Owensby v. Owensby

Citations

• 2023 Ohio 4824

Syllabus

Appellant failed to file a transcript when she objected to the magistrate's decision, which found that appellee, the child support obligor, was entitled to one of four tax exemptions for the parties' children. Due to appellant's failure, the trial court was limited to the facts in the magistrate's decision that decision noted several factors that reasonably supported granting one tax exemption to appellee and did not cite any facts indicating that appellee was not substantially current in child support or that he would not be able to take advantage of the tax exemption for one child. The trial court agreed with the magistrate and found it equitable to give appellee one tax exemption. Appellate review of the court's adoption of the magistrate's decision is limited to whether the court correctly applied the law to the facts in the magistrate's decision. The trial court did so here, relying on Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(iii), which governs objections to magistrates' decisions where no transcript is filed, and R.C. 3119.82, which contains factors that are used to evaluate which party will be given tax exemptions when the parties disagree. Judgment affirmed.