Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter Co., L.P.A. v. Croce

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 1627

Syllabus

Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. The trial court erred when it ruled that appellant could not present his recoupment defense to the jury in response to appellee's breach of contract claim for unpaid attorney fees and instead held a bench trial to try the defense. Because recoupment existed in common law courts, the trial court erroneously concluded that it was an equitable defense to which the right to a jury trial under Article I, Section 5 of the Ohio Constitution did not attach. During the jury trial, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it excluded a portion of the testimony of appellant's expert witness as a discovery sanction, as the expert attempted to testify about calculations not disclosed in his report. The jury's verdict in favor of appellee and award of damages is affirmed, but the trial court's verdict in favor of appellee on the recoupment defense is reversed and the cause is remanded to allow appellant the opportunity to present the defense to a jury.