Opinion

In re Termination of Employment of Pratt

  • 40 Ohio St. 2d 107
  • 69 Ohio Op. 2d 512
  • 321 N.E.2d 603
  • 1974 Ohio LEXIS 385
Court
Ohio Supreme Court
Filed
Dec 31, 1974
Status
Published
Author
Brown
On the bench
Brown, Celebrezze, Corrigan, From, Herbert, Neill, Paragraph, Stern, Syllabus
Cited by
167 cases
Authority
More cited than 15.1%

explaining that a fiduciary relationship is one “in which special confidence and trust is reposed in the integrity and fidelity of another and there is a resulting position of superiority or influence acquired by virtue of this special trust”

How later courts described this case

  • explaining that a fiduciary relationship is one “in which special confidence and trust is reposed in the integrity and fidelity of another and there is a resulting position of superiority or influence acquired by virtue of this special trust”
  • defining a fiduciary relationship as one in which “special confidence and trust is reposed in the integrity and fidelity of another and there is a resulting position of superiority or influence, acquired by virtue of this special trust”
  • A fiduciary duty is defined as a relationship “in which special confidence and trust is reposed in the integrity and fidelity of another and there is a resulting position of superiority or influence, acquired by virtue of this special trust.”
  • looking at duty actually delegated to and performed by the employee rather than at title of employee

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

"William B. Brown, J.,

concurring. Whether a deputy sheriff is a member of the classified or unclassified service is a question which must be determined on a case-by-case basis. A sheriff who deems his deputy to be unclassified may feel free to remove him arbitrarily. Years of litigation might ensue, with a final determination that the deputy was indeed “classified,” and, therefore, wrongfully excluded from his employment. In such case, the employee would be entitled to back pay for his period of unemployment. Monaghan v. Richley (1972), 32 Ohio St. 2d 190 .

Although the issue is not squarely presented herein, in order to avoid such waste of human resources and public funds, and to ease the anxiety of public employees whose jobs are in the gray area between classified and unclassified service, I would require appointing authorities to utilize the procedure delineated in Rule PL-3-03, 5 Ad *117 ministrative Rules of the Director of Administrative Services, whereby a deputy’s classified or unclassified status could be determined upon hiring.

Rule PL-3-03 reads:

“Deputies and Assistants.

“Notices from appointing authorities of the appointment of deputies and assistants exempt from the classified service under the provisions *117 ef paragraph 9, subsection (A) of Sec. 143.08, Ohio Revised Code [now R. C. 124.11(A) (9)], shall be accompanied by a statement of the provisions of the law under which such deputies and assistants are appointed and- a statement of the duties to be assigned to such appointees showing that they are in fact authorized to act for and in place of their principals or are performing duties of a confidential and fiduciary character involving the responsibilities of their principals.”

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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