Worley v. State , 2014 Ohio 1429 ( 2014 )

[Cite as Worley v. State, 2014-Ohio-1429.]
Court of Appeals of Ohio
EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
No. 100200
PEREZ WORLEY
PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE
vs.
STATE OF OHIO
DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
JUDGMENT:
REVERSED AND REMANDED
Civil Appeal from the
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Case No. CV-13-803166
BEFORE: Kilbane, J., Keough, P.J., and McCormack, J.
RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: April 3, 2014
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT
Timothy J. McGinty
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
By: Brian R. Gutkoski
Assistant County Prosecutor
The Justice Center - 9th Floor
1200 Ontario Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Mark Marein
Marein & Bradley
526 Superior Avenue
Suite 222
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
R. Emmett Moran
Davis & Young
1200 Fifth Third Center
600 Superior Avenue, East
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
MARY EILEEN KILBANE, J.:
{¶1} Defendant-appellant, the state of Ohio (the “State”), appeals from the trial
court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff-appellee, Perez Worley
(“Worley”), finding that he is a wrongfully imprisoned individual under R.C.
2743.48(A)(5). Based on the Ohio Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Mansaray v. State,
Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-750, we reverse the trial court’s judgment on Worley’s
motion for summary judgment and remand with instructions for the trial court to enter
judgment in favor of the State.
{¶2} The facts surrounding Worley’s convictions underlying this civil case are
described by this court in State v. Worley, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 94590,
2011-Ohio-2779. In 2009, Worley was convicted for attempted murder, aggravated
robbery, felonious assault, kidnapping, and carrying a concealed weapon for robbing and
shooting two males. The trial court sentenced Worley to 29 years in prison. In 2011,
we reversed his convictions and remanded the matter for a new trial, finding that the
investigating officer’s testimony regarding a witness and the codefendant violated the
Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause and should not have been admitted. Id. at ¶
19.
{¶3} Following our remand, Worley proceeded to a new jury trial, at which he was
found not guilty of all charges. Subsequently, Worley filed a wrongful imprisonment
complaint in March 2013. In his complaint, he alleged that he was a wrongfully
imprisoned individual under R.C. 2743.48(A)(5). R.C. 2743.48 governs civil actions
against the State for wrongful imprisonment, and provides in pertinent part:
(A) As used in this section and section 2743.49 of the Revised Code, a
“wrongfully imprisoned individual” means an individual who satisfies each
of the following:
(1) The individual was charged with a violation of a section of the Revised
Code by an indictment or information, and the violation charged was an
aggravated felony or felony.
(2) The individual was found guilty of, but did not plead guilty to, the
particular charge or a lesser-included offense by the court or jury involved,
and the offense of which the individual was found guilty was an aggravated
felony or felony.
(3) The individual was sentenced to an indefinite or definite term of
imprisonment in a state correctional institution for the offense of which the
individual was found guilty.
(4) The individual’s conviction was vacated, dismissed, or reversed on
appeal, the prosecuting attorney in the case cannot or will not seek any
further appeal of right or upon leave of court, and no criminal proceeding is
pending, can be brought, or will be brought by any prosecuting attorney,
city director of law, village solicitor, or other chief legal officer of a
municipal corporation against the individual for any act associated with that
conviction.
(5) Subsequent to sentencing and during or subsequent to imprisonment, an
error in procedure resulted in the individual’s release, or it was determined
by the court of common pleas in the county where the underlying criminal
action was initiated that the charged offense, including all lesser-included
offenses, either was not committed by the individual or was not committed
by any person.
{¶4} In June 2013, Worley moved for summary judgment, arguing that he is a
wrongfully imprisoned individual under R.C. 2743.48(A)(5) because an error in
procedure resulted in his release. The State opposed Worley’s motion, arguing that
Worley’s error in procedure did not happen subsequent to sentencing. The trial court
granted Worley’s motion for summary judgment, finding that he is a wrongfully
imprisoned individual. The court stated:
Worley is determined to be a wrongfully imprisoned individual under [R.C.
2743.48]; that [Worley] was acquitted at retrial, and the court further finds
that an error in procedure resulted in [Worley’s] subsequent release from
prison; therefore[,] summary judgment of [Worley] is granted. The court
further gives notice to [Worley] that he may commence a civil action
against the state in the court of claims as a result of the wrongful
imprisonment, and that he has the right to be represented in said claims by
counsel of his choice.
{¶5} The State now appeals, raising the following six assignments of error for
review.
Assignment of Error One
The trial court committed reversible error when it purportedly granted
Worley’s summary judgment motion.
Assignment of Error Two
The trial court committed reversible [error when it] denied the State’s
motion to strike jury demand as moot.
Assignment of Error Three
The trial court abused its discretion when it granted Worley’s motion for
protective order that failed to comply with the plain language of Civ.R. 26.
Assignment of Error Four
The trial court abused its discretion when it denied the State leave to file a
cross motion for summary judgment when the case was only three months
old and had not been set for trial, where the court never fixed a dispositive
motion deadline, and where the court had granted Worley’s leave to file for
summary judgment, instanter, less than thirty days prior.
Assignment of Error Five
The trial court committed reversible error when it granted Worley’s July 3,
2013 motion to strike the evidentiary materials attached to the State’s
opposition to summary judgment.
Assignment of Error Six
The trial court committed reversible error when [it] sua sponte “Note[d] an
error was made” but nonetheless denied the State’s Civ.R. 60 motion
without a hearing.
Motion for Summary Judgment
{¶6} We review an appeal from summary judgment under a de novo standard of
review. Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co., 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105, 671 N.E.2d 241 (1996);
Zemcik v. LaPine Truck Sales & Equip. Co., 124 Ohio App.3d 581, 585, 706 N.E.2d 860(8th Dist.1998). In Zivich v. Mentor Soccer Club, 82 Ohio St.3d 367, 369-370, 696
N.E.2d 201 (1998), the Ohio Supreme Court set forth the appropriate test as follows:
Pursuant to Civ.R. 56, summary judgment is appropriate when (1) there is
no genuine issue of material fact, (2) the moving party is entitled to
judgment as a matter of law, and (3) reasonable minds can come to but one
conclusion and that conclusion is adverse to the nonmoving party, said party
being entitled to have the evidence construed most strongly in his favor.
Horton v. Harwick Chem. Corp. (1995), 73 Ohio St.3d 679,
1995-Ohio-286, 653 N.E.2d 1196, paragraph three of the syllabus. The
party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of showing that there
is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a
matter of law. Dresher v. Burt (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 280, 292-293,
1996-Ohio-107, 662 N.E.2d 264, 273-274.
{¶7} Once the moving party satisfies its burden, the nonmoving party “may not
rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the party’s pleadings, but the party’s response,
by affidavit or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing
that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Civ.R. 56(E); Mootispaw v. Eckstein, 76 Ohio
St.3d 383, 385, 667 N.E.2d 1197 (1996). Doubts must be resolved in favor of the
nonmoving party. Murphy v. Reynoldsburg, 65 Ohio St.3d 356, 358-359, 604 N.E.2d
138 (1992).
{¶8} The issue in this case is whether Worley is a “wrongfully imprisoned
individual” as defined in R.C. 2743.48(A)(5). The Ohio Supreme Court provides the
answer to this question in Mansaray, Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-750.
{¶9} In Mansaray, plaintiff-appellee, Yanko Mansaray, filed a wrongfully
imprisoned individual complaint after his convictions were reversed by this court.
Mansaray at ¶ 2-4, citing State v. Mansaray, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 93562,
2010-Ohio-5119. The trial court dismissed his wrongfully imprisoned individual
complaint, and we reversed, concluding that Mansaray satisfied all five requirements of
R.C. 2743.48(A)(1)-(5). Id. at ¶ 4. The State appealed, and the Ohio Supreme Court
accepted jurisdiction. Id.
{¶10} The Ohio Supreme Court’s analysis focused on whether Mansaray was a
wrongfully imprisoned individual under R.C. 2743.48(A)(5), which provides that:
Subsequent to sentencing and during or subsequent to imprisonment, an
error in procedure resulted in the individual’s release, or it was determined
by the court of common pleas in the county where the underlying criminal
action was initiated that the charged offense, including all lesser-included
offenses, either was not committed by the individual or was not committed
by any person.
{¶11} The court noted that
‘[t]he fifth factor of R.C. 2743.48(A) may be fulfilled in one of two ways:
(1) subsequent to sentencing and during or subsequent to imprisonment “an
error in procedure resulted in the individual’s release” or (2) the charged
offense (and any lesser included offense) was not committed by the
individual or no crime was committed at all (actual innocence).’
Id. at ¶ 7, quoting Doss v. State, 135 Ohio St.3d 211, 2012-Ohio-5678, 985 N.E.2d 1229,
¶ 12.
{¶12} The State argued that the subsequent event is an error in procedure that
occurs after sentencing and during or after imprisonment. Mansaray argued that the
subsequent event is a judicial determination that an error occurred, even if that error
occurred prior to sentencing and imprisonment. Mansaray, Slip Opinion No.
2014-Ohio-750, at ¶ 8.
{¶13} The court found that the State’s interpretation is correct, noting that
the state’s version is the meaning that is obvious and common in large part
because in the state’s version, the introductory phrase modifies “error in
procedure,” the noun phrase closest to it. Youngstown Club v. Porterfield,
21 Ohio St.2d 83, 86, 255 N.E.2d 262 (1970). In Mansaray’s version, the
introductory phrase modifies a noun phrase that doesn’t appear in the
statute: “a judicial determination that an error in procedure occurred.”
***
Nothing in the statute indicates that the General Assembly intended to open
the state to liability for wrongful imprisonment when a conviction is
reversed based on a procedural error that occurred prior to sentencing.
Mansaray’s interpretation would greatly expand the ability of defendants to
seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment. If that is indeed what the
General Assembly intended, it did a remarkable job of keeping it to itself —
and it will be able to enact such legislation upon learning that we do not
think that it has already done so.
Id. at ¶ 9-10.
{¶14} The Mansaray court concluded that “when a defendant seeks a declaration
that he is a wrongfully imprisoned individual and seeks to satisfy R.C. 2743.48(A)(5) by
proving that an error in procedure resulted in his release, the error in procedure must have
occurred subsequent to sentencing and during or subsequent to imprisonment.” Id. at ¶
12; syllabus.
{¶15} Likewise, in the instant case, the error in procedure — a Confrontation
Clause violation — that resulted in Worley’s release did not occur subsequent to
sentencing and during or subsequent to imprisonment. Accordingly, Worley did not
satisfy R.C. 2743.48(A)(5) and is not a wrongfully imprisoned individual. We reverse
the trial court’s judgment on Worley’s motion for summary judgment and remand with
instructions for the trial court to enter judgment, as a matter of law, in favor of the State.
See App.R. 12(B).
{¶16} In the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth assignments of error, the State
argues that the trial court committed several procedural errors. However, based on our
disposition of the first assignment of error, the remaining assignments of error are
overruled as moot. See App.R. 12(A)(1)(c).
{¶17} Judgment is reversed, and the matter is remanded with instructions for the
trial court to enter judgment in favor of State.
It is ordered that appellant recover from appellee costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate be sent to said court to carry this judgment into
execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of
the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
MARY EILEEN KILBANE, JUDGE
KATHLEEN ANN KEOUGH, P.J., and
TIM McCORMACK, J., CONCUR