City of Cincinnati v. Bell
City of Cincinnati v. Bell
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
The last paragraph of §286, GC, under which this action is brought, is as follows:
“No judgment or final order shall be entered in any civil action commenced under the authority or direction of this section until such entry shall have been submitted to the attorney general, and the attorney general is hereby constituted an attorney of record in each such action.”
This provision of the General Code seems to have been disregarded in the proceedings. The record fails to disclose any submission to the attorney general or that he was constituted an attorney of record in the action.
The requirement of the statute is in plain, unambiguous language and requires no construction. The requirement is as mandatory as any other provision of the section. If we are bound to hold this paragraph of the section directory only, the same construction would be required as to the preceding paragraphs.
This court has consistently refused to judicially legislate, and we are not willing to do so in this case.
We are not unmindful of the case of Lynch v Board of Education of City School District of the City of Lakewood, 116 Oh St, 361.
There being no proper judgment for review, the petition in error will be dismissed and the cause remanded to the Court of Common Pleas for further proceedings according to law.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.