Walsh v. Walsh

[Cite as Walsh v. Walsh, 2020-Ohio-6998.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO
KENNETH J. WALSH, : MEMORANDUM OPINION
Petitioner-Appellant, :
CASE NO. 2020-A-0050
- vs - :
CARMELLA A. WALSH, :
Petitioner-Appellee. :
Civil Appeal from the Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 2016 DR
00334.
Judgment: Appeal dismissed.
Darya Jeffreys Klammer, The Klammer Law Office, Ltd., 7482 Center Street, Unit 6,
Mentor, OH 44060 (For Petitioner-Appellee).
Kenneth J. Walsh, pro se, 1144 Lloyd Road, Wickliffe, OH 44092 (Petitioner-Appellant).
MARY JANE TRAPP, J.
{¶1} Appellant, Kenneth J. Walsh, filed a pro se appeal from an October 20, 2020
amended order, in which a magistrate from the Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas
ordered him to pay $2,000 per month for spousal support as ordered by an earlier
judgment entry of November 17, 2016 in the parties dissolution proceeding, pending
resolution of Mr. Walsh’s “Post Judgment Motion to Reopen” the dissolution filed June
12, 2020.
{¶2} Appellee, Carmella A. Walsh, through counsel, filed a motion to dismiss the
appeal as interlocutory.
{¶3} Initially, we must determine whether there is a final appealable order since
this court may entertain only those appeals from final judgments or orders. Noble v.
Colwell, 44 Ohio St. 3d 92, 96 (1989). Under Section 3(B)(2), Article IV of the Ohio
Constitution, a judgment of a trial court can be immediately reviewed by an appellate court
only if it constitutes a “final order” in the action. Germ v. Fuerst, 11th Dist. Lake No. 2003-
L-116, 2003-Ohio-6241, ¶ 3. If a lower court’s order is not final, then an appellate court
does not have jurisdiction to review the matter, and the matter must be dismissed. Gen.
Acc. Ins. Co. v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 44 Ohio St. 3d 17, 20 (1989).
{¶4} R.C. 2505.02(B) defines a “final order” and sets forth seven categories of
appealable judgments, and if the judgment of the trial court satisfies any of them, it will
be deemed a “final order” and can be immediately appealed and reviewed. In the instant
matter, the October 20, 2020 order does not fit within any of the categories of final orders
pursuant to R.C. 2505.02(B) and did not dispose of all the pending claims.
{¶5} “* * * [A] magistrate may enter orders without judicial approval if necessary
to regulate the proceedings and if not dispositive of a claim or defense of a party.” See
Civ.R. 53(D)(2)(a)(i). This court has stated a magistrate’s order requires trial court
approval if it disposes of a party’s claim. Tran v. Tran, 11th Dist. Geauga No. 2019-G-
0228, 2020-Ohio-241, ¶ 6.
{¶6} This court has also held that magistrate’s orders are interlocutory by nature.
Bar 145 Franchising, LLC v. College Town Kent, LLC, 11th Dist. Portage No. 2017-P-
2
0102, 2018-Ohio-2459, at ¶ 11. “Although magistrate’s orders are effective without judicial
approval, they are not directly appealable.” Id.
{¶7} Here, the October 20, 2020 magistrate’s order is not a final appealable
order, and this court does not have jurisdiction to hear this appeal. Since the magistrate’s
order has not yet received “judicial approval,” it remains an interlocutory order and may
be reconsidered upon the court’s own motion or that of a party. Nothing is preventing
appellant from obtaining effective relief through an appeal once the trial court has entered
a final judgment in the action.
{¶8} Accordingly, appellee’s motion to dismiss is hereby granted, and this appeal
is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
CYNTHIA WESTCOTT RICE, J.,
THOMAS R. WRIGHT, J.,
concur.
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