# Westerville City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Delaware Cty. Bd. of Revision

> Ohio Court of Appeals · August 2, 2024 · 2024 Ohio 2963

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10498247

## Case

- **Court:** Ohio Court of Appeals
- **Decided:** August 2, 2024
- **Citations:** 2024 Ohio 2963
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Judges:** Hoffman
- **Cited by:** 1 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

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## Opinion text

[Cite as Westerville City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Delaware Cty. Bd. of Revision, 2024-Ohio-2963.]

COURT OF APPEALS
DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO
FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

WESTERVILLE CITY SCHOOL JUDGES:
DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION Hon. W. Scott Gwin, P.J.
Hon. William B. Hoffman, J.
Appellant Hon. Craig R. Baldwin, J.

-vs-
Case No. 24 CAE 01 0006
DELAWARE COUNTY BOARD OF
REVISION, ET AL.,

Appellees OPINION

CHARACTER OF PROCEEDINGS: Appeal from the Delaware County Court of
Common Pleas, Case No. 23 CV F 10
0805

JUDGMENT: Affirmed

DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: August 2, 2024

APPEARANCES:

For Appellant For Westar Polaris III, LLC

MARK H. GILLIS EDWARD F. HIRSHBERG
KELLEY A. GORRY Ryan Law Firm, PLLC
Rich & Gillis Law Group, LLC 301 Grant Street, Suite 270
5747 Perimeter Drive, Suite 150 Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Dublin, OH 43017
For County Appellees

MICHAEL P. CAVANAUGH
Delaware County Prosecutor's Office
145 North Union Street, 3rd Floor
P.O. Box 8006
Delaware, OH 43015
Delaware County, Case No. 24 CAE 01 0006 2

Hoffman, J.
{¶1} Appellant Westerville City Schools Board of Education appeals the

judgment entered by the Delaware County Common Pleas Court dismissing its

administrative appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Appellee is Westar Polaris III, ILC.1

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE

{¶2} On March 21, 2023, Appellee filed an original complaint with the Delaware

County Board of Revision (hereinafter “BOR”) seeking to decrease the value placed on a

parcel of property owned by Appellee by the Delaware County Auditor from $14, 657, 100

to $13, 450,000. On September 27, 2023, the BOR adopted Appellee’s opinion of value.

Appellant appealed this decision to the Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

{¶3} In the trial court, Appellant sought to stay the proceedings due to the

pendency of numerous appeals by other school districts in this Court which raised the

same issues. The trial court denied the motion to stay, and sua sponte dismissed

Appellant’s administrative appeal for lack of jurisdiction, finding Appellant did not have

standing to appeal the BOR’s decision to the Court of Common Pleas. It is from the

January 2, 2024 decision of the Delaware County Common Pleas Court Appellant

prosecutes this appeal, assigning as error:

I. THE DELAWARE COUNTY COMMON PLEAS COURT ERRED

IN HOLDING THAT R.C. 2506.01 DOES NOT CREATE AN

INDEPENDENT RIGHT OF APPEAL IN DIRECT CONTRAVENTION OF

1 Appellees Delaware County Auditor and Delaware County Board of Revision did not file a brief in the

instant appeal.
Delaware County, Case No. 24 CAE 01 0006 3

THE PLAIN LANGUAGE OF THE STATUTE AND SUPREME COURT

PRECEDENT.

II. THE DELAWARE COUNTY COMMON PLEAS COURT

COMMITTED LEGAL ERROR IN CITING JRB HOLDINGS, HAMER, AND

NKANGINIEME AS SUPPORT FOR ITS HOLDING THAT R.C. 2506.01

DOES NOT CREATE AN INDEPENDENT STATUTORY RIGHT OF

APPEAL.

III. THE DELAWARE COUNTY COMMON PLEAS COURT ERRED

IN HOLDING THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION LACKED STATUTORY

STANDING TO APPEAL PURSUANT TO R.C. 2506.01.

I., II., III.

{¶4} This Court has previously considered the legal issues raised by Appellant

in the instant appeal. The assignments of error are overruled for the reasons stated in

Westerville City School Dist. Bd. of Education v. Delaware Cnty. Bd. of Revision, 2024-

Ohio-1567 (5th Dist.); Olentangy Local School Dist. Bd. of Education v. Delaware Cnty.

Bd. of Revision, 2024-Ohio-1564 (5th Dist.); and Delaware City Schools Bd. of Education

v. Delaware Cnty. Bd. of Revision, 2024-Ohio-1565 (5th Dist.).
Delaware County, Case No. 24 CAE 01 0006 4

{¶5} The judgment of the Delaware County Common Pleas Court is affirmed.

By: Hoffman, J.
Gwin, P.J. and
Baldwin, J. concur

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10498247. Public record. Not legal advice.