare rights, status, and other legal

relations * * *” between parties. R.C. 2721.02(A). The purpose of a declaratory

judgment is “to dispose of ‘uncertain or disputed obligations quickly and conclusively’ *

* *.” Mid-Am. Fire & Cas. Co. v. Heasley, 113 Ohio St.3d 133, 2007-Ohio-1248, 863

N.E.2d 142, ¶ 8, quoting Ohio Farmers Indemn. Co. v. Chames, 170 Ohio St. 209, 213,

163 N.E.2d 367 (1959). “A prohibitory injunction preserves the status quo by enjoining a

defendant from performing the challenged acts in the future.” State ex rel. Gen. Motors

Corp. v. Indus. Comm., 117 Ohio St.3d 480, 2008-Ohio-1593, 884 N.E.2d 1075, ¶ 12. A

4
  To be clear, we are not definitively determining the issue of ODE’s jurisdiction to
decide the underlying residency dispute, nor do we address the legal impact of any
decision that ODE may ultimately reach in the residency dispute. We simply note that
the lack of jurisdiction—if any—is not patent and unambiguous.

21.
prohibitory injunction is different from a mandatory injunction. “The difference between

the two forms of relief is simple: ‘a prohibitory injunction is used to prevent a future

injury, but a mandatory injunction is used to remedy past injuries.’” State ex rel. Gadell-

Newton v. Husted, 153 Ohio St.3d 225, 2018-Ohio-1854, 103 N.E.3d 809, ¶ 10, quoting

Gen. Motors Corp. at ¶ 12.

       {¶ 39} Distinguishing between the two types of relief requires us to examine the

complaint to see if it actually seeks to prevent—not compel—some official action. Id.,

citing State ex rel. Evans v. Blackwell, 111 Ohio St.3d 437, 2006-Ohio-5439, 857 N.E.2d

88, ¶ 20; and State ex rel. Smith v. Indus. Comm., 139 Ohio St. 303, 306, 39 N.E.2d 838

(1942). More specifically, we must consider the allegations in the complaint and petition

to determine whether the board is seeking to prevent ODE from doing something to avoid

future injury—in which case prohibition is inappropriate—or to compel ODE to do

something to remedy a past injury—in which case the board lacks an adequate remedy in

the ordinary course of the law. See id. (applying this analysis to a mandamus claim).

       {¶ 40} In its complaint and petition, the board repeatedly asks the trial court to (1)

declare that ODE lacks authority to alter the children’s residence, (2) require ODE to

comply with R.C. 2151.362(A), and (3) require ODE to grant the board the due process

protections in R.C. Chapter 119 before changing the children’s residence. Although the

board framed its requests in terms of requiring or compelling ODE to do something, it

actually sought a ruling from the trial court about the interplay of R.C. 2151.362(A) and

22.
3313.64(K)—i.e., a declaratory judgment—along with orders preventing ODE from

making any decision that would change where the children reside for purposes of funding

their educations—i.e., a prohibitory injunction. In other words, ODE has not yet done

anything to cause injury to the board, so the board is seeking to prevent a future harm.

       {¶ 41} Here, the board’s complaint and petition are in the nature of a declaratory

judgment regarding the interpretation of R.C. 2151.362(A) and 3313.64(K) and a

prohibitory injunction against ODE. This means that the board has an adequate remedy

in the ordinary course of law through a declaratory judgment action. And because an

adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law exists, the board is not entitled to a writ of

prohibition as a matter of law. Smith, 145 Ohio St.3d 473, 2016-Ohio-1052, 50 N.E.3d

524, at ¶ 7. Therefore, we find that the trial court’s error in determining that it lacked

subject-matter jurisdiction was not prejudicial, so we cannot reverse the trial court’s

decision to dismiss the prohibition claim. Accordingly, the board’s first assignment of

error is not well-taken.

                C. Res judicata does not apply to the mandamus claim.

       {¶ 42} In its second assignment of error, the board contends that the trial court

erroneously dismissed its mandamus claim based on res judicata. It argues that no court

has ever issued a valid, final judgment on the merits of its mandamus complaint.

       {¶ 43} In response, ODE argues that the board sought writs of prohibition and

mandamus in the juvenile court alleging issues identical to the ones it raised in this case.

23.
Because the juvenile court already decided these claims, ODE contends, the board is

precluded from litigating these issues again.

       {¶ 44} Under the doctrine of res judicata, “[a] valid, final judgment rendered upon

the merits bars all subsequent actions based upon any claim arising out of the transaction

or occurrence that was the subject matter of the previous action.” Grava v. Parkman

Twp., 73 Ohio St.3d 379, 653 N.E.2d 226 (1995), syllabus. Application of res judicata

requires four things: “(1) there was a prior valid judgment on the merits; (2) the second

action involved the same parties as the first action; (3) the present action raises claims

that were or could have been litigated in the prior action; and (4) both actions arise out of

the same transaction or occurrence.” Reasoner v. Columbus, 10th Dist. Franklin No.

04AP-800, 2005-Ohio-468, ¶ 5.

       {¶ 45} “Res judicata ‘presupposes a judgment entered by a court of competent

jurisdiction.’” State ex rel. Cordray v. Marshall, 123 Ohio St.3d 229, 2009-Ohio-4986,

915 N.E.2d 633, ¶ 38, quoting State ex rel. Rose v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 91

Ohio St.3d 453, 455, 746 N.E.2d 1103 (2001). Thus, when a court does not have subject-

matter jurisdiction to determine the merits of a case, dismissal by the court lacking

jurisdiction is not res judicata to future cases. Billiter v. Banks, 135 Ohio St.3d 426,

2013-Ohio-1719, 988 N.E.2d 556, ¶ 11. Of importance in this case, a trial court

generally loses jurisdiction over a case after issuing its final order. Caterpillar Fin.

Servs. Corp. v. Tatman, 2019-Ohio-2110, 137 N.E.3d 512, ¶ 18 (4th Dist.); Allstate Ins.

24.
Co. v. Witta, 9th Dist. Summit No. 25738, 2011-Ohio-6068, ¶ 9 (“This Court has

consistently treated actions taken by the trial court subsequent to the entry of a final

judgment that are not within the scope of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure as void.”).

This is why a motion for reconsideration of a trial court’s final decision is a nullity, as is

a judgment entry resulting from the motion for reconsideration. Pitts v. Ohio Dept. of

Transp., 67 Ohio St.2d 378, 380-381, 423 N.E.2d 1105 (1981); State ex rel. White v.

Richard, 153 Ohio St.3d 277, 2018-Ohio-2696, 104 N.E.3d 770, ¶ 7.

       {¶ 46} Here, when the board moved to intervene in the custody cases, the juvenile

court determined that it did not have jurisdiction over the cases because the children’s

parents were still married and living together. Rather than appealing those decisions, the

board filed two motions for reconsideration in each case. The second motion in each case

included the board’s request for writs of prohibition and mandamus. The juvenile court’s

April 2021 judgment entries (which purported to reconsider the court’s earlier denial of

the board’s motions to intervene) addressed the merits of the board’s prohibition and

mandamus motions and denied both. However, as we explained when the board appealed

from the April 2021 judgment entries, the juvenile court’s December 2020 decisions

finding that it did not have jurisdiction were final orders that the board should have

appealed from. A.A., 6th Dist. Erie No. E-21-013; T.A., 6th Dist. Erie No. E-21-014.

Therefore, both the board’s motions for reconsideration and the juvenile court’s decisions

on those motions were nullities. Pitts at 380-381; White at ¶ 7. In other words, the

25.
juvenile court did not have jurisdiction over the custody cases when it issued the April

2021 judgment entries, so those entries do not constitute valid, final judgments for res

judicata purposes, and res judicata does not apply to bar the board’s mandamus claim in

this case.

         {¶ 47} Although the trial court erred by using res judicata to dismiss the

mandamus claim, this error did not prejudice the board. As we explain below, under the

board’s third assignment of error, the trial court properly granted summary judgment on

the mandamus claim, and we cannot reverse a lower court decision that arrives at the

right result for the wrong reason because the error is not prejudicial. Brown, 2019-Ohio-

4376, 147 N.E.3d 1194, at ¶ 41. Because the trial court correctly dismissed the

mandamus claim, any incorrect reasoning did not prejudice the board, and we cannot

reverse the decision. Accordingly, the board’s second assignment of error is not well-

taken.

  D. The trial court properly granted summary judgment on the mandamus claim.

         {¶ 48} Finally, in its third assignment of error, the board argues that the trial court

incorrectly granted summary judgment on its mandamus claim because genuine issues of

material fact are still in dispute. The board contends that ODE’s evidentiary materials are

outside the scope of Civ.R. 56(C); the only evidence properly before the trial court was

the board’s affidavits, which do not support summary judgment; and the board was not

26.
“given a reasonable opportunity to present all materials pertinent to oppose a motion for

summary judgment * * *.”

       {¶ 49} In response, ODE argues that the board did not point to genuine issues of

material fact in response to the summary judgment motion, it submitted proper evidence

to the trial court, and the trial court did not err by denying the board’s motion for a

continuance pending discovery.

       {¶ 50} We review summary judgment de novo using the same standard as the trial

court. Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co., 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105, 671 N.E.2d 241 (1996);

Lorain Natl. Bank v. Saratoga Apts., 61 Ohio App.3d 127, 129, 572 N.E.2d 198 (9th

Dist.1989). The court can grant a motion for summary judgment only when the moving

party demonstrates:

       (1) that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact; (2) that the moving

       party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) that reasonable

       minds can come to but one conclusion, and that conclusion is adverse to the

       party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, who is

       entitled to have the evidence construed most strongly in his favor.

Harless v. Willis Day Warehousing Co., 54 Ohio St.2d 64, 66, 375 N.E.2d 46 (1978);

Civ.R. 56(C).

       {¶ 51} The party seeking summary judgment must specifically delineate the basis

upon which the motion is brought and identify those portions of the record that

27.
demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Dresher v. Burt, 75 Ohio

St.3d 280, 293, 662 N.E.2d 264 (1996); Mitseff v. Wheeler, 38 Ohio St.3d 112, 526

N.E.2d 798 (1988), syllabus. When a properly supported motion for summary judgment

is made, an adverse party may not rest on mere allegations or denials in the pleadings, but

must respond with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact.

Civ.R. 56(E); Riley v. Montgomery, 11 Ohio St.3d 75, 79, 463 N.E.2d 1246 (1984). A

“material” fact is one that would affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable

substantive law. Russell v. Interim Personnel, Inc., 135 Ohio App.3d 301, 304, 733

N.E.2d 1186 (6th Dist.1999); Needham v. Provident Bank, 110 Ohio App.3d 817, 827,

675 N.E.2d 514 (8th Dist.1996), citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242,

248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

       {¶ 52} A writ of mandamus is an “extraordinary remedy” that requires a relator to

show (1) a clear legal right to the requested relief, (2) a clear legal duty on respondents’

part to provide it, and (3) the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the

law. State ex rel. White v. Woods, 156 Ohio St.3d 562, 2019-Ohio-1893, 130 N.E.3d

271, ¶ 7, citing State ex rel. Waters v. Spaeth, 131 Ohio St.3d 55, 2012-Ohio-69, 960

N.E.2d 452, ¶ 6. A writ of mandamus will not issue when there is a plain and adequate

remedy in the ordinary course of the law. R.C. 2731.05.

       {¶ 53} The board’s complaints under this assignment of error relate to the facts

underlying the parties’ dispute. The facts are largely immaterial to our resolution of this

28.
assignment of error, however, because the board is not entitled to a writ of mandamus as

a matter of law.

       {¶ 54} As with prohibition claims, declaratory judgment is also an adequate

remedy that precludes mandamus when the allegations in the petition indicate that the

petitioner is actually seeking declaratory judgment and a prohibitory injunction. Gadell-

Newton, 153 Ohio St.3d 225, 2018-Ohio-1854, 103 N.E.3d 809, at ¶ 9 (“If the allegations

of a complaint indicate that the real objects sought are a declaratory judgment and a

prohibitory injunction, then the complaint does not state a claim in mandamus * * *.”

(Emphasis sic.)). In contrast, if a mandamus petition actually seeks a declaratory

judgment and a mandatory injunction, a declaratory judgment action, standing alone,

would be an insufficient remedy and would not preclude the issuance of a writ of

mandamus. Id., quoting State ex rel. Arnett v. Winemiller, 80 Ohio St.3d 255, 259, 685

N.E.2d 1219 (1997) (“However, ‘where declaratory judgment would not be a complete

remedy unless coupled with extraordinary relief in the nature of a mandatory injunction,

the availability of declaratory judgment does not preclude a writ of mandamus.’”

(Emphasis sic.)).

       {¶ 55} As we discussed in relation to the prohibition petition, the board’s

complaint and petition are in the nature of a declaratory judgment regarding the

interpretation of R.C. 2151.362(A) and 3313.64(K) and a prohibitory injunction against

ODE. This means that the board has an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law

29.
through a declaratory judgment action. And because an adequate remedy in the ordinary

course of law exists, the board is not entitled to a writ of mandamus as a matter of law.

State ex rel. Denton v. Bedinghaus, 98 Ohio St.3d 298, 2003-Ohio-861, 784 N.E.2d 99, ¶

23 (petitioners were not entitled to mandamus because they essentially sought a

declaration that respondents’ conduct was illegal and an injunction to prevent

respondents from continuing the conduct in the future).

       {¶ 56} Because the board was not entitled to a writ of mandamus as a matter of

law, the trial court correctly granted summary judgment to ODE, albeit for the wrong

reason. The board’s third assignment of error is not well-taken.

                                     III. Conclusion

       {¶ 57} Based on the foregoing, the February 10, 2023 decision of the Erie County

Court of Common Pleas is affirmed. The board is ordered to pay the costs of this appeal

under App.R. 24.

                                                                        Judgment affirmed.

       A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to App.R. 27.
See also 6th Dist.Loc.App.R. 4.

30.
                                                State of Ohio, ex rel. The Kelley’s Island
                                                      School District Board of Education
                                             v. The Ohio Department of Education, et al.
                                                                                E-23-020

Christine E. Mayle, J.                        ____________________________
                                                      JUDGE
Gene A. Zmuda, J.
                                              ____________________________
Myron C. Duhart, J.                                   JUDGE
CONCUR.
                                              ____________________________
                                                      JUDGE

       This decision is subject to further editing by the Supreme Court of
  Ohio’s Reporter of Decisions. Parties interested in viewing the final reported
       version are advised to visit the Ohio Supreme Court’s web site at:
                http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/docs/.

31.