Opinion

Tokes v. Dept. of Rehab. & Corr.

  • 2018 Ohio 4149
Court
Ohio Court of Claims
Filed
Sep 4, 2018
Status
Published
On the bench
McGrath
Cited by
1 cases
Authority
More cited than 44.7%

The opinion

[Cite as Tokes v. Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 2018-Ohio-4149.]

ESTATE OF REAGAN TOKES Case No. 2018-00846JD

Plaintiff Judge Patrick M. McGrath

v. DECISION

DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION

AND CORRECTION

Defendant

{¶1} Before the court is a Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion filed on June 15, 2018, by

defendant Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) wherein DRC moves the

court to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff Estate of Reagan Tokes (the Estate)

opposes DRC’s Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion. The matter is fully briefed and is before the

court for decision.

I. Introduction

{¶2} This wrongful-death case stems from the death of Reagan Tokes by Brian

Golsby, who has been convicted in an Ohio common pleas court for murdering Tokes

and sentenced to prison. DRC has stated in support of its present motion: “The

kidnapping, assault and murder of Reagan Tokes was a horrible, evil, unspeakable act.”

DRC’s Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion raises whether the Estate’s complaint sets forth a claim

upon which relief may be granted. The court is cognizant of the tragedy suffered by

Reagan Tokes, Reagan Tokes’s family, and others who have been affected by the

murder of Tokes.

II. Background

{¶3} On May 21, 2018, the Estate, by its administrator Gregory Utter, brought a

wrongful-death action under R.C. 2125.01 et seq. and a “survivor’s action” under

Case No. 2018-00846JD -2- DECISION

R.C. 2305.21 against DRC. According to the Estate, Reagan Tokes “was murdered in

Columbus, Ohio by Brian Golsby on February 8, 2017.” (Complaint, ¶ 3.) The Estate

asserts in its complaint that DRC acted negligently following Golsby’s release from

prison in November 2016 after Golsby served a six-year sentence for robbery and

attempted rape. The Estate seeks a determination that DRC is liable for Tokes’s death.

{¶4} According to the Estate, following Golsby’s release from prison, Golsby was

on mandatory post-release control and, during this time, Golsby was subject to

supervision and monitoring by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (APA). The Estate

asserts that, although Golsby was sanctioned twice in December 2016 for violating

terms of his release and Golsby was later sanctioned for violating a term of his release

in January 2017 (Complaint, ¶ 25-27), Golsby was not arrested or put under more

restrictive conditions. And, according to the Estate, in late January 2017 and early

February 2017, Golsby engaged in a “crime wave” in Columbus, Ohio, where he

committed multiple crimes. With respect to Reagan Tokes, the Estate asserts that, on

February 8, 2017, Golsby forcibly abducted Tokes after she left work and Golsby forced

Tokes to withdraw money from ATMs. According to the Estate, the car containing

Golsby and Tokes entered a metro park, where Golsby raped and murdered Tokes.

The Estate asserts that Golsby was arrested, charged with several crimes relative to his

actions against Tokes, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment without the

possibility of parole. (Complaint, ¶ 48-49.) The Estate seeks compensatory damages in

an amount to be determined at trial, a trial by jury, and other relief as is just and proper.

(Complaint.)

III. DRC’s motion to dismiss

{¶5} On June 15, 2018, DRC moved the court to dismiss the Estate’s complaint

pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6), urging that, under R.C. 2743.02(A)(3), DRC is not liable for

the performance of its public duties, and that general tort law principles preclude a

finding that DRC should be held liable for the criminal acts of Golsby.

Case No. 2018-00846JD -3- DECISION

{¶6} In opposition, the Estate has asserted that it has met its pleading burden

under Civ.R. 8(A); that DRC was under a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect

Tokes when DRC took charge of Golsby and DRC knew or should have known that

Golsby was likely to cause physical harm to others if not controlled; that immunities

contained in R.C. 2743.01(E)(1) are not applicable under the allegations in the

complaint; and that a motion to dismiss should not be granted as the complaint’s

allegations assert DRC’s failure to comply with obligations under R.C. 2967.26 that are

not subject to sovereign immunity or “public duty” defense. And, according to the

Estate, a motion to dismiss may not be granted on grounds that DRC was engaged in

“law enforcement,” “licensing,” “supervision,” or “monitoring” for the reason that “these

terms as determinants of immunity are void for vagueness.” The Estate contends that a

motion to dismiss “should not be granted on the basis of a claim of governmental

immunities as set forth in R.C. 2743.02(A)(3) and R.C. 2743.01(E)(1) for the reason that

those immunities are unconstitutional in violation of Ohio Constitution Section 16, Article

I” and that a motion to dismiss “should not be granted where the complaint alleges that

the third party/offender was on post release control, where the defendant agency had

established a curfew requirement, where the defendant agency had the power to violate

the offender, and was negligent in not violating and arresting the offender for multiple

curfew violations prior to the offender murdering the plaintiff [sic].” (Memorandum in

Opposition, 16, 20.)

{¶7} In reply, DRC maintains that Golsby was not released pursuant to R.C.

2967.26, as the Estate indicates in its response, and that there was no statutory duty to

confine Golsby after he completed his sentence in 2016. DRC also maintains that the

“public duty rule” applies to the performance and non-performance of a public duty and

that the public duty rule contained in R.C. 2743.02(A)(3), including the definition of

public duty in R.C. 2743.01(E), is constitutional.

Case No. 2018-00846JD -4- DECISION

IV. Law and Analysis

A. Standard of Review

{¶8} Civ.R. 12(B)(6) permits a party to move a court to dismiss a complaint for

failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. According to Civ.R. 12, every

defense, in law or fact, to a claim for relief in any pleading, whether a claim,

counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, “shall be asserted in the responsive

pleading thereto if one is required, except that the following defenses may at the option

of the pleader be made by motion: * * * (6) failure to state a claim upon which relief can

be granted * * *.” In State ex rel. Hanson v. Guernsey Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 65 Ohio

St.3d 545, 548, 605 N.E.2d 378 (1992), the Supreme Court of Ohio explained that a

motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted “is

procedural and tests the sufficiency of the complaint.” And in Coleman v. Columbus

State Community College, 2015-Ohio-4685, 49 N.E.3d 832, ¶ 6 (10th Dist.), the Tenth

District Court of Appeals stated:

In ruling on a motion to dismiss, pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6), the court

must construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff,

presume all factual allegations in the complaint are true, and make all

reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Mitchell v. Lawson Milk Co.,

40 Ohio St.3d 190, 192, 532 N.E.2d 753 (1988). The dismissal of a

complaint for failure to state a claim is proper when it appears, beyond

doubt, that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts entitling him to relief.

Celeste v. Wiseco Piston, 151 Ohio App.3d 554, 2003-Ohio-703, ¶ 12,

784 N.E.2d 1198 (11th Dist.).

Thus, by DRC’s Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion, DRC asks the court to determine whether, after

construing the Estate’s complaint in a light most favorable to the Estate, presuming that

all factual allegations in the complaint are true, and making all reasonable inferences in

favor of the Estate, it appears beyond doubt, that the Estate can prove no set of facts

entitling it to relief.

Case No. 2018-00846JD -5- DECISION

B. Analysis

{¶9} The state maintains that the public-duty doctrine precludes a finding that

DRC is liable under the circumstances of this case. The public-duty doctrine, also

termed public-duty rule, is defined as the “rule that a governmental entity * * * cannot be

held liable for an individual plaintiff’s injury resulting from a governmental officer’s or

employee’s breach of a duty owed to the general public rather than to the individual

plaintiff.” Black’s Law Dictionary 1424 (10th Ed.2014). The Supreme Court of Ohio has

explained that the public-duty rule originated in English common law. Hurst v. State

Dept. of Rehab. & Correction, 72 Ohio St.3d 325, 329, 650 N.E.2d 104 (1995),

overruled to the extent inconsistent with Wallace v. Ohio Dept. of Commerce, 96 Ohio

St.3d 266, 2002-Ohio-4210, 773 N.E.2d 1018. As stated in Hurst, the public-duty rule

“is used to determine the first element of negligence, the existence of a duty on the part

of the state. If the duty owed is general in nature, the wrong created by its breach is to

the public in general and, therefore, not individually actionable.” And in Swart v. Ohio

Dept. of Rehab. & Correction, 133 Ohio App.3d 420, 423, 728 N.E.2d 428 (10th

Dist.1999), the Tenth District Court of Appeals stated that the public-duty rule “applies to

uniquely governmental functions and, unless avoided by operation of the ‘special duty’

exception, precludes the establishment of the duty element of a negligence action.”

{¶10} In Wallace v. Ohio Dept. of Commerce, 96 Ohio St.3d 266, 2002-Ohio-

4210, 773 N.E.2d 1018, the Supreme Court of Ohio addressed the applicability of the

public-duty doctrine in negligence suits against the state. The Wallace court held:

The public-duty rule is incompatible with R.C. 2743.02(A)(1)’s express

language requiring that the state’s liability in the Court of Claims be

determined “in accordance with the same rules of law applicable to suits

between private parties.” In negligence suits against the state, the Court of

Claims must determine the existence of a legal duty using conventional

tort principles that would be applicable if the defendant were a private

individual or entity. (Hurst v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr. [1995], 72 Ohio

St.3d 325, 650 N.E.2d 104, and Anderson v. Ohio Dept. of Ins. [1991], 58

Ohio St.3d 215, 569 N.E.2d 1042, overruled to the extent inconsistent

Case No. 2018-00846JD -6- DECISION

herewith; Sawicki v. Ottawa Hills [1988], 37 Ohio St.3d 222, 525 N.E.2d

468, distinguished.)

Wallace at paragraph one of the syllabus. And in Wallace, the court stated:

[N]o matter what considerations of policy support the judicial application of

the public-duty rule, we must remember that R.C. Chapter 2743 has

legislatively set forth the public policy of this state. That policy, expressed

in R.C. 2743.02(A)(1), is to allow suits against the state according to the

same rules as between private parties, “except that the determination of

liability is subject to the limitations set forth in this chapter.” (Emphasis

added.) As we have stated previously, the public-duty rule is neither “set

forth” in R.C. Chapter 2743 nor a rule of law applicable to suits between

private parties. It is inappropriate for the court to engraft the public-duty

rule as an additional limitation on liability that the General Assembly has

not provided. If the public-duty rule is to become a rule of substantive law

applicable to suits in the Court of Claims, it is the General Assembly—the

ultimate arbiter of public policy—that should make it so by way of

legislation. It is not this court’s role to apply a judicially created doctrine

when faced with statutory language that cuts against its applicability.

(Emphasis sic.) Wallace at ¶ 33.

{¶11} Two years after the Supreme Court of Ohio issued Wallace, in Sub.H.B.No

316, 150 Laws of Ohio, Part IV, 5438, 5444-5446, the General Assembly enacted

R.C. 2743.01(E) (defining the term “public duty” as used in R.C. Chapter 2743) and

R.C. 2743.02(A)(3) (establishing, subject to exception, immunity for the performance or

nonperformance of a public duty). R.C. 2743.02(A)(3) provides:

(a) Except as provided in division (A)(3)(b) of this section, the state

is immune from liability in any civil action or proceeding involving the

performance or nonperformance of a public duty, including the

performance or nonperformance of a public duty that is owed by the state

in relation to any action of an individual who is committed to the custody of

the state.

(b) The state immunity provided in division (A)(3)(a) of this section

does not apply to any action of the state under circumstances in which a

special relationship can be established between the state and an injured

Case No. 2018-00846JD -7- DECISION

party. A special relationship under this division is demonstrated if all of

the following elements exist:

(i) An assumption by the state, by means of promises or actions, of

an affirmative duty to act on behalf of the party who was allegedly injured;

(ii) Knowledge on the part of the state’s agents that inaction of the

state could lead to harm;

(iii) Some form of direct contact between the state’s agents and the

injured party;

(iv) The injured party’s justifiable reliance on the state’s affirmative

undertaking.

For purposes of R.C. 2743.02(A)(3), a “public duty” “includes, but is not limited to, any

statutory, regulatory, or assumed duty concerning any action or omission of the state

involving any of the following: (a) Permitting, certifying, licensing, inspecting,

investigating, supervising * * *.” (Emphasis added.) R.C. 2743.01(E)(1).

{¶12} The Estate has asserted that Golsby was subject to supervision and

monitoring by the APA (Complaint, ¶ 11). According to R.C. 5149.02, the APA is an

entity created in the division of parole and community services of DRC at bureau level.

Because the Estate has asserted that Golsby was subject to supervision by the APA (an

entity created within DRC), whether DRC is immune from liability based on its

performance or nonperformance of a public duty—i.e., supervising Golsby—is

implicated.

{¶13} In this instance, unless the Estate pleads sufficient facts to establish a

special relationship between DRC and Tokes, DRC is immune from liability for its

performance or nonperformance of a public duty—i.e., for its supervising of Golsby

following Golsby’s release from prison. See Rooney v. Ohio State Hwy. Patrol, 2017-

Ohio-1123, 87 N.E.3d 777, ¶ 16 (10th Dist.) (“Unless Dr. Rooney pled sufficient facts to

overcome the state’s R.C. 2743.02(A)(3)(a) immunity to suit, the State of Ohio is not

Case No. 2018-00846JD -8- DECISION

liable in a civil action for negligence based on the performance or nonperformance of a

‘public duty,’ * * *. And unless it can be demonstrated that there exists a ‘special

relationship’ according to the four-part test set forth in R.C. 2743.02(A)(3)(b) between

the State and the injured party, immunity bars recovery”). For the Estate to plead

sufficient facts to establish that Tokes had a special relationship with DRC in

accordance with R.C. 2743.02(A)(3)(b)(i)-(iv), the Estate is required to plead sufficient

facts alleging: (i) an assumption by DRC, by means of promises or actions, of an

affirmative duty to act on Reagan Tokes’s behalf, (ii) knowledge on the part of DRC

through its agents that inaction of DRC could lead to harm; (iii) some form of direct

contact between DRC’s agents and Reagan Tokes, and (iv) Reagan Tokes’s justifiable

reliance on DRC’s affirmative undertaking.

{¶14} A review of the Estate’s complaint discloses that the Estate has alleged

that the “NISRE/Exit Program by contracting with the D.R.C. as a ‘facility for offenders

released from prison,’ and thereby obligating itself by contract and regulation to monitor

the resident offenders and report unusual incidents, established a ‘special relationship’

with the public at large.” Such ‘special relationship’ obligated the NISRE/Exit Program

to exercise ordinary care in protecting members of the public from violent crimes,

including murder and rape.” (Complaint, ¶ 51.) Construing the allegations in paragraph

51 in a light most favorable to the Estate, presuming that the factual allegations are true,

and making all reasonable inferences in favor of the Estate, the court does not find that

in paragraph 51 the Estate has pleaded sufficient facts to establish the elements

contained in R.C. 2743.02(A)(3)(b)(i)-(iv) to establish a special relationship existed

between DRC and Reagan Tokes. Rather, by the allegations contained in

paragraph 51 of the Estate’s complaint, the Estate alleges that the NISRE/Exit Program

established a “special relationship” with the public at large. And, based on the court’s

review of the Estate’s entire complaint, the court does not find the Estate has pleaded

any facts that establish the first requirement of any negligence action, i.e., the existence

Case No. 2018-00846JD -9- DECISION

of a duty to the plaintiff—the breach of which offers the possibility of a cause of action.

The only duty established is a “public duty” running to the public at large.

{¶15} The Estate nonetheless contends that immunity should not apply in this

case because, according to the Estate, governmental immunities under R.C.

2743.02(A)(3) and 2743.01(E)(1) are unconstitutional and violate Article I, Section 16,

Ohio Constitution, and that the terms “law enforcement,” “licensing,” “supervision,” or

“monitoring” in R.C. 2743.01(E)(1) as determinants of immunity are void because they

are unconstitutionally vague. Whether R.C. 2743.02(A)(3) is constitutional and whether

certain terms contained in R.C. 2743.01(E)(1) are constitutional are issues that are not

cognizable in this court because the Tenth District Court of Appeals has determined that

constitutional claims are not actionable in this court. See White v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab.

& Correction, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 12AP-927, 2013-Ohio-4208, ¶ 17; Wassenaar v.

Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Correction, 10th Dist. Franklin Nos. 07AP-712, 07AP-772,

2008-Ohio-1220, ¶ 28. See also White v. Dept. of Rehab. & Correction, 10th Dist.

Franklin No. 92AP-1229, 1992 Ohio App. LEXIS 6749, at *2 (Dec. 22, 1992) (“To the

extent plaintiff’s allegations are meant to assert violations of his constitutional rights

under the Ohio or United States Constitutions, the Court of Claims lacks jurisdiction”).

{¶16} The court’s conclusion that the public-duty doctrine applies in this case

does not constitute a sea change under Ohio law. Rather, such a conclusion is

consistent with case law that preceded the enactment of Sub.H.B.No 316, 150 Laws of

Ohio, Part IV, 5438, 5444-5446 and case law that has followed the enactment of Sub.

H.B.No. 316. For example, in 1995 in Hurst v. State Dept. of Rehab. & Correction, 72

Ohio St.3d 325, 650 N.E.2d 104 (1995), overruled to the extent inconsistent with

Wallace v. Ohio Dept. of Commerce, 96 Ohio St.3d 266, 2002-Ohio-4210, 773 N.E.2d

1018, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed an appellate court’s judgment that reversed

this court’s application of the public-duty doctrine. In Hurst, the executor of the estate of

Minnie Ruth Hurst sued the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, alleging

Case No. 2018-00846JD -10- DECISION

claims of wrongful death, negligence, and negligence per se against the department for

its delay in processing a report concerning a parolee. The Hurst court noted that the

appellate court had expressed reservations about the continued vitality of the public-

duty rule in light of two decisions that had been issued by the Ohio Supreme Court.

However, in reversing the appellate court, the Hurst court stated: “Because appellee

has failed to establish the existence of a special duty owed the decedent by the state,

the public duty rule applies to bar liability on the part of the Adult Parole Authority.”

Hurst at 329.

{¶17} A year after Hurst, in Bonds v. Dept. of Rehab. & Correction, 116 Ohio

App.3d 144, 158-159, 687 N.E.2d 300 (10th Dist.1996), the Tenth District Court of

Appeals affirmed this court’s determination that the Department of Rehabilitation and

Correction owed the appellant, Beulah Bonds, no duty and that the department correctly

calculated a prisoner’s release date. In that case, the department released an inmate

from prison on February 21, 1992. About a month later the released prisoner

burglarized Bonds’s home and raped Bonds. Bonds alleged that the department was

negligent because the department miscalculated the prisoner’s release date and the

department released the prisoner, despite having received a detainer from another

state. In Bonds, the Tenth District Court of Appeals stated: “Because [the department]

did not owe appellant a special duty within the meaning of the public duty rule, [the

department] did not owe appellant any duty actionable under ordinary principles of

negligence.” Bonds at 159.

{¶18} Three years after Bonds, in Swart v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Correction,

133 Ohio App.3d 420, 728 N.E.2d 428 (10th Dist.1999) (affirming this court’s summary

judgment in favor of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation), the Tenth District Court of

Appeals upheld this court’s determination that a duty owed by Ohio Department of

Rehabilitation was a public duty and that the appellants in that case could not show that

Case No. 2018-00846JD -11- DECISION

the department owed Clara Stewart—the victim of a murder by a parolee—a special

duty.

{¶19} Additionally, after the General Assembly enacted Sub.H.B.No 316, 150

Laws of Ohio, Part IV, 5438, 5444-544 (codifying the public-duty doctrine in R.C.

Chapter 2743), in Rudd v. Ohio State Hwy. Patrol, 2016-Ohio-8263, 78 N.E.3d 273

(10th Dist.), the Tenth District Court of Appeals applied the pubic-duty provisions

contained in R.C. 2743.01(E)(1)(a) and 2743.02(A)(3) in affirming this court’s dismissal

based on Civ.R. 12(B)(6). The Rudd court found that this court did not err in finding that

an amended complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. In that

case, the plaintiffs had contended that two highway patrol employees acted negligently

in various ways and failed to apprehend two fugitive murderers, which resulted in the

murderers being left at large to shoot and seriously injure one of the plaintiffs.

{¶20} And a year after Rudd, in Rooney v. Ohio State Hwy. Patrol, 2017-Ohio-

1123, 87 N.E.3d 777, ¶ 1 (10th Dist.), the Tenth District Court of Appeals determined

that this court properly dismissed an administrator’s complaint against the Ohio

Highway Patrol pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6) for failure to overcome the patrol’s public-

duty immunity granted by R.C. 2743.02(A)(3).

{¶21} Moreover, the court’s conclusion that DRC owed no duty in this instance is

wholly consistent with the general principle that, absent a special relationship, there is

no duty to control the conduct of a third person as to prevent the third person from

causing physical harm to another. See 2 Restatement of the Law, Torts 2d, Sections

314 and 315 (1965); Gelbman v. Second Natl. Bank, 9 Ohio St.3d 77, 79, 458 N.E.2d

1262 (1984) (“Both Sections 314 and 315 [of the Restatement of the Law, Torts 2d]

articulate the general rules of the duties imposed on third parties. Thus, unless a special

relationship between defendant-owner and plaintiff-third party is extant by statute or

judicial determination, no duty may be imposed”); Fed. Steel & Wire Corp. v. Ruhlin

Constr. Co., 45 Ohio St.3d 171, 173, 543 N.E.2d 769 (1989) (“Ordinarily, there is no

Case No. 2018-00846JD -12- DECISION

duty to control the conduct of a third person by preventing him or her from causing harm

to another, except in cases where there exists a special relationship between the actor

and the third person which gives rise to a duty to control, or between the actor and

another which gives the other the right to protection”).

{¶22} Additionally, the court finds persuasive DRC’s contention that the Estate’s

suggestion in its memorandum in opposition that Golsby was released from prison

under R.C. 2967.26 (transitional control program) is inconsistent with the Estate’s

factual allegation in paragraph 11 of the complaint wherein the Estate alleges that

Golsby “was on parole, that is, mandatory post-release control pursuant to

R.C. 2929.19(B)(3)(c),(d) and (e) for five years” following Golsby’s release from prison

in November 2016. See generally R.C. 2967.28 (effective September 13, 2016)

(establishing a period of post-release control for certain offenders, sanctions, and

proceedings upon violation). Here, according to the Estate’s allegation, Golsby

completed his prison term in November 2016. Based on the Estate’s allegation, after

Golsby was released from prison, Golsby appears to have been a “releasee” for

purposes of R.C. Chapter 2967. See R.C. 2967.01(J) (effective September 22, 2000)

(defining “releasee,” as used in R.C. Chapter 2967, to mean “an inmate who has been

released from confinement pursuant to section 2967.28 of the Revised Code under a

period of post-release control that includes one or more post-release control

sanctions”). And based on the Estate’s allegation that Golsby was on post-release

control when he committed the crimes against Reagan Tokes, it does not appear to the

court that DRC had a duty to confine Golsby, absent a hearing regarding alleged

violations of post-release control sanctions. See, e.g., R.C. 2967.28(D)(3) (effective

September 13, 2016) (providing that the parole board or, pursuant to an agreement

under R.C. 2967.29, a court may hold a hearing on any alleged violation by a release of

a post-release control sanction or any conditions described in R.C. 2967.131(A) that are

imposed upon the releasee).

Case No. 2018-00846JD -13- DECISION

{¶23} Accordingly, construing the Estate’s complaint in a light most favorable to

the Estate, presuming that all factual allegations in the complaint are true, and making

all reasonable inferences in favor of the Estate, it appears beyond doubt that the Estate

can prove no set of facts entitling it to relief with respect to DRC’s performance of a

public duty. Because the Estate has failed to plead sufficient facts to overcome the

state’s R.C. 2743.02(A)(3)(a) immunity to suit, the court determines that dismissal

pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6) is required.

V. Conclusion

{¶24} For reasons set forth above, the court holds that after construing the

Estate’s complaint in a light most favorable to the Estate, presuming that all factual

allegations in the complaint are true, and making all reasonable inferences in favor of

the Estate, it appears beyond doubt that the Estate can prove no set of facts entitling it

to relief. The court concludes that DRC’s Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion should be granted and

that this case should be dismissed.

PATRICK M. MCGRATH

Judge

[Cite as Tokes v. Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., 2018-Ohio-4149.]

ESTATE OF REAGAN TOKES Case No. 2018-00846JD

Plaintiff Judge Patrick M. McGrath

v. JUDGMENT ENTRY

DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION

AND CORRECTION

Defendant

{¶25} For the reasons set forth in the decision filed concurrently herewith, the

court GRANTS defendant’s Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion filed on June 15, 2018. Plaintiff’s

case is DISMISSED. Court costs are assessed against plaintiff. The clerk shall serve

upon all parties notice of this judgment and its date of entry upon the journal.

PATRICK M. MCGRATH

Judge

Filed September 4, 2018

Sent to S.C. Reporter 10/12/18

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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