# Doe v. Ronan

> Ohio Supreme Court · October 26, 2010 · 127 Ohio St. 3d 188

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9801831

## Case

- **Full name:** Doe v. Ronan, Superintendent, Et Al.
- **Court:** Ohio Supreme Court
- **Decided:** October 26, 2010
- **Citations:** 127 Ohio St. 3d 188; 2010 Ohio 5072
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Stratton
- **Judges:** Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Lanzinger, Brown, Pfeifer
- **Cited by:** 6 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9801831

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- stating that an employee who was only conditionally employed “pending the results of his background check” and when the background checks indicated that “[he] failed to meet the . . . requirement, [the employee] was unable to meet the condition precedent that would have trigge…
- noting that employee was only conditionally employed “pending the results of his background check. When these results indicated that [he] failed to meet the state-certification requirement, [the employee] was unable to meet the condition precedent that would have triggered [hi…

## Opinion text

Lundberg Stratton, J.,
concurring.
{¶ 30} While I sympathize with Doe’s plight, the law is clear, and I concur in the majority’s disposition of the two narrow legal questions certified to us by the district court.
{¶ 31} Although we have resolved the federal court’s legal questions under the Ohio Constitution, I believe that on remand the court may resolve this case by resorting to the doctrine of relation back. Under this doctrine, “an act done at a later time is, under certain circumstances, treated as though it occurred at an earlier time.” Black’s Law Dictionary (8th Ed.1999) 1314. This doctrine applies to the amendments of pleadings, see Civ.R. 15(C), but I believe that it should apply here in the interest of equity.
*197 {¶ 32} The Ohio Department of Education had statutory authority to formulate the rules to carry out the legislative intent of 2007 Sub.H.B. No. 190, eff. Nov. 14, 2007 (“H.B. 190”). R.C. 3319.39(E). The department promulgated Ohio Adm. Code 3301-20-03 to carry out the legislative intent of H.B. 190. Unfortunately, Doe fell into the gap between enactment of the new law and the department’s regulations in response to the 2007 statutory revisions. The parties agree that had the 2009 regulation been in effect, Doe would have remained in his position, because he had been rehabilitated. Thus, I believe that the regulation should relate back to the statute’s enactment.
{¶ 33} Courts must give due deference to an agency’s interpretation and implementation of the law. State ex rel. Saunders v. Indus. Comm., 101 Ohio St.3d 125 , 2004-Ohio-339 , 802 N.E.2d 650, ¶ 41 ; Northwestern Ohio Bldg. & Constr. Trades Council v. Conrad (2001), 92 Ohio St.3d 282, 289 , 750 N.E.2d 130 . Under such circumstances, the court should apply the subsequent regulation to Doe’s contract in this case, which would allow him to continue his employment but would also fulfill the overall intent of the law.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9801831. Public record. Not legal advice.