Watts v. Fledderman

Citations

• 2018 Ohio 2732

Syllabus

CONTRACTS – REAL PROPERTY/LANDLORD AND TENANT – CIV.R. 6(B) – PROCEDURE/RULES: The trial court did not abuse its discretion under Civ.R. 52 by asking the prevailing party to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and by then adopting the prevailing party's proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law when they accurately reflected the record and the law. In a declaratory-judgment action concerning the escrowed proceeds from the sale of real property, the trial court did not err in awarding the proceeds to the titled owner of the property and dismissing a counterclaim brought by the deceased tenant's sister contending that the deceased tenant was the equitable owner of the property pursuant to an oral land contract where the deceased tenant had entered into a commercial lease agreement with the owners the clear and unambiguous language of the lease gave the deceased tenant the right-of-first-refusal to purchase the property for $40,000 and the deceased tenant had not exercised the right of first refusal during his lifetime, but had acted consistently with his obligations as a commercial tenant of the property. The trial court properly dismissed with prejudice a counterclaim for a breach of a claimed residential lease agreement and for reimbursement of monies paid by the decedent during the tenancy in violation of Ohio's Landlord-Tenant Act where the clear and unambiguous language of the lease agreement showed that the agreement was a commercial lease, which was not subject to the provisions of the Landlord Tenant Act. The trial court did not abuse its discretion under Civ.R. 6(B) in denying a motion for a default judgment on counterclaims for a declaratory judgment and a breach of a claimed residential lease agreement, or in granting the titled property owner's motion for leave to file an answer out of time, where the counterclaims demanded the opposite declaratory relief that the titled property owner sought in her declaratory-judgment claim and