Miller v. Bates

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 1679

Syllabus

Although appellee conferred a benefit on appellant, who was his then-girlfriend, by helping with the construction of her home, he acted as a volunteer and also benefited from living in the home for 30 months without contributing to living expenses. Under these circumstances, and in the absence of any evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, or bad faith on the part of appellant, the trial court's finding of unjust enrichment was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Moreover, appellee's construction company, a limited liability company, was not a party to this action; although appellee was the company's sole member, the trial court erred as a matter of law in awarding damages to appellee on behalf of the company. Appellee was entitled to recover for the value of his personal gun safe, which had been built into appellant's home, either through return of the safe or payment for its value. Judgment reversed and remanded.