Grubic v. Grubic, Unpublished Decision (7-10-2003)
Grubic v. Grubic, Unpublished Decision (7-10-2003)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} The court held a hearing on April 10, 2002, at which time, Mary Jane moved to dismiss Peter's motion, arguing that the delivery of the motion to her counsel did not, under Civ.R. 75(J), properly re-invoke the continuing jurisdiction of the domestic relations court.1 Peter argued that the motion was merely a request for a nunc pro tunc order to correct the Agreed Judgment Entry. He further argued that, because pending motions were before the court at this time and because Mary Jane made appearances, she waived service of the motion to reinstate/modify. The magistrate decided that Mary Jane had not waived service by appearing for hearings on other motions (because she would have lost her opportunity to prosecute her motions) and that when the motion to reinstate/modify came up for a full hearing, Mary Jane immediately objected to service. The magistrate also decided that, even if the motion was a nunc pro tunc request, it was nonetheless a motion to invoke the court's continuing jurisdiction, which requires service according to Civ.R. 75(J). The magistrate thus dismissed Peter's motion. The trial court rejected Peter's filed objections and adopted the magistrate's decision.
{¶ 3} We will consider Peter's alternative motions separately. First, although his motion to reinstate does not necessarily raise the jurisdiction issue of Civ.R. 75(J), the motion itself is a nullity. Horakv. Horak (Aug. 7, 1997), Cuyahoga App. No. 71930, citing Pitts v. Dept.of Transportation (1981),
{¶ 4} Further, Peter's motion in the alternative to modify child support does require that he effect service according to Civ.R. 75(J), which he concedes he has not done. See, e.g., Hansen v. Hansen (1985),
{¶ 5} Therefore, under consideration of either of the motions in the alternative, the trial court properly dismissed Peter's motion to reinstate/modify. We therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court.
It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant her costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the Common Pleas Court — Domestic Relations Division to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
ANNE L. KILBANE, J., and ANTHONY O. CALABRESE, JR., J., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.