Gentry v. Silver Linings Agency

Citations

• 258 N.E.3d 614
• 2024 Ohio 5503

Syllabus

SUMMARY JUDGMENT — R.C. 2307.60 — CIVIL RECOVERY FOR CRIME VICTIMS — CHILD ENDANGERMENT — WITNESS INTIMIDATION — OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE — UNJUST ENRICHMENT: The trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to defendant-employer and denying plaintiff-employee's motion for summary judgment on plaintiff-employee's claim for damages as a crime victim based on defendant-employer's alleged act of witness intimidation where plaintiff-employee failed to present evidence of an underlying criminal act and was therefore not a \witness\ under the meaning of the intimidation statute. The trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to defendant-employer on plaintiff-employee's civil claim for obstructing justice where plaintiff-employee failed to present evidence of an underlying crime and therefore did not establish all elements of the obstructing-justice statute and plaintiff-employee was otherwise not a \victim\ of the crime of obstructing justice because the State, and not an individual, is the victim of obstructing justice. The trial court did not err in denying plaintiff-employee's motion for summary judgment and granting defendant-employer summary judgment on plaintiff-employee's unjust-enrichment claim where plaintiff-employee failed to present any evidence of her damages: plaintiff-employee was not entitled to an adverse inference against defendants-employers based on defendants-employers' claimed failure to turn over receipts submitted by plaintiff-employee where plaintiff-employee did not file a motion to compel, defendants-employers did not violate a court order, and plaintiff-employee failed to establish defendants-employers wrongfully withheld the receipts from plaintiff-employee.