Cotton v. Anderson, Unpublished Decision (3-9-2005)
Cotton v. Anderson, Unpublished Decision (3-9-2005)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 3} Appellant appended to his petition for writ of habeas corpus copies of the relevant commitments. In addition, appellant appended to his writ affidavits as to prior actions and his indigency.
{¶ 4} Pursuant to a journal entry filed June 14, 1991, appellant was sentenced after conviction in case number CR-257742 to one and one-half years for the crime of grand theft motor vehicle, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 5} Pursuant to a certified copy of sentence, on August 14, 1992, appellant was sentenced after conviction in case number CR-281731 to six months for the crime of attempted theft, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 6} Effective August 21, 1992, appellee calculated appellant's total aggregate sentence as three years on the gun specifications, consecutive with eight years definite time, consecutive with a minimum of 64½ to a maximum of 210 years on the indefinite sentences.
{¶ 7} By interoffice communication dated August 17, 1993, from appellee's corrections records manager to appellant, appellee informed appellant regarding his first parole hearing date and calculation of sentence. Appellee's agent informed appellant that his sentence started on August 21, 1992, with 75 days jail credit. The interoffice communication further informed appellant that he must serve all three years on his specification sentence; five years, seven months, and six days on his definite eight-year sentence; and ten years and six months on the fifteen-year sentence for the 55½ year indefinite sentence. The communication expressly stated that "15 yrs. is the most you can serve on for the 55½ yrs." Based on appellee's calculation of appellant's sentence and information regarding the time he was required to serve, appellant filed his petition for writ of habeas corpus.
{¶ 8} In lieu of an answer, appellee filed a motion to dismiss and amended motion to dismiss the petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. In support, appellee appended an affidavit of Mary Oakley, Assistant Chief of Bureau of Sentence Computation, as well as a memorandum addressing the calculation of appellant's sentence. Ms. Oakley's memorandum clarified appellant's minimum and maximum sentence out of case number CR-281730. The memorandum delineated the expiration dates of appellant's specification and definite sentences. Further, Ms. Oakley's memorandum clarified that appellant's minimum indefinite-term sentence in case number CR-281730 was relevant for determination of appellant's initial parole hearing date only. The memorandum noted that appellant's sentences in other cases had been aggregated and that his maximum expiration of sentence is March 20, 2194.
{¶ 9} On May 19, 2004, the trial court granted appellee's motion to dismiss and dismissed appellant's petition for writ of habeas corpus. It is clear from the recitation of facts in the trial court's journal entry that the court adopted and relied on the information contained in Ms. Oakley's memorandum. Appellant subsequently moved the trial court for relief from judgment and to amend the judgment entry. The trial court denied the motions without analysis. Appellant timely appeals, setting forth one assignment of error for review.
{¶ 10} Appellant argues that the trial court erred by granting appellee's motion to dismiss, when the trial court addressed the motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment, considering evidence and materials outside the complaint, without notice to appellant. This Court agrees.
{¶ 11} This Court reviews de novo a trial court's decision to grant a motion to dismiss. Niepsuj v. Summa Health System, 9th Dist. Nos. 21557, 21559, 2004-Ohio-115, at ¶ 5. A trial court may grant a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6) only if it appears beyond a doubt that the petitioner can prove no set of facts which would entitle him to relief.Garvey v. Clevidence, 9th Dist. No. 22143,
{¶ 12} In this case, the trial court did not give the parties notice of its intent to convert appellee's motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. In fact, in its journal entry, the trial court disposed of the matter by granting appellee's motion to dismiss, not a converted motion for summary judgment. However, the trial court clearly relied on evidence and materials outside appellant's petition. The trial court reiterated as fact information adduced only from Mary Oakley's memorandum, appended to appellee's motion to dismiss. Further, appellee concedes in his brief that the "Lorain County Court of Common Pleas found the facts to be as outlined by the Respondent in the Motion to Dismiss." Under the circumstances, the trial court erred by considering evidence and materials outside appellant's petition in disposing appellee's motion to dismiss. The trial court did not notify the parties that it was converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment and could not, therefore, consider any evidence outside the petition. This Court finds that the trial court, therefore, improperly dismissed appellant's petition for writ of habeas corpus. Appellant's sole assignment of error is sustained.
Judgment reversed and cause remanded.
The Court finds that there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common Pleas, County of Lorain, State of Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27.
Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the period for review shall begin to run. App.R. 22(E). The Clerk of the Court of Appeals is instructed to mail a notice of entry of this judgment to the parties and to make a notation of the mailing in the docket, pursuant to App.R. 30.
Costs taxed to appellee. Exceptions.
Batchelder, J., Baird, J., concur.
(Baird, J., retired, of the Ninth District Court of Appeals, sitting by assignment pursuant to, § 6(C), Article IV, Constitution.)
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Milton Cotton v. Carl Anderson, Warden
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Unpublished