W. W. Grainger, Inc. v. Linger
Ohio Court of Appeals · 1952-05-10
This case involves an appeal from a default judgment of $41.50 entered in justice court against defendant W. W. Grainger, Inc. in favor of plaintiff Linger. After an appeal bond was filed that perfected an appeal on questions of law and fact to the Common Pleas Court, along with a separate notice of appeal on questions of law only, the Common Pleas Court treated the matter solely as an appeal on questions of law, affirmed the justice court judgment, and declined to proceed on the law-and-fact appeal due to noncompliance with a local court rule on service of pleadings. The Court of Appeals held that the perfected law-and-fact appeal remained pending and undisposed of, that the defendant had elected to proceed on that basis, and that the Common Pleas Court erred by failing to approve the election, dismiss the law-only appeal, and conduct a trial de novo. The judgment was therefore reversed and the cause remanded with instructions to proceed accordingly.