130th Ohio General Assembly
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S. B. No. 108As Introduced
As Introduced

124th General Assembly
Regular Session
2001-2002
S. B. No. 108


SENATOR Jacobson



A BILL
To amend sections 1701.95, 1707.01, 1901.18, 2101.31, 2305.25, 2305.251, 2305.37, 2307.24, 2307.27, 2307.30, 2307.60, 2307.61, 2313.46, 2315.23, 2315.24, 2743.18, 2743.19, 2744.01, 2744.02, 2744.03, 2744.05, 3123.17, 4112.02, 4507.07, 4513.263, 4582.27, and 5111.81; to amend, for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses, sections 2307.24 (2307.16), 2307.27 (2307.17), 2307.30 (2307.18), 2315.07 (2315.05), 2315.08 (2315.06), 2315.18 (2315.07), 2315.23 (2315.08), and 2315.24 (2315.09); to revive and amend sections 109.36, 2117.06, 2125.01, 2125.02, 2125.04, 2305.10, 2305.16, 2305.27, 2305.38, 2307.31, 2307.32, 2307.75, 2307.80, 2315.01, 2315.19, 2315.21, 2501.02, 2744.06, 3722.08, 4112.14, 4113.52, 4171.10, and 4399.18; to revive sections 163.17, 723.01, 1343.03, 1775.14, 2305.01, 2305.11, 2305.35, 2307.33, 2307.71, 2307.72, 2307.73, 2307.78, 2315.18, 2315.20, 2317.62, 2323.51, 2744.04, 4112.99, 4909.42, 5591.36, and 5591.37; to repeal sections 109.36, 163.17, 723.01, 1343.03, 1775.14, 1901.041, 1901.17, 1901.181, 1901.20, 1905.032, 2117.06, 2125.01, 2125.02, 2125.04, 2305.01, 2305.10, 2305.11, 2305.16, 2305.35, 2305.38, 2307.31, 2307.32, 2307.33, 2307.71, 2307.72, 2307.73, 2307.75, 2307.78, 2307.80, 2315.01, 2315.18, 2315.19, 2315.20, 2315.21, 2317.62, 2323.51, 2501.02, 2744.04, 2744.06, 3701.19, 3722.08, 4112.14, 4112.99, 4113.52, 4171.10, 4399.18, 4909.42, 5591.36, and 5591.37, as they result from Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly; to repeal sections 901.52, 2101.163, 2151.542, 2303.202, 2305.011, 2305.012, 2305.113, 2305.131, 2305.252, 2305.381, 2305.382, 2307.31, 2307.42, 2307.43, 2307.48, 2307.791, 2307.792, 2307.80, 2309.01, 2315.37, 2317.45, 2317.46, 2323.54, and 2323.59; to repeal sections 1901.262 and 1907.262, as enacted by Am. Sub. H.B. 350; to suspend part of section 1707.01; and to suspend sections 1707.432, 1707.433, 1707.434, 1707.435, 1707.436, 1707.437, and 1707.438 of the Revised Code and to amend Section 3 of Am. Sub. H.B. 438 of the 121st General Assembly and to repeal Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, and 16 of Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly to repeal the Tort Reform Act, Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly; to clarify the status of the law; to reorganize certain tort related provisions; and to revive prior law; to amend sections 2744.01 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code as scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2002, to continue the amendments of this act on and after that date; and to declare an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. It is the intent of this act (1) to repeal the Tort Reform Act, Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly, 146 Ohio Laws 3867, in conformity with the Supreme Court of Ohio's decision in State, ex rel. Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, v. Sheward (1999), 86 Ohio St.3d 451; (2) to clarify the status of the law; and (3) to revive the law as it existed prior to the Tort Reform Act.
Section 2.01. That sections 1701.95, 1707.01, 1901.18, 2101.31, 2305.25, 2305.251, 2305.37, 2307.24, 2307.27, 2307.30, 2307.60, 2307.61, 2313.46, 2315.23, 2315.24, 2743.18, 2743.19, 2744.01, 2744.02, 2744.03, 2744.05, 3123.17, 4112.02, 4507.07, 4513.263, 4582.27, and 5111.81 be amended; that sections 2307.24 (2307.16), 2307.27 (2307.17), 2307.30 (2307.18), 2315.07 (2315.05), 2315.08 (2315.06), 2315.18 (2315.07), 2315.23 (2315.08), and 2315.24 (2315.09) be amended for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses; that sections 109.36, 2117.06, 2125.01, 2125.02, 2125.04, 2305.10, 2305.16, 2305.27, 2305.38, 2307.31, 2307.32, 2307.75, 2307.80, 2315.01, 2315.19, 2315.21, 2501.02, 2744.06, 3722.08, 4112.14, 4113.52, 4171.10, and 4399.18 be revived and amended; and that sections 163.17, 723.01, 1343.03, 1775.14, 2305.01, 2305.11, 2305.35, 2307.33, 2307.71, 2307.72, 2307.73, 2307.78, 2315.18, 2315.20, 2317.62, 2323.51, 2744.04, 4112.99, 4909.42, 5591.36, and 5591.37 of the Revised Code be revived, all to read as follows:
Sec. 109.36.  As used in this section and sections 109.361 to 109.366 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Officer or employee" means any person who, at the time a cause of action against him the person arises, is serving in an elected or appointed office or position with the state or is employed by the state or any person that, at the time a cause of action against the person, partnership, or corporation arises, is rendering medical, nursing, dental, podiatric, optometric, physical therapeutic, psychiatric, or psychological services pursuant to a personal services contract or purchased service contract with a department, agency, or institution of the state; or is rendering medical services to patients in a state institution operated by the department of mental health, is a member of the institution's staff, and is performing the services pursuant to an agreement between the state institution and a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services described in section 340.021 of the Revised Code. "Officer or employee" does not include any person elected, appointed, or employed by any political subdivision of the state.
(B) "State" means the state of Ohio, including but not limited to, the general assembly, the supreme court, the offices of all elected state officers, and all departments, boards, offices, commissions, agencies, institutions, and other instrumentalities of the state of Ohio. "State" does not include political subdivisions.
(C) "Political subdivisions" of the state means municipal corporations, townships, counties, school districts, and all other bodies corporate and politic responsible for governmental activities only in geographical areas smaller than that of the state.
(D) "Employer" means the general assembly, the supreme court, any office of an elected state officer, or any department, board, office, commission, agency, institution, or other instrumentality of the state of Ohio that employs or contracts with an officer or employee or to which an officer or employee is elected or appointed.
Sec. 163.17.  Where the agency has the right to take possession of the property before the verdict upon payment into court of a deposit, and a portion of said deposit may be withdrawn immediately by the owner, the amount of the verdict which exceeds the portion of the deposit withdrawable shall be subject to interest from the date of taking to the date of actual payment of the award.
Where the agency has no right to take possession of the property before the verdict, if the award is not paid to the owner or deposited in court within twenty-one days after journalization of the verdict, interest thereafter shall accrue, except that where the owner appeals, interest shall not accrue until the agency takes possession.
If the owner appeals and is granted a larger award, interest shall be paid on the additional amount awarded from the date of taking possession to the date of actual payment or date of deposit with immediate right of withdrawal.
If the agency wishes to appeal, it may require the deposit to remain with the court pending final disposition of the case provided it pays interest on the final award from date of taking possession to the date the money is actually paid or made available to the owner; provided, the owner may withdraw the entire award upon posting an appropriate refund bond set by the court; and provided, that where a building or other structure is taken, the court may, on application of the owner, permit the owner to withdraw a reasonable portion of the award allocable to the building without giving bond.
If the amount of any deposit actually withdrawn by the owner exceeds the final award from which no appeal is or can be taken, then the owner at the time of entry of judgment on such award shall refund at once to the court for the account of the agency the amount of such excess plus interest on such excess from the date of withdrawal of such excess until the date of such refund, and upon the failure of the owner to make such refund, the agency shall be entitled to a money judgment against the owner.
Except for cases involving the department of transportation, interest as provided for in this section shall be at the rate of interest for judgments as set forth in section 1343.03 of the Revised Code. In a case involving the appropriation of property by the department of transportation, and the department is the sole public agency seeking to appropriate property in the case, interest as provided for in this section shall be at the per annum rate of either the interest rate as defined and established in division (B) of section 5703.47 of the Revised Code, or ten per cent, whichever is less.
Sec. 723.01.  Municipal corporations shall have special power to regulate the use of the streets. Except as provided in section 5501.49 of the Revised Code, the legislative authority of a municipal corporation shall have the care, supervision, and control of the public highways, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, public grounds, bridges, aqueducts, and viaducts within the municipal corporation, and the municipal corporation shall cause them to be kept open, in repair, and free from nuisance.
Sec. 1343.03.  (A) In cases other than those provided for in sections 1343.01 and 1343.02 of the Revised Code, when money becomes due and payable upon any bond, bill, note, or other instrument of writing, upon any book account, upon any settlement between parties, upon all verbal contracts entered into, and upon all judgments, decrees, and orders of any judicial tribunal for the payment of money arising out of tortious conduct or a contract or other transaction, the creditor is entitled to interest at the rate of ten per cent per annum, and no more, unless a written contract provides a different rate of interest in relation to the money that becomes due and payable, in which case the creditor is entitled to interest at the rate provided in that contract.
(B) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (D) of this section, interest on a judgment, decree, or order for the payment of money rendered in a civil action based on tortious conduct, including, but not limited to a civil action based on tortious conduct that has been settled by agreement of the parties, shall be computed from the date the judgment, decree, or order is rendered to the date on which the money is paid.
(C) Interest on a judgment, decree, or order for the payment of money rendered in a civil action based on tortious conduct and not settled by agreement of the parties, shall be computed from the date the cause of action accrued to the date on which the money is paid if, upon motion of any party to the action, the court determines at a hearing held subsequent to the verdict or decision in the action that the party required to pay the money failed to make a good faith effort to settle the case and that the party to whom the money is to be paid did not fail to make a good faith effort to settle the case.
(D) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to a judgment, decree, or order rendered in a civil action based on tortious conduct if a different period for computing interest on it is specified by law, or if it is rendered in an action against the state in the court of claims, or in an action under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 1701.95.  (A)(1) In addition to any other liabilities imposed by law upon directors of a corporation and except as provided in division (B) of this section, directors shall be jointly and severally liable to the corporation as provided in division (A)(2) of this section if they vote for or assent to any of the following:
(a) The payment of a dividend or distribution, the making of a distribution of assets to shareholders, or the purchase or redemption of the corporation's own shares, contrary in any such case to law or the articles;
(b) A distribution of assets to shareholders during the winding up of the affairs of the corporation, on dissolution or otherwise, without the payment of all known obligations of the corporation or without making adequate provision for their payment;
(c) The making of a loan, other than in the usual course of business, to an officer, director, or shareholder of the corporation, other than in either of the following cases:
(i) In the case of a savings and loan association or of a corporation engaged in banking or in the making of loans generally;
(ii) At the time of the making of the loan, a majority of the disinterested directors of the corporation voted for the loan and, taking into account the terms and provisions of the loan and other relevant factors, determined that the making of the loan could reasonably be expected to benefit the corporation.
(2)(a) In cases under division (A)(1)(a) of this section, directors shall be jointly and severally liable up to the amount of the dividend, distribution, or other payment, in excess of the amount that could have been paid or distributed without violation of law or the articles but not in excess of the amount that would inure to the benefit of the creditors of the corporation if it was insolvent at the time of the payment or distribution or there was reasonable ground to believe that by that action it would be rendered insolvent, plus the amount that was paid or distributed to holders of shares of any class in violation of the rights of holders of shares of any other class.
(b) In cases under division (A)(1)(b) of this section, directors shall be jointly and severally liable to the extent that the obligations of the corporation that are not otherwise barred by statute are not paid or for the payment of which adequate provision has not been made.
(c) In cases under division (A)(1)(c) of this section, directors shall be jointly and severally liable for the amount of the loan with interest on it at the rate specified in division (A) of section 1343.03 of the Revised Code until the amount has been paid.
(B)(1) A director is not liable under division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section if, in determining the amount available for any dividend, purchase, redemption, or distribution to shareholders, the director in good faith relied on a financial statement of the corporation prepared by an officer or employee of the corporation in charge of its accounts or certified by a public accountant or firm of public accountants, the director in good faith considered the assets to be of their book value, or the director followed what the director believed to be sound accounting and business practice.
(2) A director is not liable under division (A)(1)(c) of this section for making any loan to, or guaranteeing any loan to or other obligation of, an employee stock ownership plan, as defined in section 4975(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(C) A director who is present at a meeting of the directors or a committee of the directors at which action on any matter is authorized or taken and who has not voted for or against the action shall be presumed to have voted for the action unless that director's written dissent from the action is filed, either during the meeting or within a reasonable time after the adjournment of the meeting, with the person acting as secretary of the meeting or with the secretary of the corporation.
(D) A shareholder who knowingly receives any dividend, distribution, or payment made contrary to law or the articles shall be liable to the corporation for the amount received by that shareholder that is in excess of the amount that could have been paid or distributed without violation of law or the articles.
(E) A director against whom a claim is asserted under or pursuant to this section and who is held liable on the claim shall be entitled to contribution, on equitable principles, from other directors who also are liable. In addition, any director against whom a claim is asserted under or pursuant to this section or who is held liable shall have a right of contribution from the shareholders who knowingly received any dividend, distribution, or payment made contrary to law or the articles, and those shareholders as among themselves also shall be entitled to contribution in proportion to the amounts received by them respectively.
(F) No action shall be brought by or on behalf of a corporation upon a any cause of action arising under division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section at any time after two years from the day on which the violation occurs.
(G) Nothing contained in this section shall preclude a creditor whose claim is unpaid from exercising the rights that that creditor otherwise would have by law to enforce that creditor's claim against assets of the corporation paid or distributed to shareholders.
(H) The failure of a corporation to observe corporate formalities relating to meetings of directors or shareholders in connection with the management of the corporation's affairs shall not be considered a factor tending to establish that the shareholders have personal liability for corporate obligations.
Sec. 1707.01.  As used in this chapter:
(A) Whenever the context requires it, "division" or "division of securities" may be read as "director of commerce" or as "commissioner of securities."
(B) "Security" means any certificate or instrument that represents title to or interest in, or is secured by any lien or charge upon, the capital, assets, profits, property, or credit of any person or of any public or governmental body, subdivision, or agency. It includes shares of stock, certificates for shares of stock, membership interests in limited liability companies, voting-trust certificates, warrants and options to purchase securities, subscription rights, interim receipts, interim certificates, promissory notes, all forms of commercial paper, evidences of indebtedness, bonds, debentures, land trust certificates, fee certificates, leasehold certificates, syndicate certificates, endowment certificates, certificates or written instruments in or under profit-sharing or participation agreements or in or under oil, gas, or mining leases, or certificates or written instruments of any interest in or under the same, receipts evidencing preorganization or reorganization subscriptions, preorganization certificates, reorganization certificates, certificates evidencing an interest in any trust or pretended trust, any investment contract, any life settlement interest, any instrument evidencing a promise or an agreement to pay money, warehouse receipts for intoxicating liquor, and the currency of any government other than those of the United States and Canada, but sections 1707.01 to 1707.45 of the Revised Code do not apply to the sale of real estate.
(C)(1) "Sale" has the full meaning of "sale" as applied by or accepted in courts of law or equity, and includes every disposition, or attempt to dispose, of a security or of an interest in a security. "Sale" also includes a contract to sell, an exchange, an attempt to sell, an option of sale, a solicitation of a sale, a solicitation of an offer to buy, a subscription, or an offer to sell, directly or indirectly, by agent, circular, pamphlet, advertisement, or otherwise.
(2) "Sell" means any act by which a sale is made.
(3) The use of advertisements, circulars, or pamphlets in connection with the sale of securities in this state exclusively to the purchasers specified in division (D) of section 1707.03 of the Revised Code is not a sale when the advertisements, circulars, and pamphlets describing and offering those securities bear a readily legible legend in substance as follows: "This offer is made on behalf of dealers licensed under sections 1707.01 to 1707.45 of the Revised Code, and is confined in this state exclusively to institutional investors and licensed dealers."
(4) The offering of securities by any person in conjunction with a licensed dealer by use of advertisement, circular, or pamphlet is not a sale if that person does not otherwise attempt to sell securities in this state.
(5) Any security given with, or as a bonus on account of, any purchase of securities is conclusively presumed to constitute a part of the subject of that purchase and has been "sold."
(6) "Sale" by an owner, pledgee, or mortgagee, or by a person acting in a representative capacity, includes sale on behalf of such party by an agent, including a licensed dealer or salesperson.
(D) "Person," except as otherwise provided in this chapter, means a natural person, firm, partnership, limited partnership, partnership association, syndicate, joint-stock company, unincorporated association, trust or trustee except where the trust was created or the trustee designated by law or judicial authority or by a will, and a corporation or limited liability company organized under the laws of any state, any foreign government, or any political subdivision of a state or foreign government.
(E)(1) "Dealer," except as otherwise provided in this chapter, means every person, other than a salesperson, who engages or professes to engage, in this state, for either all or part of the person's time, directly or indirectly, either in the business of the sale of securities for the person's own account, or in the business of the purchase or sale of securities for the account of others in the reasonable expectation of receiving a commission, fee, or other remuneration as a result of engaging in the purchase and sale of securities. "Dealer" does not mean any of the following:
(a) Any issuer, including any officer, director, employee, or trustee of, or member or manager of, or partner in, or any general partner of, any issuer, that sells, offers for sale, or does any act in furtherance of the sale of a security that represents an economic interest in that issuer, provided no commission, fee, or other similar remuneration is paid to or received by the issuer for the sale;
(b) Any licensed attorney, public accountant, or firm of such attorneys or accountants, whose activities are incidental to the practice of the attorney's, accountant's, or firm's profession;
(c) Any person that, for the account of others, engages in the purchase or sale of securities that are issued and outstanding before such purchase and sale, if a majority or more of the equity interest of an issuer is sold in that transaction, and if, in the case of a corporation, the securities sold in that transaction represent a majority or more of the voting power of the corporation in the election of directors;
(d) Any person that brings an issuer together with a potential investor and whose compensation is not directly or indirectly based on the sale of any securities by the issuer to the investor;
(e) Any bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union chartered under the laws of the United States or any state of the United States, provided that all transactions are consummated by or through a person licensed pursuant to section 1707.14 of the Revised Code;
(f) Any person that the division of securities by rule exempts from the definition of "dealer" under division (E)(1) of this section.
(2) "Licensed dealer" means a dealer licensed under this chapter.
(F)(1) "Salesman" or "salesperson" means every natural person, other than a dealer, who is employed, authorized, or appointed by a dealer to sell securities within this state.
(2) The general partners of a partnership, and the executive officers of a corporation or unincorporated association, licensed as a dealer are not salespersons within the meaning of this definition, nor are such clerical or other employees of an issuer or dealer as are employed for work to which the sale of securities is secondary and incidental; but the division of securities may require a license from any such partner, executive officer, or employee if it determines that protection of the public necessitates the licensing.
(3) "Licensed salesperson" means a salesperson licensed under this chapter.
(G) "Issuer" means every person who has issued, proposes to issue, or issues any security.
(H) "Director" means each director or trustee of a corporation, each trustee of a trust, each general partner of a partnership, except a partnership association, each manager of a partnership association, and any person vested with managerial or directory power over an issuer not having a board of directors or trustees.
(I) "Incorporator" means any incorporator of a corporation and any organizer of, or any person participating, other than in a representative or professional capacity, in the organization of an unincorporated issuer.
(J) "Fraud," "fraudulent," "fraudulent acts," "fraudulent practices," or "fraudulent transactions" means anything recognized on or after July 22, 1929, as such in courts of law or equity; any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud or to obtain money or property by means of any false pretense, representation, or promise; any fictitious or pretended purchase or sale of securities; and any act, practice, transaction, or course of business relating to the purchase or sale of securities that is fraudulent or that has operated or would operate as a fraud upon the seller or purchaser.
(K) Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever any classification or computation is based upon "par value," as applied to securities without par value, the average of the aggregate consideration received or to be received by the issuer for each class of those securities shall be used as the basis for that classification or computation.
(L)(1) "Intangible property" means patents, copyrights, secret processes, formulas, services, good will, promotion and organization fees and expenses, trademarks, trade brands, trade names, licenses, franchises, any other assets treated as intangible according to generally accepted accounting principles, and securities, accounts receivable, or contract rights having no readily determinable value.
(2) "Tangible property" means all property other than intangible property and includes securities, accounts receivable, and contract rights, when the securities, accounts receivable, or contract rights have a readily determinable value.
(M) "Public utilities" means those utilities defined in sections 4905.02, 4905.03, 4907.02, and 4907.03 of the Revised Code; in the case of a foreign corporation, it means those utilities defined as public utilities by the laws of its domicile; and in the case of any other foreign issuer, it means those utilities defined as public utilities by the laws of the situs of its principal place of business. The term always includes railroads whether or not they are so defined as public utilities.
(N) "State" means any state of the United States, any territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any province of Canada.
(O) "Bank" means any bank, trust company, savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union that is incorporated or organized under the laws of the United States, any state of the United States, Canada, or any province of Canada and that is subject to regulation or supervision by that country, state, or province.
(P) "Include," when used in a definition, does not exclude other things or persons otherwise within the meaning of the term defined.
(Q)(1) "Registration by description" means that the requirements of section 1707.08 of the Revised Code have been complied with.
(2) "Registration by qualification" means that the requirements of sections 1707.09 and 1707.11 of the Revised Code have been complied with.
(3) "Registration by coordination" means that there has been compliance with section 1707.091 of the Revised Code. Reference in this chapter to registration by qualification also shall be deemed to include registration by coordination unless the context otherwise indicates.
(R) "Intoxicating liquor" includes all liquids and compounds that contain more than three and two-tenths per cent of alcohol by weight and are fit for use for beverage purposes.
(S) "Institutional investor" means any corporation, bank, insurance company, pension fund or pension fund trust, employees' profit-sharing fund or employees' profit-sharing trust, any association engaged, as a substantial part of its business or operations, in purchasing or holding securities, or any trust in respect of which a bank is trustee or cotrustee. "Institutional investor" does not include any business entity formed for the primary purpose of evading sections 1707.01 to 1707.45 of the Revised Code.
(T) "Securities Act of 1933," 48 Stat. 74, 15 U.S.C. 77a, "Securities Exchange Act of 1934," 48 Stat. 881, 15 U.S.C. 78a, "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, "Investment Advisers Act of 1940," 54 Stat. 847, 15 U.S.C. 80b, and "Investment Company Act of 1940," 54 Stat. 789, 15 U.S.C. 80a mean the federal statutes of those names as amended before or after March 18, 1999.
(U) "Securities and exchange commission" means the securities and exchange commission established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
(V)(1) "Control bid" means the purchase of or offer to purchase any equity security of a subject company from a resident of this state if either of the following applies:
(a) After the purchase of that security, the offeror would be directly or indirectly the beneficial owner of more than ten per cent of any class of the issued and outstanding equity securities of the issuer.
(b) The offeror is the subject company, there is a pending control bid by a person other than the issuer, and the number of the issued and outstanding shares of the subject company would be reduced by more than ten per cent.
(2) For purposes of division (V)(1) of this section, "control bid" does not include any of the following:
(a) A bid made by a dealer for the dealer's own account in the ordinary course of business of buying and selling securities;
(b) An offer to acquire any equity security solely in exchange for any other security, or the acquisition of any equity security pursuant to an offer, for the sole account of the offeror, in good faith and not for the purpose of avoiding the provisions of this chapter, and not involving any public offering of the other security within the meaning of Section 4 of Title I of the "Securities Act of 1933," 48 Stat. 77, 15 U.S.C.A. 77d(2), as amended;
(c) Any other offer to acquire any equity security, or the acquisition of any equity security pursuant to an offer, for the sole account of the offeror, from not more than fifty persons, in good faith and not for the purpose of avoiding the provisions of this chapter.
(W) "Offeror" means a person who makes, or in any way participates or aids in making, a control bid and includes persons acting jointly or in concert, or who intend to exercise jointly or in concert any voting rights attached to the securities for which the control bid is made and also includes any subject company making a control bid for its own securities.
(X)(1) "Investment adviser" means any person who, for compensation, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, or who, for compensation and as a part of regular business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning securities.
(2) "Investment adviser" does not mean any of the following:
(a) Any attorney, accountant, engineer, or teacher, whose performance of investment advisory services described in division (X)(1) of this section is solely incidental to the practice of the attorney's, accountant's, engineer's, or teacher's profession;
(b) A publisher of any bona fide newspaper, news magazine, or business or financial publication of general and regular circulation;
(c) A person who acts solely as an investment adviser representative;
(d) A bank holding company, as defined in the "Bank Holding Company Act of 1956," 70 Stat. 133, 12 U.S.C. 1841, that is not an investment company;
(e) A bank, or any receiver, conservator, or other liquidating agent of a bank;
(f) Any licensed dealer or licensed salesperson whose performance of investment advisory services described in division (X)(1) of this section is solely incidental to the conduct of the dealer's or salesperson's business as a licensed dealer or licensed salesperson and who receives no special compensation for the services;
(g) Any person, the advice, analyses, or reports of which do not relate to securities other than securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States, or securities issued or guaranteed by corporations in which the United States has a direct or indirect interest, and that have been designated by the secretary of the treasury as exempt securities as defined in the "Securities Exchange Act of 1934," 48 Stat. 881, 15 U.S.C. 78c;
(h) Any person that is excluded from the definition of investment adviser pursuant to section 202(a)(11)(A) to (E) of the "Investment Advisers Act of 1940," 15 U.S.C. 80b-2(a)(11), or that has received an order from the securities and exchange commission under section 202(a)(11)(F) of the "Investment Advisers Act of 1940," 15 U.S.C. 80b-2(a)(11)(F), declaring that the person is not within the intent of section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
(i) Any other person that the division designates by rule, if the division finds that the designation is necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or clients and consistent with the purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of this chapter.
(Y)(1) "Subject company" means an issuer that satisfies both of the following:
(a) Its principal place of business or its principal executive office is located in this state, or it owns or controls assets located within this state that have a fair market value of at least one million dollars.
(b) More than ten per cent of its beneficial or record equity security holders are resident in this state, more than ten per cent of its equity securities are owned beneficially or of record by residents in this state, or more than one thousand of its beneficial or record equity security holders are resident in this state.
(2) The division of securities may adopt rules to establish more specific application of the provisions set forth in division (Y)(1) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in division (Y)(1) of this section and any rules adopted under this division, the division, by rule or in an adjudicatory proceeding, may make a determination that an issuer does not constitute a "subject company" under division (Y)(1) of this section if appropriate review of control bids involving the issuer is to be made by any regulatory authority of another jurisdiction.
(Z) "Beneficial owner" includes any person who directly or indirectly through any contract, arrangement, understanding, or relationship has or shares, or otherwise has or shares, the power to vote or direct the voting of a security or the power to dispose of, or direct the disposition of, the security. "Beneficial ownership" includes the right, exercisable within sixty days, to acquire any security through the exercise of any option, warrant, or right, the conversion of any convertible security, or otherwise. Any security subject to any such option, warrant, right, or conversion privilege held by any person shall be deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage of outstanding securities of the class owned by that person, but shall not be deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage of the class owned by any other person. A person shall be deemed the beneficial owner of any security beneficially owned by any relative or spouse or relative of the spouse residing in the home of that person, any trust or estate in which that person owns ten per cent or more of the total beneficial interest or serves as trustee or executor, any corporation or entity in which that person owns ten per cent or more of the equity, and any affiliate or associate of that person.
(AA) "Offeree" means the beneficial or record owner of any security that an offeror acquires or offers to acquire in connection with a control bid.
(BB) "Equity security" means any share or similar security, or any security convertible into any such security, or carrying any warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase any such security, or any such warrant or right, or any other security that, for the protection of security holders, is treated as an equity security pursuant to rules of the division of securities.
(CC) "Investment company" has the same meaning as in section 3(A) of the "Investment Company Act of 1940," 54 Stat. 789, 15 U.S.C. 80a-1 to 80a-52.
(DD) "Penny stock" has the same meaning as in section 3(A)(51) of the "Securities Exchange Act of 1934," 48 Stat. 881, 15 U.S.C. 78a-78jj, and the rules, regulations, and orders issued pursuant to that section.
(EE) "Going concern transaction" has the same meaning given that term under the rules or regulations on the securities and exchange commission issued pursuant to section 13(c) of the "Securities Exchange Act of 1934," 48 Stat. 881, 15 U.S.C. 78a-78jj.
(FF) "Person acting on behalf of an issuer" means an officer, director, or employee of an issuer.
(GG) "Blank check company," "roll-up transaction," "executive officer of an entity," and "direct participation program" have the same meanings given those terms by rule or regulation of the securities and exchange commission.
(HH) "Forward-looking statement" means any of the following:
(1) A statement containing a projection of revenues, income including income loss, earnings per share including earnings loss per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure, or other financial items;
(2) A statement of the plans and objectives of the management of the issuer for future operations, including plans or objectives relating to the products or services of the issuer;
(3) A statement of future economic performance, including any statement of that nature contained in a discussion and analysis of financial conditions by the management or in the results of operations included pursuant to the rules and regulations of the securities and exchange commission;
(4) Any disclosed statement of the assumptions underlying or relating to a statement described in division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of section 1707.437 of the Revised Code;
(5) Any report issued by an outside reviewer retained by an issuer to the extent that the report relates to a forward-looking statement made by the issuer;
(6) A statement containing a projection or estimate of any other items that may be specified by rule or regulation of the securities and exchange commission.
(II)(1) "Investment adviser representative" means a supervised person of an investment adviser, provided that the supervised person has more than five clients who are natural persons other than excepted persons defined in division (KK)(EE) of this section, and that more than ten per cent of the supervised person's clients are natural persons other than excepted persons defined in division (KK)(EE) of this section. "Investment adviser representative" does not mean any of the following:
(a) A supervised person that does not on a regular basis solicit, meet with, or otherwise communicate with clients of the investment adviser;
(b) A supervised person that provides only investment advisory services described in division (X)(1) of this section by means of written materials or oral statements that do not purport to meet the objectives or needs of specific individuals or accounts;
(c) Any other person that the division designates by rule, if the division finds that the designation is necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or clients and is consistent with the provisions fairly intended by the policy and provisions of this chapter.
(2) For the purpose of the calculation of clients in division (II)(CC)(1) of this section, a natural person and the following persons are deemed a single client: Any minor child of the natural person; any relative, spouse, or relative of the spouse of the natural person who has the same principal residence as the natural person; all accounts of which the natural person or the persons referred to in division (II)(CC)(2) of this section are the only primary beneficiaries; and all trusts of which the natural person or persons referred to in division (II)(CC)(2) of this section are the only primary beneficiaries. Persons who are not residents of the United States need not be included in the calculation of clients under division (II)(CC)(1) of this section.
(3) If subsequent to March 18, 1999, amendments are enacted or adopted defining "investment adviser representative" for purposes of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or additional rules or regulations are promulgated by the securities and exchange commission regarding the definition of "investment adviser representative" for purposes of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the division of securities shall, by rule, adopt the substance of the amendments, rules, or regulations, unless the division finds that the amendments, rules, or regulations are not necessary for the protection of investors or in the public interest.
(JJ)(DD) "Supervised person" means a natural person who is any of the following:
(1) A partner, officer, or director of an investment adviser, or other person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions with respect to an investment adviser;
(2) An employee of an investment adviser;
(3) A person who provides investment advisory services described in division (X)(1) of this section on behalf of the investment adviser and is subject to the supervision and control of the investment adviser.
(KK)(EE) "Excepted person" means a natural person to whom any of the following applies:
(1) Immediately after entering into the investment advisory contract with the investment adviser, the person has at least seven hundred fifty thousand dollars under the management of the investment adviser.
(2) The investment adviser reasonably believes either of the following at the time the investment advisory contract is entered into with the person:
(a) The person has a net worth, together with assets held jointly with a spouse, of more than one million five hundred thousand dollars.
(b) The person is a qualified purchaser as defined in division (LL)(FF) of this section.
(3) Immediately prior to entering into an investment advisory contract with the investment adviser, the person is either of the following:
(a) An executive officer, director, trustee, general partner, or person serving in a similar capacity, of the investment adviser;
(b) An employee of the investment adviser, other than an employee performing solely clerical, secretarial, or administrative functions or duties for the investment adviser, which employee, in connection with the employee's regular functions or duties, participates in the investment activities of the investment adviser, provided that, for at least twelve months, the employee has been performing such nonclerical, nonsecretarial, or nonadministrative functions or duties for or on behalf of the investment adviser or performing substantially similar functions or duties for or on behalf of another company.
If subsequent to March 18, 1999, amendments are enacted or adopted defining "excepted person" for purposes of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or additional rules or regulations are promulgated by the securities and exchange commission regarding the definition of "excepted person" for purposes of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the division of securities shall, by rule, adopt the substance of the amendments, rules, or regulations, unless the division finds that the amendments, rules, or regulations are not necessary for the protection of investors or in the public interest.
(LL)(FF)(1) "Qualified purchaser" means either of the following:
(a) A natural person who owns not less than five million dollars in investments as defined by rule by the division of securities;
(b) A natural person, acting for the person's own account or accounts of other qualified purchasers, who in the aggregate owns and invests on a discretionary basis, not less than twenty-five million dollars in investments as defined by rule by the division of securities.
(2) If subsequent to March 18, 1999, amendments are enacted or adopted defining "qualified purchaser" for purposes of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or additional rules or regulations are promulgated by the securities and exchange commission regarding the definition of "qualified purchaser" for purposes of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the division of securities shall, by rule, adopt the amendments, rules, or regulations, unless the division finds that the amendments, rules, or regulations are not necessary for the protection of investors or in the public interest.
(MM)(GG)(1) "Purchase" has the full meaning of "purchase" as applied by or accepted in courts of law or equity and includes every acquisition of, or attempt to acquire, a security or an interest in a security. "Purchase" also includes a contract to purchase, an exchange, an attempt to purchase, an option to purchase, a solicitation of a purchase, a solicitation of an offer to sell, a subscription, or an offer to purchase, directly or indirectly, by agent, circular, pamphlet, advertisement, or otherwise.
(2) "Purchase" means any act by which a purchase is made.
(3) Any security given with, or as a bonus on account of, any purchase of securities is conclusively presumed to constitute a part of the subject of that purchase.
(NN)(HH) "Life settlement interest" means the entire interest or any fractional interest in an insurance policy or certificate of insurance, or in an insurance benefit under such a policy or certificate, that is the subject of a life settlement contract.
For purposes of this division, "life settlement contract" means an agreement for the purchase, sale, assignment, transfer, devise, or bequest of any portion of the death benefit or ownership of any life insurance policy or contract, in return for consideration or any other thing of value that is less than the expected death benefit of the life insurance policy or contract. "Life settlement contract" includes a viatical settlement contract as defined in section 3916.01 of the Revised Code, but does not include any of the following:
(1) A loan by an insurer under the terms of a life insurance policy, including, but not limited to, a loan secured by the cash value of the policy;
(2) An agreement with a bank that takes an assignment of a life insurance policy as collateral for a loan;
(3) The provision of accelerated benefits as defined in section 3915.21 of the Revised Code;
(4) Any agreement between an insurer and a reinsurer;
(5) An agreement by an individual to purchase an existing life insurance policy or contract from the original owner of the policy or contract, if the individual does not enter into more than one life settlement contract per calendar year;
(6) The initial purchase of an insurance policy or certificate of insurance from its owner by a viatical settlement provider, as defined in section 3916.01 of the Revised Code, that is licensed under Chapter 3916. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 1775.14.  (A) Subject to section 1339.65 of the Revised Code and except as provided in division (B) of this section, all partners are liable as follows:
(1) Jointly and severally for everything chargeable to the partnership under sections 1775.12 and 1775.13 of the Revised Code. This joint and several liability is not subject to division (D) of section 2315.19 of the Revised Code with respect to a negligence claim that otherwise is subject to that section.
(2) Jointly for all other debts and obligations of the partnership, but any partner may enter into a separate obligation to perform a partnership contract.
(B) Subject to divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section or as otherwise provided in a written agreement between the partners of a registered limited liability partnership, a partner in a registered limited liability partnership is not liable, directly or indirectly, by way of indemnification, contribution, assessment, or otherwise, for debts, obligations, or other liabilities of any kind of, or chargeable to, the partnership or another partner or partners arising from negligence or from wrongful acts, errors, omissions, or misconduct, whether or not intentional or characterized as tort, contract, or otherwise, committed or occurring while the partnership is a registered limited liability partnership and committed or occurring in the course of the partnership business by another partner or an employee, agent, or representative of the partnership.
(C)(1) Division (B) of this section does not affect the liability of a partner in a registered limited liability partnership for that partner's own negligence, wrongful acts, errors, omissions, or misconduct, including that partner's own negligence, wrongful acts, errors, omissions, or misconduct in directly supervising any other partner or any employee, agent, or representative of the partnership.
(2) Division (B) of this section shall not affect the liability of a partner for liabilities imposed by Chapters 5735., 5739., 5743., and 5747. and section 3734.908 of the Revised Code.
(D) A partner in a registered limited liability partnership is not a proper party to an action or proceeding by or against a registered limited liability partnership with respect to any debt, obligation, or other liability of any kind described in division (B) of this section, unless the partner is liable under divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section.
Sec. 1901.18.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in this division or section 1901.181 of the Revised Code, subject to the monetary jurisdiction of municipal courts as set forth in section 1901.17 of the Revised Code, a municipal court has original jurisdiction within its territory in all of the following actions or proceedings and to perform all of the following functions:
(1) In any civil action, of whatever nature or remedy, of which judges of county courts have jurisdiction;
(2) In any action or proceeding at law for the recovery of money or personal property of which the court of common pleas has jurisdiction;
(3) In any action at law based on contract, to determine, preserve, and enforce all legal and equitable rights involved in the contract, to decree an accounting, reformation, or cancellation of the contract, and to hear and determine all legal and equitable remedies necessary or proper for a complete determination of the rights of the parties to the contract;
(4) In any action or proceeding for the sale of personal property under chattel mortgage, lien, encumbrance, or other charge, for the foreclosure and marshalling of liens on personal property of that nature, and for the rendering of personal judgment in the action or proceeding;
(5) In any action or proceeding to enforce the collection of its own judgments or the judgments rendered by any court within the territory to which the municipal court has succeeded, and to subject the interest of a judgment debtor in personal property to satisfy judgments enforceable by the municipal court;
(6) In any action or proceeding in the nature of interpleader;
(7) In any action of replevin;
(8) In any action of forcible entry and detainer;
(9) In any action concerning the issuance and enforcement of temporary protection orders pursuant to section 2919.26 of the Revised Code or protection orders pursuant to section 2903.213 of the Revised Code or the enforcement of protection orders issued by courts of another state, as defined in section 2919.27 of the Revised Code;
(10) If the municipal court has a housing or environmental division, in any action over which the division is given jurisdiction by section 1901.181 of the Revised Code, provided that, except as specified in division (B)(B) of that section, no judge of the court other than the judge of the division shall hear or determine any action over which the division has jurisdiction;
(11) In any action brought pursuant to division (I) of section 3733.11 of the Revised Code, if the residential premises that are the subject of the action are located within the territorial jurisdiction of the court;
(12) In any civil action as described in division (B)(1) of section 3767.41 of the Revised Code that relates to a public nuisance, and, to the extent any provision of this chapter conflicts or is inconsistent with a provision of that section, the provision of that section shall control in the civil action.
(B) The Cleveland municipal court also shall have jurisdiction within its territory in all of the following actions or proceedings and to perform all of the following functions:
(1) In all actions and proceedings for the sale of real property under lien of a judgment of the municipal court or a lien for machinery, material, or fuel furnished or labor performed, irrespective of amount, and, in those actions and proceedings, the court may proceed to foreclose and marshal all liens and all vested or contingent rights, to appoint a receiver, and to render personal judgment irrespective of amount in favor of any party.
(2) In all actions for the foreclosure of a mortgage on real property given to secure the payment of money or the enforcement of a specific lien for money or other encumbrance or charge on real property, when the amount claimed by the plaintiff does not exceed fifteen thousand dollars and the real property is situated within the territory, and, in those actions, the court may proceed to foreclose all liens and all vested and contingent rights and may proceed to render judgments and make findings and orders between the parties in the same manner and to the same extent as in similar actions in the court of common pleas.
(3) In all actions for the recovery of real property situated within the territory to the same extent as courts of common pleas have jurisdiction;
(4) In all actions for injunction to prevent or terminate violations of the ordinances and regulations of the city of Cleveland enacted or promulgated under the police power of the city of Cleveland, pursuant to Section 3 of Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, over which the court of common pleas has or may have jurisdiction, and, in those actions, the court may proceed to render judgments and make findings and orders in the same manner and to the same extent as in similar actions in the court of common pleas.
Sec. 2101.31.  All questions of fact shall be determined by the probate judge, unless he the judge orders them those questions of fact to be tried by before a jury, or referred, refers those questions of fact to a special master commissioner as provided in sections 2101.06 and 2101.07, and sections 2315.26 to 2315.37, inclusive, of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2117.06.  (A) All creditors having claims against an estate, including claims arising out of contract, out of tort, on cognovit notes, or on judgments, whether due or not due, secured or unsecured, liquidated or unliquidated, shall present their claims in one of the following manners:
(1) To the executor or administrator in a writing;
(2) To the executor or administrator in a writing, and to the probate court by filing a copy of the writing with it;
(3) In a writing that is sent by ordinary mail addressed to the decedent and that is actually received by the executor or administrator within the appropriate time specified in division (B) of this section. For purposes of this division, if an executor or administrator is not a natural person, the writing shall be considered as being actually received by the executor or administrator only if the person charged with the primary responsibility of administering the estate of the decedent actually receives the writing within the appropriate time specified in division (B) of this section.
(B) All claims shall be presented within one year after the death of the decedent, whether or not the estate is released from administration or an executor or administrator is appointed during that one-year period. Every claim presented shall set forth the claimant's address.
(C) A claim that is not presented within one year ater after the death of the decedent shall be forever barred as to all parties, including, but not limited to, devisees, legatees, and distributees. No payment shall be made on the claim and no action shall be maintained on the claim, except as otherwise provided in sections 2117.37 to 2117.42 of the Revised Code, with reference to contingent claims.
(D) In the absence of any prior demand for allowance, the executor or administrator shall allow or reject all claims, except tax assessment claims, within thirty days after their presentation, provided that failure of the executor or administrator to allow or reject within that time shall not prevent him the executor or administrator from doing so after that time and shall not prejudice the rights of any claimant. Upon the allowance of a claim, the executor or the administrator, on demand of the creditor, shall furnish the creditor with a written statement or memorandum of the fact and date of such allowance.
(E) If the executor or administrator has actual knowledge of a pending action commenced against the decedent prior to his the decedent's death in a court of record in this state, such executor or administrator shall file a notice of his the appointment of the executor or administrator in such pending action within ten days after acquiring such knowledge. If the administrator or executor is not a natural person, actual knowledge of a pending suit against the decedent shall be limited to the actual knowledge of the person charged with the primary responsibility of administering the estate of the decedent. Failure to file the notice within the ten-day period does not extend the claim period established by this section.
(F) This section applies to any person who is required to give written notice to the executor or administrator of a motion or application to revive an action pending against the decedent at the date of the death of the decedent.
(G) Nothing in this section or in section 2117.07 of the Revised Code shall be construed to reduce the time mentioned in section 2125.02, 2305.09, 2305.10, 2305.11, or 2305.12 of the Revised Code, provided that no portion of any recovery on a claim brought pursuant to any of those sections shall come from the assets of an estate, unless the claim has been presented against the estate in accordance with Chapter 2117. of the Revised Code.
(H) Any person whose claim has been presented, and not thereafter rejected, is a creditor as that term is used in Chapters 2113. to 2125. of the Revised Code. Claims that are contingent need not be presented except as provided in sections 2117.37 to 2117.42 of the Revised Code, but, whether presented pursuant to those sections or this section, contingent claims may be presented in any of the manners described in division (A) of this section.
(I) If a creditor presents a claim against an estate in accordance with division (A)(2) of this section, the probate court shall not close the administration of the estate until that claim is allowed or rejected.
(J) The probate court shall not require an executor or administrator to make and return into the court a schedule of claims against the estate.
(K) If the executor or administrator makes a distribution of the assets of the estate prior to the expiration of the time for the filing of claims as set forth in this section, he the executor or administrator shall provide notice to each distributee as provided in section 2113.533 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2125.01.  When the death of a person is caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default which would have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages if death had not ensued, the person who would have been liable if death had not ensued, or the administrator or executor of the estate of such person, as such administrator or executor, shall be liable to an action for damages, nothwithstanding notwithstanding the death of the person injured and although the death was caused under circumstances which make it aggravated murder, murder, or manslaughter. When the action is against such administrator or executor, the damages recovered shall be a valid claim against the estate of such deceased person. No action for the wrongful death of a person may be maintained against the owner or lessee of the real property upon which the death occurred if the cause of the death was the violent unprovoked act of a party other than the owner, lessee, or a person under the control of the owner or lessee, unless the acts or omissions of the owner, lessee, or person under the control of the owner or lessee constitute gross negligence.
When death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect, or default in another state or foreign country, for which a right to maintain an action and recover damages is given by a statute of such other state or foreign country, such right of action may be enforced in this state. Every such action shall be commenced within the time prescribed for the commencement of such actions by the statute of such other state or foreign country.
The same remedy shall apply to any such cause of action now existing and to any such action commenced before January 1, 1932, or attempted to be commenced in proper time and now appearing on the files of any court within this state, and no prior law of this state shall prevent the maintenance of such cause of action.
Sec. 2125.02.  (A)(1) Except as provided in this division, an action for wrongful death shall be brought in the name of the personal representative of the decedent for the exclusive benefit of the surviving spouse, the children, and the parents of the decedent, all of whom are rebuttably presumed to have suffered damages by reason of the wrongful death, and for the exclusive benefit of the other next of kin of the decedent. A parent who abandoned a minor child who is the decedent shall not receive any benefit in a wrongful death action brought under this division.
(2) The jury, or the court if the action is not tried to a jury, may award damages authorized by division (B) of this section, as it determines are proportioned to the injury and loss resulting to the beneficiaries described in division (A)(1) of this section by reason of the wrongful death and may award the reasonable funeral and burial expenses incurred as a result of the wrongful death. In its verdict, the jury or court shall set forth separately the amount, if any, awarded for the reasonable funeral and burial expenses incurred as a result of the wrongful death.
(3)(a) The date of the decedent's death fixes, subject to division (A)(3)(b)(iii) of this section, the status of all beneficiaries of the action for purposes of determining the damages suffered by them and the amount of damages to be awarded. A person who is conceived prior to the decedent's death and who is born alive after his the decedent's death is a beneficiary of the action.
(b)(i) In determining the amount of damages to be awarded, the jury or court may consider all factors existing at the time of the decedent's death that are relevant to a determination of the damages suffered by reason of the wrongful death.
(ii) Consistent with the Rules of Evidence, any party to an action for wrongful death may present evidence of the cost of an annuity in connection with any issue of recoverable future damages. If such evidence is presented, then, in addition to the factors described in division (A)(3)(b)(i) of this section and, if applicable, division (A)(3)(b)(iii) of this section, the jury or court may consider that evidence in determining the future damages suffered by reason of the wrongful death. If such evidence is presented, the present value in dollars of any annuity is its cost.
(iii) Consistent with the Rules of Evidence, any party to an action for wrongful death may present evidence that the surviving spouse of the decedent is remarried. If such evidence is presented, then, in addition to the factors described in divisions (A)(3)(b)(i) and (ii) of this section, the jury or court may consider that evidence in determining the damages suffered by the surviving spouse by reason of the wrongful death.
(B) Compensatory damages may be awarded in an action for wrongful death and may include damages for the following:
(1) Loss of support from the reasonably expected earning capacity of the decedent;
(2) Loss of services of the decedent;
(3) Loss of the society of the decedent, including loss of companionship, consortium, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training, and education, suffered by the surviving spouse, minor children, parents, or next of kin;
(4) Loss of prospective inheritance to the decedent's heirs at law at the time of his the decedent's death;
(5) The mental anguish incurred by the surviving spouse, minor children, parents, or next of kin.
(C) A personal representative appointed in this state, with the consent of the court making the appointment and at any time before or after the commencement of an action for wrongful death, may settle with the defendant the amount to be paid.
(D) An action for wrongful death shall be commenced within two years after the decedent's death.
(E)(1) If the personal representative of a deceased minor has actual knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that the minor was abandoned by a parent seeking to benefit from the wrongful death action or if any person listed in division (A)(1) of this section who is permitted to benefit in a wrongful death action filed in relation to a deceased minor has actual knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that the minor was abandoned by a parent seeking to benefit from the wrongful death action, the personal representative or the person may file a motion in the court in which the wrongful death action is filed requesting the court to issue an order finding that the parent abandoned the child and is not entitled to recover damages in the wrongful death action based on the death of the deceased minor child.
(2) The movant who files a motion described in division (E)(1) of this section shall name the parent who abandoned the child and, whether or not that parent is a resident of this state, the parent shall be served with a summons and a copy of the motion in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon the filing of the motion, the court shall conduct a hearing. In the hearing on the motion, the movant has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the parent abandoned the deceased minor child. If, at the hearing, the court finds that the movant has sustained that burden of proof, the court shall issue an order that includes its finding that the parent abandoned the deceased minor child and, because of the prohibition set forth in division (A) of this section, the parent is not entitled to recover damages in the wrongful death action based on the death of the deceased minor child.
(3) A motion requesting a court to issue an order finding that the specified parent abandoned the child and is not entitled to recover damages in the wrongful death action based on the death of the deceased minor child may be filed at any time during the pendency of the wrongful death action.
(F) As used in this section:
(1) "Annuity" means an annuity that would be purchased from either of the following types of insurance companies:
(a) An insurance company that the A. M. Best Company, in its most recently published rating guide of life insurance companies, has rated A or better and has rated XII or higher as to financial size or strength;
(b)(i) An insurance company that the superintendent of insurance, under rules adopted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for purposes of implementing this division, determines is licensed to do business in this state and, considering the factors described in division (F)(1)(b)(ii) of this section, is a stable insurance company that issues annuities that are safe and desirable.
(ii) In making determinations as described in division (F)(1)(b)(i) of this section, the superintendent shall be guided by the principle that the jury or court in an action for wrongful death should be presented only with evidence as to the cost of annuities that are safe and desirable for the beneficiaries of such an action who are awarded compensatory damages under this section. In making such determinations, the superintendent shall consider the financial condition, general standing, operating results, profitability, leverage, liquidity, amount and soundness of reinsurance, adequacy of reserves, and the management of any insurance company in question and also may consider ratings, grades, and classifications of any nationally recognized rating services of insurance companies and any other factors relevant to the making of such determinations.
(2) "Future damages" means damages that result from the wrongful death and that will accrue after the verdict or determination of liability by the jury or court is rendered in the action for wrongful death.
(3) "Abandoned" means that a parent of a minor failed without justifiable cause to communicate with the minor, care for him the minor, and provide for his the maintenance or support of the minor as required by law or judicial decree for a period of at least one year immediately prior to the date of the death of the minor.
(4) "Minor" means a person who is less than eighteen years of age.
Sec. 2125.04.  In every action for wrongful death commenced or attempted to be commenced within the time specified by section 2125.02 of the Revised Code, if a judgment for the plaintiff is reversed or if the plaintiff fails otherwise than upon the merits, and the time limited by such section for the commencement of such action has expired at the date of such reversal or failure, the plaintiff or, if he the plaintiff dies and the cause of action survives, his the personal representative of the plaintiff may commence a new action within one year after such date.
Sec. 2305.01.  The court of common pleas has original jurisdiction in all civil cases in which the sum or matter in dispute exceeds the exclusive original jurisdiction of county courts and appellate jurisdiction from the decisions of boards of county commissioners.
The court of common pleas may on its own motion transfer for trial any action in the court to any municipal court in the county having concurrent jurisdiction of the subject matter of, and the parties to, the action, if the amount sought by the plaintiff does not exceed one thousand dollars and if the judge or presiding judge of the municipal court concurs in the proposed transfer. Upon the issuance of an order of transfer, the clerk of courts shall remove to the designated municipal court the entire case file. Any untaxed portion of the common pleas deposit for court costs shall be remitted to the municipal court by the clerk of courts to be applied in accordance with section 1901.26 of the Revised Code, and the costs taxed by the municipal court shall be added to any costs taxed in the common pleas court.
The court of common pleas has jurisdiction in any action brought pursuant to division (I) of section 3733.11 of the Revised Code if the residential premises that are the subject of the action are located within the territorial jurisdiction of the court.
The courts of common pleas of Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Clermont, Columbiana, Gallia, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Scioto, and Washington counties have jurisdiction beyond the north or northwest shore of the Ohio river extending to the opposite shore line, between the extended boundary lines of any adjacent counties or adjacent state. Each of those courts of common pleas has concurrent jurisdiction on the Ohio river with any adjacent court of common pleas that borders on that river and with any court of Kentucky or of West Virginia that borders on the Ohio river and that has jurisdiction on the Ohio river under the law of Kentucky or the law of West Virginia, whichever is applicable, or under federal law.
Sec. 2305.10.  An action for bodily injury or injuring personal property shall be brought within two years after the cause thereof arose.
For purposes of this section, a cause of action for bodily injury caused by exposure to asbestos or to chromium in any of its chemical forms arises upon the date on which the plaintiff is informed by competent medical authority that he the plaintiff has been injured by such exposure, or upon the date on which, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, he the plaintiff should have become aware that he the plaintiff had been injured by the exposure, whichever date occurs first.
For purposes of this section, a cause of action for bodily injury incurred by a veteran through exposure to chemical defoliants or herbicides or other causative agents, including agent orange, arises upon the date on which the plaintiff is informed by competent medical authority that he the plaintiff has been injured by such exposure.
As used in this section, "agent orange," "causative agent," and "veteran" have the same meanings as in section 5903.21 of the Revised Code.
For purposes of this section, a cause of action for bodily injury which may be caused by exposure to diethylstilbestrol or other nonsteroidal synthetic estrogens, including exposure before birth, upon the date on which the plaintiff learns from a licensed physician that he the plaintiff has an injury which may be related to such exposure, or upon the date on which by the exercise of reasonable diligence he the plaintiff should have become aware that he the plaintiff has an injury which may be related to such exposure, whichever date occurs first.
Sec. 2305.11.  (A) An action for libel, slander, malicious prosecution, or false imprisonment, an action for malpractice other than an action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim, or an action upon a statute for a penalty or forfeiture shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued, provided that an action by an employee for the payment of unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or liquidated damages by reason of the nonpayment of minimum wages or overtime compensation shall be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued.
(B)(1) Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, an action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued, except that, if prior to the expiration of that one-year period, a claimant who allegedly possesses a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim gives to the person who is the subject of that claim written notice that the claimant is considering bringing an action upon that claim, that action may be commenced against the person notified at any time within one hundred eighty days after the notice is so given.
(2) Except as to persons within the age of minority or of unsound mind, as provided by section 2305.16 of the Revised Code:
(a) In no event shall any action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim be commenced more than four years after the occurrence of the act or omission constituting the alleged basis of the medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim.
(b) If an action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim is not commenced within four years after the occurrence of the act or omission constituting the alleged basis of the medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim, then, notwithstanding the time when the action is determined to accrue under division (B)(1) of this section, any action upon that claim is barred.
(C) A civil action for unlawful abortion pursuant to section 2919.12 of the Revised Code, a civil action authorized by division (H) of section 2317.56 of the Revised Code, a civil action pursuant to division (B)(1) or (2) of section 2307.51 of the Revised Code for performing a dilation and extraction procedure or attempting to perform a dilation and extraction procedure in violation of section 2919.15 of the Revised Code, and a civil action pursuant to division (B)(1) or (2) of section 2307.52 of the Revised Code for terminating or attempting to terminate a human pregnancy after viability in violation of division (A) or (B) of section 2919.17 of the Revised Code shall be commenced within one year after the performance or inducement of the abortion, within one year after the attempt to perform or induce the abortion in violation of division (A) or (B) of section 2919.17 of the Revised Code, within one year after the performance of the dilation and extraction procedure, or, in the case of a civil action pursuant to division (B)(2) of section 2307.51 of the Revised Code, within one year after the attempt to perform the dilation and extraction procedure.
(D) As used in this section:
(1) "Hospital" includes any person, corporation, association, board, or authority that is responsible for the operation of any hospital licensed or registered in the state, including, but not limited to, those which are owned or operated by the state, political subdivisions, any person, any corporation, or any combination thereof. "Hospital" also includes any person, corporation, association, board, entity, or authority that is responsible for the operation of any clinic that employs a full-time staff of physicians practicing in more than one recognized medical specialty and rendering advice, diagnosis, care, and treatment to individuals. "Hospital" does not include any hospital operated by the government of the United States or any of its branches.
(2) "Physician" means a person who is licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery by the state medical board or a person who otherwise is authorized to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery in this state.
(3) "Medical claim" means any claim that is asserted in any civil action against a physician, podiatrist, or hospital, against any employee or agent of a physician, podiatrist, or hospital, or against a registered nurse or physical therapist, and that arises out of the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of any person. "Medical claim" includes derivative claims for relief that arise from the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a person.
(4) "Podiatrist" means any person who is licensed to practice podiatric medicine and surgery by the state medical board.
(5) "Dentist" means any person who is licensed to practice dentistry by the state dental board.
(6) "Dental claim" means any claim that is asserted in any civil action against a dentist, or against any employee or agent of a dentist, and that arises out of a dental operation or the dental diagnosis, care, or treatment of any person. "Dental claim" includes derivative claims for relief that arise from a dental operation or the dental diagnosis, care, or treatment of a person.
(7) "Derivative claims for relief" include, but are not limited to, claims of a parent, guardian, custodian, or spouse of an individual who was the subject of any medical diagnosis, care, or treatment, dental diagnosis, care, or treatment, dental operation, optometric diagnosis, care, or treatment, or chiropractic diagnosis, care, or treatment, that arise from that diagnosis, care, treatment, or operation, and that seek the recovery of damages for any of the following:
(a) Loss of society, consortium, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training, or education, or any other intangible loss that was sustained by the parent, guardian, custodian, or spouse;
(b) Expenditures of the parent, guardian, custodian, or spouse for medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic care or treatment, for rehabilitation services, or for other care, treatment, services, products, or accommodations provided to the individual who was the subject of the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment, the dental diagnosis, care, or treatment, the dental operation, the optometric diagnosis, care, or treatment, or the chiropractic diagnosis, care, or treatment.
(8) "Registered nurse" means any person who is licensed to practice nursing as a registered nurse by the state board of nursing.
(9) "Chiropractic claim" means any claim that is asserted in any civil action against a chiropractor, or against any employee or agent of a chiropractor, and that arises out of the chiropractic diagnosis, care, or treatment of any person. "Chiropractic claim" includes derivative claims for relief that arise from the chiropractic diagnosis, care, or treatment of a person.
(10) "Chiropractor" means any person who is licensed to practice chiropractic by the chiropractic examining board.
(11) "Optometric claim" means any claim that is asserted in any civil action against an optometrist, or against any employee or agent of an optometrist, and that arises out of the optometric diagnosis, care, or treatment of any person. "Optometric claim" includes derivative claims for relief that arise from the optometric diagnosis, care, or treatment of a person.
(12) "Optometrist" means any person licensed to practice optometry by the state board of optometry.
(13) "Physical therapist" means any person who is licensed to practice physical therapy under Chapter 4755. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2305.16.  Unless otherwise provided in sections 1302.98, 1304.35, and 2305.04 to 2305.14 of the Revised Code, if a person entitled to bring any action mentioned in those sections, unless for penalty or forfeiture, is, at the time the cause of action accrues, within the age of minority or of unsound mind, the person may bring it within the respective times limited by those sections, after the disability is removed. When the interests of two or more parties are joint and inseparable, the disability of one shall inure to the benefit of all.
After the cause of action accrues, if the person entitled to bring the action becomes of unsound mind and is adjudicated as such by a court of competent jurisdiction or is confined in an institution or hospital under a diagnosed condition or disease which renders him the person of unsound mind, the time during which he the person is of unsound mind and so adjudicated or so confined shall not be computed as any part of the period within which the action must be brought.
Sec. 2305.25.  (A) No health care entity hospital, no state or local society, and no individual who is a member of or works on behalf employee of any of the following boards or committees of a health care entity or of any of the following corporations shall be liable in damages to any person for any acts, omissions, decisions, or other conduct within the scope of the functions of the board, committee, or corporation:
(1)(A) A peer utilization review committee, quality assurance, or tissue committee of a hospital or long-term care facility, a nonprofit health care corporation which is a member of the hospital or long-term care facility or of which the hospital or facility is a member, or a community mental health center;
(2)(B) A board or committee of a hospital or long-term care facility or of a nonprofit health care corporation which is a member of the hospital or long-term care facility or of which the hospital or long-term care facility is a member reviewing professional qualifications or activities of the medical staff of the hospital or long-term care facility or applicants for admission to the medical staff;
(3)(C) A utilization committee of a state or local society composed of doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathic medicine, or doctors of podiatric medicine;
(4)(D) A peer review committee, professional standards review committee, or arbitration committee of a state or local society composed of doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathic medicine, doctors of dentistry, doctors of optometry, doctors of podiatric medicine, psychologists, or pharmacists;
(5)(E) A peer review committee of a health insuring corporation that has at least a two-thirds majority of member physicians in active practice and that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care providers, which conduct adversely affects, or could adversely affect, the health or welfare of any patient. For purposes of this division, "health insuring corporation" includes wholly owned subsidiaries of a health insuring corporation.
(6)(F) A peer review committee of any insurer authorized under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code to do the business of sickness and accident insurance in this state that has at least a two-thirds majority of physicians in active practice and that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care providers, which conduct adversely affects, or could adversely affect, the health or welfare of any patient;
(7)(G) A peer review committee of any insurer authorized under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code to do the business of sickness and accident insurance in this state that has at least a two-thirds majority of physicians in active practice and that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of a health care facility that has contracted with the insurer to provide health care services to insureds, which conduct adversely affects, or could adversely affect, the health or welfare of any patient;
(8) A peer review committee of an insurer authorized under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code to do the business of medical professional liability insurance in this state and that conducts professional quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care providers, which conduct adversely affects, or could affect, the health or welfare of any patient;
(9) A peer review committee of a health care entity.
(B)(1) A hospital shall be presumed to not be negligent in the credentialing of a qualified person if the hospital proves by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the alleged negligent credentialing of the qualified person it was accredited by the joint commission on accreditation of health care organizations, the American osteopathic association, or the national committee for quality assurance.
(2) The presumption that a hospital is not negligent as provided in division (B)(1) of this section may be rebutted only by proof, by a preponderance of the evidence, of any of the following:
(a) The credentialing and review requirements of the accrediting organization did not apply to the hospital, the qualified person, or the type of professional care that is the basis of the claim against the hospital.
(b) The hospital failed to comply with all material credentialing and review requirements of the accrediting organization that applied to the qualified person.
(c) The hospital, through its medical staff executive committee or its governing body and sufficiently in advance to take appropriate action, knew that a previously competent qualified person with staff privileges at the hospital had developed a pattern of incompetence that indicated that the qualified person's privileges should have been limited prior to treating the plaintiff at the hospital.
(d) The hospital, through its medical staff executive committee or its governing body and sufficiently in advance to take appropriate action, knew that a previously competent qualified person with staff privileges at the hospital would provide fraudulent medical treatment but failed to limit the qualified person's privileges prior to treating the plaintiff at the hospital.
(3) If the plaintiff fails to rebut the presumption provided in division (B)(1) of this section, upon the motion of the hospital, the court shall enter judgment in favor of the hospital on the claim of negligent credentialing.
(C) Nothing in this section otherwise shall relieve any individual or health care entity hospital from liability arising from treatment of a patient or resident. Nothing in this section shall be construed as creating an exception to section 2305.251 of the Revised Code.
This section shall also apply to any member or employee of a nonprofit corporation engaged in performing the functions of a peer review committee of nursing home providers or administrators or of a peer review or professional standards review committee.
(D) No person who provides information under this section without malice and in the reasonable belief that the information is warranted by the facts known to the person shall be subject to suit for civil damages as a result of providing the information.
(E) As used in this section:
(1) "Peer review committee" means a utilization review committee, quality assurance committee, quality improvement committee, tissue committee, credentialing committee, or other committee that conducts professional credentialing and quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care practitioners.
(2) "Health care entity" means a government entity, a for-profit or nonprofit corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, a professional corporation, a state or local society as described in division (A)(3) of this section, or other health care organization, including, but not limited to, health care entities described in division (A) of this section, whether acting on its own behalf or on behalf of or in affiliation with other health care entities, that conducts, as part of its purpose, professional credentialing or quality review activities involving the competence or professional conduct of health care practitioners or providers.
(3) "Hospital" means either of the following:
(a) An institution that has been registered or licensed by the Ohio department of health as a hospital;
(b) An entity, other than an insurance company authorized to do business in this state, that owns, controls, or is affiliated with an institution that has been registered or licensed by the Ohio department of health as a hospital.
(4) "Qualified person" means a member of the medical staff of a hospital or a person who has professional privileges at a hospital pursuant to section 3701.351 of the Revised Code.
(F) This section shall be considered to be purely remedial in its operation and shall be applied in a remedial manner in any civil action in which this section is relevant, whether the civil action is pending in court or commenced on or after the effective date of this section, regardless of when the cause of action accrued and notwithstanding any other section of the Revised Code or prior rule of law of this state.
Sec. 2305.251.  Proceedings and records within the scope of the peer review or utilization review functions of all review boards, committees, or corporations described in section 2305.25 of the Revised Code shall be held in confidence and shall not be subject to discovery or introduction in evidence in any civil action against a health care professional, a hospital, a long-term care facility, a not-for-profit health care corporation that is a member of a hospital or long-term care facility or of which a hospital or long-term care facility is a member, or another health care entity institution arising out of matters that are the subject of evaluation and review by the review board, committee, or corporation. No person in attendance at a meeting of a review board, committee, or corporation or serving as a member or employee of a review board, committee, or corporation shall be permitted or required to testify in any civil action as to any evidence or other matters produced or presented during the proceedings of the review board, committee, or corporation or as to any finding, recommendation, evaluation, opinion, or other action of the review board, committee, or corporation or a member or employee of it thereof. Information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not to be construed as being unavailable for discovery or for use in any civil action merely because they were presented during proceedings of a review board, committee, or corporation, nor should any person testifying before a review board, committee, or corporation or who is a member or employee of the review board, committee, or corporation be prevented from testifying as to matters within the person's knowledge, but the witness cannot be asked about the witness's testimony before the review board, committee, or corporation or an opinion formed by the witness as a result of the review board, committee, or corporation hearing. An order by a court to produce for discovery or for use at trial the proceedings or records described in this section is a final order.
Sec. 2305.27. Except as provided in section 2743.02 of the Revised Code, in any medical claim, as defined in division (D) of section 2305.11 of the Revised Code, an award of damages shall not be reduced by insurance proceeds or payments or other benefits paid under any insurance policy or contract where the premium or cost of such insurance policy or contract was paid either by or for the person who has obtained the award, or by his the person's employer, or both, or by direct payments from his the person's employer, but shall be reduced by any other collateral recovery for medical and hospital care, custodial care or rehabilitation services, and loss of earned income. Unless otherwise expressly provided by statute, a collateral source of indemnity shall not be subrogated to the claimant against a physician, podiatrist, or hospital.
Sec. 2305.35.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Agency" has the same meaning as in section 2305.37 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Donor" means an owner, lessee, renter, or operator of a farm or other real property who gives permission to a gleaner to enter the property to salvage free-of-charge food items remaining on the property for subsequent donations of the food items to, or subsequent distributions of the food items by, an agency or nonprofit organization.
(3) "Gleaner" means any person that, with the permission of the owner, lessee, renter, or operator of a farm or other real property, enters the property to salvage free-of-charge food items remaining on the property for subsequent donations of the food items to, or subsequent distributions of the food items by, an agency or nonprofit organization.
(4) "Hazard" means a risk of serious physical harm to persons or property.
(5) "Nonprofit organization" means a corporation, association, group, institution, society, or other organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), as amended.
(6) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property. "Tort action" includes a product liability claim that is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code but does not include a civil action for damages for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.
(B)(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, a donor is not liable in damages to any person in a tort action for injury, death, or loss to person or property sustained by a gleaner as a result of any of the following:
(a) Any condition of the farm or other real property on which the gleaner is salvaging food items;
(b) Any normal agricultural operations occurring on the farm or other real property on which the gleaner is salvaging food items;
(c) Any risks of physical harm to persons or property involved in salvaging the food items the gleaner is salvaging.
(2) The immunity described in division (B)(1) of this section does not apply to a donor in a tort action for injury, death, or loss to person or property sustained by a gleaner as a result of any condition, operations, or risks described in division (B)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section if the injury, death, or loss to person or property sustained by the gleaner was caused by any of the following actions or omissions:
(a) An action or omission of the donor that constitutes negligence, if that negligence involves one or both of the following:
(i) The failure of the donor to warn the gleaner of a hazard of which the donor had actual knowledge prior to the gleaner entering the property;
(ii) The creation or enhancement of a hazard by the donor prior to the gleaner entering the property.
(b) An action or omission of the donor that constitutes willful or wanton misconduct or intentionally tortious conduct;
(c) An action or omission of an employee of the donor, a family member of the donor or another person associated with the donor that is imputable to the donor and that constitutes negligence, if that negligence involves one or both of the following:
(i) The failure of the employee, family member, or other associated person to warn the gleaner of a hazard of which the employee, family member, or other associated person had actual knowledge prior to the gleaner entering the property;
(ii) The creation or enhancement of a hazard by the employee, family member, or other associated person prior to the gleaner entering the property.
(d) An action or omission of an employee of the donor, a family member of the donor, or another person associated with the donor, that is imputable to the donor and that constitutes willful or wanton misconduct.
(C)(1) This section does not create a new cause of action or substantive legal right against donors.
(2) This section does not affect any immunities from or defenses to tort liability established by another section of the Revised Code or available at common law, to which donors may be entitled under circumstances not covered by this section.
Sec. 2305.37.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Agency" means any nonhospital, charitable nonprofit corporation that is organized and operated pursuant to Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code and that satisfies both of the following, or any nonhospital, charitable association, group, institution, organization, or society that is not organized and not operated for profit and that satisfies both of the following:
(a) It distributes perishable food, directly or indirectly, to individuals in need.
(b) It does not charge or accept any form of compensation from the individuals in need for the distribution of the perishable food to them.
(2) "Food service operation" has the same meaning as in section 3717.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Food that is gleaned" means perishable food that remains on a farm or other real property and that the owner, lessee, renter, or operator of the property permits one or more persons to salvage free-of-charge for subsequent donation to one or more agencies.
(4) "Harm" means injury, death, or loss to person or property.
(5) "Hospital" has the same meaning as in section 2108.01, 3701.01, or 5122.01 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Individuals in need" means those persons who an agency determines are eligible to receive free distributions of perishable food because of poverty, illness, disability, infancy, or other conditions or circumstances that may result in persons having a need to receive free distributions of perishable food.
(7) "Perishable food" means any food that may spoil or otherwise become unfit for human consumption because of its nature, age, or physical condition. "Perishable food" includes, but is not limited to, fresh meats, processed meats, poultry, fish and other seafood, dairy products, bakery products, eggs in the shell, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, food that is gleaned, food that is packaged, refrigerated, or frozen, food that is canned, and prepared or other food that has not been served by a restaurant, cafeteria, hospital, hotel, caterer, or other food service operation to any customer, patient, or other person in the ordinary course of business, by a public or private school, college, university, or other educational institution to a student or another person on the premises in the ordinary course of the operation of the institution, or by a fraternal, veteran's, or other organization to its members or other persons on the premises in the ordinary course of the operation of the organization.
(8) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised Code and additionally includes governmental entities.
(9) "Sale date" has the same meaning as in section 3715.171 of the Revised Code.
(10) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property. "Tort action" includes a product liability claim that is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code but does not include a civil action for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.
(B) Notwithstanding Chapter 3715. of the Revised Code, a person who, in good faith, donates perishable food to an agency is not liable in damages in a tort action for harm that allegedly arises because that perishable food, when distributed by the agency or any other agency to a particular individual in need, is not fit for human consumption, if both of the following apply:
(1) Prior to the donation of the perishable food to the agency, the person determines that the perishable food will be fit for human consumption at the time of its donation. A presumption favoring liability does not arise because the perishable food is donated to an agency on or after an applicable sale date.
(2) The person does not make the determination that the perishable food will be fit for human consumption at the time of its donation to the agency in a manner that constitutes negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.
(C)(1) This section does not create a new cause of action or substantive legal right against persons who donate perishable food to an agency.
(2) This section does not affect any immunities from or defenses to tort liability established by another section of the Revised Code or available at common law to which persons who donate perishable food other than to agencies may be entitled.
Sec. 2305.38.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Charitable organization" means either of the following:
(a) Any charitable nonprofit corporation that is organized and operated pursuant to Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, any such corporation whose articles of incorporation specify that it is organized and to be operated for an education-related purpose;
(b) Any charitable association, group, institution, or society that is not organized and not operated for profit, including, but not limited to, any such association, group, institution, or society that is organized and operated for any education-related purpose.
(2) "Compensation" does not include actual and necessary expenses that are incurred by a volunteer in connection with the services that he the volunteer performs for a charitable organization, and that are reimbursed to the volunteer or otherwise paid.
(3) "Corporate services" means services that are performed by a volunteer who is associated with a charitable organization as defined in division (A)(1)(a) of this section and that reflect duties or responsibilities arising under Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code.
(4) "Supervisory services" means services that are performed by a volunteer who is associated with a charitable organization as defined in division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section and that involve duties and responsibilities in connection with the supervision of one or more officers, employees, trustees, or other volunteers of that charitable organization.
(5) "Volunteer" means an officer, trustee, or other person who performs services for a charitable organization but does not receive compensation, either directly or indirectly, for those services.
(B) A volunteer is not liable in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to persons person or property that arises from the actions or omissions of any of the officers, employees, trustees, or other volunteers of the charitable organization for which he the volunteer performs services, unless either of the following applies:
(1) With prior knowledge of an action or omission of a particular officer, employee, trustee, or other volunteer, the volunteer authorizes, approves, or otherwise actively participates in that action or omission;.
(2) After an action or omission of a particular officer, employee, trustee, or other volunteer, the volunteer, with full knowledge of that action or omission, ratifies it.
(C) A volunteer is not liable in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to persons person or property that arises from his the volunteer's actions or omissions in connection with any supervisory or corporate services that he the volunteer performs for the charitable organization, unless either of the following applies:
(1) An action or omission of the volunteer involves conduct as described in division (B)(1) or (2) of this section;
(2) An action or omission of the volunteer constitutes willful or wanton misconduct or intentionally tortious conduct.
(D) A volunteer is not liable in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to persons person or property that arises from his the volunteer's actions or omissions in connection with any nonsupervisory or noncorporate services that he the volunteer performs for the charitable organization, unless either of the following applies:
(1) An action or omission of the volunteer involves conduct as described in division (B)(1) or (2) of this section;
(2) An action or omission of the volunteer constitutes negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or intentionally tortious conduct.
(E)(1) This section does not create, and shall not be construed as creating, a new cause of action or substantive legal right against a volunteer.
(2) This section does not affect, and shall not be construed as affecting, any immunities from civil liability or defenses established by another section of the Revised Code or available at common law, to which a volunteer may be entitled under circumstances not covered by this section. This section does not diminish in any respect the immunities provided in section 2305.25 of the Revised Code. The immunities conferred upon volunteers in this section are not intended to affect the liability of a charitable organization in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to persons person or property.
Sec. 2307.24 2307.16 A partnership formed for the purpose of carrying on a trade or business in this state, or holding property in this state, may sue or be sued by the usual or ordinary name which is that it has assumed, or by which it is known.
Sec. 2307.27 2307.17 In an action for the recovery of real or personal property, a person claiming an interest in the property, on his application, may be made a party.
Sec. 2307.30 2307.18 An A judicial officer against whom an action is brought to recover personal property taken by him the officer on execution, or for the proceeds of such property sold by him the officer, upon exhibiting to the court the process under which he the officer acted, with his the officer's affidavit that the property was taken or sold by him the officer under such process, may have the benefit of section 2307.29 of the Revised Code Civil Rule 22, against the party in whose favor the execution issued.
Sec. 2307.31.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in this section or section 2307.32 of the Revised Code, if two or more persons are jointly and severally liable in tort for the same injury or loss to person or property or for the same wrongful death, there is a right of contribution among them even though judgment has not been recovered against all or any of them. The right of contribution exists only in favor of a tortfeasor who has paid more than his that tortfeasor's proportionate share of the common liability, and his that tortfeasor's total recovery is limited to the amount paid by him that tortfeasor in excess of his that tortfeasor's proportionate share. No tortfeasor is compelled to make contribution beyond his that tortfeasor's own proportionate share of the common liability. There is no right of contribution in favor of any tortfeasor who intentionally has caused or intentionally has contributed to the injury or loss to person or property or the wrongful death.
(B) A tortfeasor who enters into a settlement with a claimant is not entitled recover contribution from another tortfeasor whose liability for the injury or loss to person or property or the wrongful death is not extinguished by the settlement, or in respect to any amount paid in a settlement which is in excess of what is reasonable.
(C) A liability insurer that by payment has discharged in full or in part of the liability of a tortfeasor and has thereby discharged in full its obligation as insurer is subrogated to the tortfeasor's right of contribution to the extent of the amount it has paid in excess of the tortfeasor's proportionate share of the common liability. This division does not limit or impair any right of subrogation arising from any other relationship.
(D) This section does not impair any right of indemnity under existing law. If one tortfeasor is entitled to indemnity from another, the right of the indemnity obligee is for indemnity and not contribution, and the indemnity obligor is not entitled to contribution from the obligee for any portion of his the indemnity obligation.
(E) This section does not apply to breaches of trust or of other fiduciary obligations.
(F) The proportionate shares of tortfeasors in the common liability shall be based upon their relative degrees of legal responsibility. If equity requires the collective liability of some as a group, the group shall constitute a single share, and prinicples of equity applicable to contribution generally shall apply.
(G) Whether or not judgment has been entered in an action against two or more tortfeasors for the same injury or loss to person or property or for the same wrongful death, contribution may be enforced by separate action.
(H) Whenever the provisions of the "Federal Tort Claims Act," 60 Stat. 842 (1946), 28 U.S.C. 2671 et seq., are applicable to a tort and the United States is held liable in tort, the United States shall have no right of contribution hereunder against the state pursuant to the waiver of sovereign immunity contained in Chapter 2743. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2307.32.  (A) If a judgment that imposes joint and several liability has been entered in an action against two or more tortfeasors for the same injury or loss to person or property or for the same wrongful death, contribution may be enforced in that action by judgment in favor of one against other judgment debtors, by motion, upon notice to all parties to the action.
(B) If there is a judgment for the injury or loss to person or property or the wrongful death against the tortfeasor seeking contribution, any separate action by him that tortfeasor to enforce contribution shall be commenced within one year after the judgment has become final by lapse of time for appeal or after appellate review.
(C) If there is no judgment for the injury or loss to person or property or the wrongful death against the tortfeasor seeking contribution, his that tortfeasor's right of contribution is barred unless he that tortfeasor either has discharged by payment the common liability within the statute of limitations period applicable to the claimant's right of action against him that tortfeasor and has commenced his that tortfeasor's action for contribution within one year after payment, or has agreed while an action is pending against him that tortfeasor to discharge the common liability and has within one year after the agreement paid the common liability and commenced his that tortfeasor's action for contribution.
(D) The recovery of a judgment for an injury or loss to person or property or a wrongful death against one tortfeasor does not of itself discharge the other tortfeasors from liability for the injury, loss, or wrongful death unless the judgment is satisfied. The satisfaction of the judgment does not impair any right of contribution.
(E) Valid answers to interrogatories by a jury or findings of fact by a court sitting without a jury in determining the liability of the several defendants for an injury or loss to person or property or a wrongful death shall be binding as among such defendants in determining their right to contribution.
(F) When a release or a covenant not to sue or not to enforce judgment is given in good faith to one of two or more persons liable in tort for the same injury or loss to person or property or the same wrongful death, the following apply:
(1) The release or covenant does not discharge any of the other tortfeasors from liability for the injury, loss, or wrongful death unless its terms otherwise provide, but it reduces the claim against the other tortfeasors to the extent of any amount stipulated by the release or the covenant, or in the amount of the consideration paid for it, whichever is the greater;.
(2) The release or covenant discharges the tortfeasor to whom it is given from all liability for contribution to any other tortfeasor.
Sec. 2307.33.  (A) Neither section 2307.31 nor 2307.32 of the Revised Code applies to a negligence claim to the extent that division (D) of section 2315.19 of the Revised Code makes a party against whom a judgment is entered liable to the complainant only for the proportionate share of that party as described in division (D)(1)(a) of that section.
(B) Sections 2307.31 and 2307.32 of the Revised Code apply to a negligence claim if division (D) of section 2315.19 of the Revised Code is not applicable to that claim.
Sec. 2307.60.  (A) Anyone injured in person or property by a criminal act has, and may recover full damages in, a civil action unless specifically excepted by law, may recover the costs of maintaining the civil action and attorney's fees if authorized by any provision of the Rules of Civil Procedure or another section of the Revised Code or under the common law of this state, and may recover punitive or exemplary damages if authorized by section 2315.21 or another section of the Revised Code. A No record of a conviction, unless obtained by confession in open court, shall not be used as evidence in a civil action brought pursuant to division (A) of this section.
(B)(1) As used in division (B) of this section:
(a) "Harm" means injury, death, or loss to person or property.
(b) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property other than a civil action for damages for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons "Tort action" includes, but is not limited to, a product liability claim, an action for wrongful death under Chapter 2125. of the Revised Code, and an action based on derivative claims for relief.
(2) Recovery on a claim for relief in a tort action is barred to any person or the person's legal representative if the person has been convicted of or has pleaded guilty to a felony, or to a misdemeanor that is an offense of violence, arising out of criminal conduct that was a proximate cause of the injury or loss for which relief is claimed in the action.
(3) Division (B) of this section does not apply to civil claims based upon alleged intentionally tortious conduct, alleged violations of the United States Constitution, or alleged violations of statutes of the United States pertaining to civil rights.
Sec. 2307.61.  (A) If a property owner brings a civil action pursuant to division (A) of section 2307.60 of the Revised Code to recover damages from any person who willfully damages the owner's property or who commits a theft offense, as defined in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code, involving the owner's property, the property owner may recover as follows:
(1) In the civil action, the property owner may elect to recover moneys as described in division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section:
(a) Compensatory damages that may include, but are not limited to, the value of the property and liquidated damages in whichever of the following amounts applies:
(i) Fifty dollars, if the value of the property was fifty dollars or less at the time it was willfully damaged or was the subject of a theft offense;
(ii) One hundred dollars, if the value of the property was more than fifty dollars, but not more than one hundred dollars, at the time it was willfully damaged or was the subject of a theft offense;
(iii) One hundred fifty dollars, if the value of the property was more than one hundred dollars at the time it was willfully damaged or was the subject of a theft offense.
(b) Liquidated damages in whichever of the following amounts is greater:
(i) Two hundred dollars;
(ii) Three times the value of the property at the time it was willfully damaged or was the subject of a theft offense, irrespective of whether the property is recovered by way of replevin or otherwise, is destroyed or otherwise damaged, is modified or otherwise altered, or is resalable at its full market price. This division does not apply to a check, negotiable order of withdrawal, share draft, or other negotiable instrument that was returned or dishonored for insufficient funds by a financial institution if the check, negotiable order of withdrawal, share draft, or other negotiable instrument was presented by an individual borrower to a check-cashing business licensed pursuant to sections 1315.35 to 1315.44 of the Revised Code for a check-cashing loan transaction.
(2) In a civil action in which the value of the property that was willfully damaged or was the subject of a theft offense is less than five thousand dollars, the property owner may recover damages as described in division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section and additionally may recover the reasonable administrative costs, if any, of the property owner that were incurred in connection with actions taken pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, the cost of maintaining the civil action, and reasonable attorney's fees, if all of the following apply:
(a) The property owner, at least thirty days prior to the filing of the civil action, serves a written demand for payment of moneys as described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section and the reasonable administrative costs, if any, of the property owner that have been incurred in connection with actions taken pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, upon the person who willfully damaged the property or committed the theft offense.
(b) The demand conforms to the requirements of division (C) of this section and is sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(c) Either the person who willfully damaged the property or committed the theft offense does not make payment to the property owner of the amount specified in the demand within thirty days after the date of its service upon that person and does not enter into an agreement with the property owner during that thirty-day period for that payment or the person who willfully damaged the property or committed the theft offense enters into an agreement with the property owner during that thirty-day period for that payment but does not make that payment in accordance with the agreement.
(B) If a property owner who brings a civil action pursuant to division (A) of section 2307.60 of the Revised Code to recover damages for willful damage to property or for a theft offense attempts to collect the reasonable administrative costs, if any, of the property owner that have been incurred in connection with actions taken pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, the cost of maintaining the civil action, and reasonable attorney's fees under authority of that division and if the defendant prevails in the civil action, the defendant may recover from the property owner reasonable attorney's fees, the cost of defending the civil action, and any compensatory damages that may be proven.
(C) For purposes of division (A)(2) of this section, a written demand for payment shall include a conspicuous notice to the person upon whom the demand is to be served that indicates all of the following:
(1) The willful property damage or theft offense that the person allegedly committed;
(2) That, if the person makes payment of the amount specified in the demand within thirty days after its service upon the person or enters into an agreement with the property owner during that thirty-day period for that payment and makes that payment in accordance with the agreement, the person cannot be sued by the property owner in a civil action in relation to the willful property damage or theft offense;
(3) That, if the person fails to make payment of the amount specified in the demand within thirty days after the date of its service upon the person and fails to enter into an agreement for that payment with the property owner during that thirty-day period or enters into an agreement for that payment with the property owner during that thirty-day period but does not make that payment in accordance with the agreement, the person may be sued in a civil action in relation to the willful property damage or theft offense;
(4) The potential judgment that the person may be required to pay if the person is sued in a civil action in relation to the willful property damage or theft offense and judgment is rendered against the person in that civil action;
(5) That, if the person is sued in a civil action by the property owner in relation to the willful property damage or theft offense, if the civil action requests that the person be required to pay the reasonable administrative costs, if any, of the property owner that have been incurred in connection with actions taken pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, the cost of maintaining the action, and reasonable attorney's fees, and if the person prevails in the civil action, the person may recover from the property owner reasonable attorney's fees, the cost of defending the action, and any compensatory damages that can be proved.
(D) If a property owner whose property was willfully damaged or was the subject of a theft offense serves a written demand for payment upon a person who willfully damaged the property or committed the theft offense and if the person makes payment of the amount specified in the demand within thirty days after the date of its service upon the person or the person enters into an agreement with the property owner during that thirty-day period for that payment and makes payment in accordance with the agreement, the property owner shall not file a civil action against the person in relation to the willful property damage or theft offense.
(E) If a property owner whose property was willfully damaged or was the subject of a theft offense serves a written demand for payment upon a person who willfully damaged the property or committed the theft offense and if the person, within thirty days after the date of service of the demand upon the person, enters into an agreement with the property owner for the payment of the amount specified in the demand but does not make that payment in accordance with the agreement, the time between the entering of the agreement and the failure to make that payment shall not be computed as any part of the period within which a civil action based on the willful property damage or theft offense must be brought under the Revised Code.
(F) A civil action to recover damages for willful property damage or for a theft offense may be joined with a civil action that is brought pursuant to Chapter 2737. of the Revised Code to recover the property. If the two actions are joined, any compensatory damages recoverable by the property owner shall be limited to the value of the property.
(G)(1) In a civil action to recover damages for willful property damage or for a theft offense, the trier of fact may determine that an owner's property was willfully damaged or that a theft offense involving the owner's property has been committed, whether or not any person has pleaded guilty to or has been convicted of any criminal offense or has been adjudicated a delinquent child in relation to any act involving the owner's property.
(2) This section does not affect the prosecution of any criminal action or proceeding or any action to obtain a delinquent child adjudication in connection with willful property damage or a theft offense.
(H) As used in this section:
(1) "Administrative costs" includes the costs of written demands for payment and associated postage under division (A)(2) of this section.
(2) "Value of the property" means one of the following:
(a) The retail value of any property that is offered for sale by a mercantile establishment, irrespective of whether the property is destroyed or otherwise damaged, is modified or otherwise altered, or otherwise is not resalable at its full market price;
(b) The face value of any check or other negotiable instrument that is not honored due to insufficient funds in the drawer's account, the absence of any drawer's account, or another reason, and all charges imposed by a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or other financial institution upon the holder of the check or other negotiable instrument;
(c) The replacement value of any property not described in division (H)(1) or (2) of this section.
Sec. 2307.71.  As used in sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Claimant" means either of the following:
(1) A person who asserts a product liability claim or on whose behalf such a claim is asserted;
(2) If a product liability claim is asserted on behalf of the surviving spouse, children, parents, or other next of kin of a decedent or on behalf of the estate of a decedent, whether as a claim in a wrongful death action under Chapter 2125. of the Revised Code or as a survivorship claim, whichever of the following is appropriate:
(a) The decedent, if the reference is to the person who allegedly sustained harm or economic loss for which, or in connection with which, compensatory damages or punitive or exemplary damages are sought to be recovered;
(b) The personal representative of the decedent or the estate of the decedent, if the reference is to the person who is asserting or has asserted the product liability claim.
(B) "Economic loss" means direct, incidental, or consequential pecuniary loss, including, but not limited to, damage to the product in question, and nonphysical damage to property other than that product. Harm is not "economic loss."
(C) "Environment" means navigable waters, surface water, ground water, drinking water supplies, land surface, subsurface strata, and air.
(D) "Ethical drug" means a prescription drug that is prescribed or dispensed by a physician or any other person who is legally authorized to prescribe or dispense a prescription drug.
(E) "Ethical medical device" means a medical device that is prescribed, dispensed, or implanted by a physician or any other person who is legally authorized to prescribe, dispense, or implant a medical device and that is regulated under the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040, 21 U.S.C. 301-392, as amended.
(F) "Foreseeable risk" means a risk of harm that satisfies both of the following:
(1) It is associated with an intended or reasonably foreseeable use, modification, or alteration of a product in question;
(2) It is a risk that the manufacturer in question should recognize while exercising both of the following:
(a) The attention, perception, memory, knowledge, and intelligence that a reasonable manufacturer should possess;
(b) Any superior attention, perception, memory, knowledge, or intelligence that the manufacturer in question possesses.
(G) "Harm" means death, physical injury to person, serious emotional distress, or physical damage to property other than the product in question. Economic loss is not "harm."
(H) "Hazardous or toxic substances" include, but are not limited to, hazardous waste as defined in section 3734.01 of the Revised Code, hazardous waste as specified in the rules of the director of environmental protection pursuant to division (A) of section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, hazardous substances as defined in section 3716.01 of the Revised Code, and hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants as defined in or by regulations adopted pursuant to the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 2767, 42 U.S.C. 9601, as amended.
(I) "Manufacturer" means a person engaged in a business to design, formulate, produce, create, make, construct, assemble, or rebuild a product or a component of a product.
(J) "Person" has the same meaning as in division (C) of section 1.59 of the Revised Code and also includes governmental entities.
(K) "Physician" means a person who is licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery by the state medical board.
(L)(1) "Product" means, subject to division (L)(2) of this section, any object, substance, mixture, or raw material that constitutes tangible personal property and that satisfies all of the following:
(a) It is capable of delivery itself, or as an assembled whole in a mixed or combined state, or as a component or ingredient;
(b) It is produced, manufactured, or supplied for introduction into trade or commerce;
(c) It is intended for sale or lease to persons for commercial or personal use.
(2) "Product" does not include human tissue, blood, or organs.
(M) "Product liability claim" means a claim that is asserted in a civil action and that seeks to recover compensatory damages from a manufacturer or supplier for death, physical injury to person, emotional distress, or physical damage to property other than the product in question, that allegedly arose from any of the following:
(1) The design, formulation, production, construction, creation, assembly, rebuilding, testing, or marketing of that product;
(2) Any warning or instruction, or lack of warning or instruction, associated with that product;
(3) Any failure of that product to conform to any relevant representation or warranty.
(N) "Representation" means an express representation of a material fact concerning the character, quality, or safety of a product.
(O)(1) "Supplier" means, subject to division (O)(2) of this section, either of the following:
(a) A person that, in the course of a business conducted for the purpose, sells, distributes, leases, prepares, blends, packages, labels, or otherwise participates in the placing of a product in the stream of commerce;
(b) A person that, in the course of a business conducted for the purpose, installs, repairs, or maintains any aspect of a product that allegedly causes harm.
(2) "Supplier" does not include any of the following:
(a) A manufacturer;
(b) A seller of real property;
(c) A provider of professional services who, incidental to a professional transaction the essence of which is the furnishing of judgment, skill, or services, sells or uses a product;
(d) Any person who acts only in a financial capacity with respect to the sale of a product, or who leases a product under a lease arrangement in which the selection, possession, maintenance, and operation of the product are controlled by a person other than the lessor.
(P) "Unavoidably unsafe" means that, in the state of technical, scientific, and medical knowledge at the time a product in question left the control of its manufacturer, an aspect of that product was incapable of being made safe.
Sec. 2307.72.  (A) Any recovery of compensatory damages based on a product liability claim is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.79 of the Revised Code.
(B) Any recovery of punitive or exemplary damages in connection with a product liability claim is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code.
(C) Any recovery of compensatory damages for economic loss based on a claim that is asserted in a civil action, other than a product liability claim, is not subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.79 of the Revised Code, but may occur under the common law of this state or other applicable sections of the Revised Code.
(D)(1) Sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code do not supersede, modify, or otherwise affect any statute, regulation, or rule of this state or of the United States, or the common law of this state or of the United States, that relates to liability in compensatory damages or punitive or exemplary damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property, or to relief in the form of the abatement of a nuisance, civil penalties, cleanup costs, cost recovery, an injunction or temporary restraining order, or restitution, that arises, in whole or in part, from contamination or pollution of the environment or a threat of contamination or pollution of the environment, including contamination or pollution or a threat of contamination or pollution from hazardous or toxic substances.
(2) Consistent with the Rules of Civil Procedure, in the same civil action against the same defendant or different defendants, a claimant may assert both of the following:
(a) A product liability claim, including a claim for the recovery of punitive or exemplary damages in connection with a product liability claim;
(b) A claim for the recovery of compensatory damages or punitive or exemplary damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property, or for relief in the form of the abatement of a nuisance, civil penalties, cleanup costs, cost recovery, an injunction or temporary restraining order, or restitution, that arises, in whole or in part, from contamination or pollution of the environment or a threat of contamination or pollution of the environment, including contamination or pollution or a threat of contamination or pollution from hazardous or toxic substances.
Sec. 2307.73.  (A) A manufacturer is subject to liability for compensatory damages based on a product liability claim only if the claimant establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, both of the following:
(1) Subject to division (B) of this section, the product in question was defective in manufacture or construction as described in section 2307.74 of the Revised Code, was defective in design or formulation as described in section 2307.75 of the Revised Code, was defective due to inadequate warning or instruction as described in section 2307.76 of the Revised Code, or was defective because it did not conform to a representation made by its manufacturer as described in section 2307.77 of the Revised Code;
(2) A defective aspect of the product in question as described in division (A)(1) of this section was a proximate cause of harm for which the claimant seeks to recover compensatory damages.
(B) If a claimant is unable because a product in question was destroyed to establish by direct evidence that the product in question was defective or if a claimant otherwise is unable to establish by direct evidence that a product in question was defective, then, consistent with the Rules of Evidence, it shall be sufficient for the claimant to present circumstantial or other competent evidence that establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the product in question was defective in any one of the four respects specified in division (A)(1) of this section.
Sec. 2307.75.  (A) Subject to divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this section, a product is defective in design or formulation if either of the following applies:
(1) When it left the control of its manufacturer, the foreseeable risks associated with its design or formulation as determined pursuant to division (B) of this section exceeded the benefits associated with that design or formulation as determined pursuant to division (C) of this section;
(2) It is more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect when used in an intended or reasonably foreseeable manner.
(B) The foreseeable risks associated with the design or formulation of a product shall be determined by considering factors including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The nature and magnitude of the risks of harm associated with that design or formulation in light of the intended and resonably reasonably foreseeable uses, modifications, or alterations of the product;
(2) The likely awareness of product users, whether based on warnings, general knowledge, or otherwise, of those risks of harm;
(3) The likelihood that that design or formulation would cause harm in light of the intended and reasonably foreseeable uses, modifications, or alterations of the product;
(4) The extent to which that design or formulation conformed to any applicable public or private product standard that was in effect when the product left the control of its manufacturer.
(C) The benefits associated with the design or formulation of a product shall be determined by considering factors including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The intended or actual utility of the product, including any performance or safety advantages associated with that design or formulation;
(2) The technical and economic feasibility, when the product left the control of its manufacturer, of using an alternative design or formulation;
(3) The nature and magnitude of any foreseeable risks associated with such an alternative design or formulation.
(D) An ethical drug or ethical medical device is not defective in design or formulation because some aspect of it is unavoidably unsafe, if the manufacturer of the ethical drug or ethical medical device provides adequate warning and instruction under section 2307.76 of the Revised Code concerning that unavoidably unsafe aspect.
(E) A product is not defective in design or formulation if the harm for which the claimant seeks to recover compensatory damages was caused by an inherent characteristic of the product which is a generic aspect of the product that cannot be eliminated without substantially compromising the product's usefulness or desirability and which is recognized by the ordinary person with the ordinary knowledge common to the community.
(F) A product is not defective in design or formulation if, at the time the product left the control of its manufacturer, a practical and technically feasible alternative design or formulation was not available that would have prevented the harm for which the claimant seeks to recover compensatory damages without substantially impairing the usefulness or intended purpose of the product, unless the manufacturer acted unreasonably in introducing the product into trade or commerce.
Sec. 2307.78.  (A) Subject to division (B) of this section, a supplier is subject to liability for compensatory damages based on a product liability claim only if the claimant establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that either of the following applies:
(1) The supplier in question was negligent and that, negligence was a proximate cause of harm for which the claimant seeks to recover compensatory damages;
(2) The product in question did not conform, when it left the control of the supplier in question, to a representation made by that supplier, and that representation and the failure to conform to it were a proximate cause of harm for which the claimant seeks to recover compensatory damages. A supplier is subject to liability for such a representation and the failure to conform to it even though the supplier did not act fraudulently, recklessly, or negligently in making the representation.
(B) A supplier of a product is subject to liability for compensatory damages based on a product liability claim under sections 2307.71 to 2307.77 of the Revised Code, as if it were the manufacturer of that product, if the manufacturer of that product is or would be subject to liability for compensatory damages based on a product liability claim under sections 2307.71 to 2307.77 of the Revised Code and any of the following applies:
(1) The manufacturer of that product is not subject to judicial process in this state;
(2) The claimant will be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer of that product due to actual or asserted insolvency of the manufacturer;
(3) The supplier in question owns or, when it supplied that product, owned, in whole or in part, the manufacturer of that product;
(4) The supplier in question is owned or, when it supplied that product, was owned, in whole or in part, by the manufacturer of that product;
(5) The supplier in question created or furnished a manufacturer with the design or formulation that was used to produce, create, make, construct, assemble, or rebuild that product or a component of that product;
(6) The supplier in question altered, modified, or failed to maintain that product after it came into the possession of, and before it left the possession of, the supplier in question, and the alteration, modification, or failure to maintain that product rendered it defective;
(7) The supplier in question marketed that product under its own label or trade name;
(8) The supplier in question failed to respond timely and reasonably to a written request by or on behalf of the claimant to disclose to the claimant the name and address of the manufacturer of that product.
Sec. 2307.80.  (A) Subject to division (C) of this section, punitive or exemplary damages shall not be awarded against a manufacturer or supplier in question in connection with a product liability claim unless the claimant establishes, by clear and convincing evidence, that harm for which he the claimant is entitled to recover compensatory damages in accordance with section 2307.73 or 2307.78 of the Revised Code was the result of misconduct of the manufacturer or supplier in question that manifested a flagrant disregard of the safety of persons who might be harmed by the product in question. The fact by itself that a product is defective does not establish a flagrant disregard of the safety of persons who might be harmed by that product.
(B) Whether the trier of fact is a jury or the court, if the trier of fact determines that a manufacturer or supplier in question is liable for punitive or exemplary damages in connection with a product liability claim, the amount of those damages shall be determined by the court. In determining the amount of punitive or exemplary damages, the court shall consider factors including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The likelihood that serious harm would arise from the misconduct of the manufacturer or supplier in question;
(2) The degree of the awareness of the manufacturer or supplier in question of that likelihood;
(3) The profitability of the misconduct to the manufacturer or supplier in question;
(4) The duration of the misconduct and any concealment of it by the manufacturer or supplier in question;
(5) The attitude and conduct of the manufacturer or supplier in question upon the discovery of the misconduct and whether the misconduct has terminated;
(6) The financial condition of the manufacturer or supplier in question;
(7) The total effect of other punishment imposed or likely to be imposed upon the manufacturer or supplier in question as a result of the misconduct, including awards of punitive or exemplary damages to persons similarly situated to the claimant and the severity of criminal penalties to which the manufacturer or supplier in question has been or is likely to be subjected.
(C) If a claimant alleges in a product liability claim that a drug caused harm to him the claimant, the manufacturer of the drug shall not be liable for punitive or exemplary damages in connection with that product liability claim if the drug that allegedly caused the harm was manufactured and labeled in relevant and material respects in accordance with the terms of an approval or license issued by the federal food and drug administration under the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040 (1938), 21 U.S.C. 301-392, as amended, or the "Public Health Service Act," 58 Stat. 682 (1944), 42 U.S.C. 201-300cc-15, as amended, unless it is established by a preponderance of the evidence, that the manufacturer fraudulently and in violation of applicable regulations of the food and drug administration withheld from the food and drug administration information known to be material and relevant to the harm that the claimant allegedly suffered or misrepresented to the food and drug administration information of that type. For purposes of this division, "drug" has the meaning given to that term in section 1201(g)(1) of the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040, 1041 (1938), 21 U.S.C. 301-392 321(g)(1), as amended.
Sec. 2315.01.  When the jury is sworn, unless for special reasons the court otherwise directs, the trial shall proceed in the following order except as provided in section 2315.02 of the Revised Code:
(A) The plaintiff concisely must state his the plaintiff's claim, and briefly may state his the plaintiff's evidence to sustain it.
(B) The defendant must then briefly state his the defendant's defense, and briefly may state his the defendant's evidence in support of it.
(C) The party who would be defeated if no evidence were offered on either side, first, must produce his that party's evidence, and the adverse party must then produce his the adverse party's evidence.
(D) The parties then shall be confined to rebutting evidence, unless the court for good reasons, in the furtherance of justice, permits them to offer evidence in their original cases.
(E) When the evidence is concluded, either party may present written instructions to the court on matters of law and request them to be given to the jury, which instructions shall be given or refused by the court before the argument to the jury is commenced.
(F) The parties then may submit or argue the case to the jury. The party required first to produce his that party's evidence shall have the opening and closing arguments. If several defendants, having separate defenses, appear by different counsel, the court shall arrange their relative order.
(G) The court, after the argument is concluded, before proceeding with other business, shall charge the jury. Any charge shall be reduced to writing by the court if either party, before the argument to the jury is commenced, requests it. Such charge may be examined by the parties before any closing argument is made by any of the parties. A charge or instruction, when so written and given, shall not be orally qualified, modified, or in any manner explained to the jury by the court. All written charges and instructions shall be taken by the jurors in their retirement, returned with their verdict into court, and shall remain on file with the papers of the case.
Sec. 2313.46.  Sections 2313.01 to 2313.46, inclusive, and 2315.01 to 2315.24, inclusive, Chapter 2315. of the Revised Code do not contravene or affect any section of the Revised Code relating to jurors in the inferior courts in any county of the state.
Sec. 2315.07 2315.05 Because of the sickness of a juror, or an accident or calamity which requires it, or with the consent of both parties, or after jurors have been kept together until it satisfactorily appears that there is no probability of their agreeing, the court may discharge the jury.
Sec. 2315.08 2315.06 When the jury is discharged during a trial or after a cause is submitted, such cause may at once be tried again, or on a future day, as the court directs.
Sec. 2315.18 2315.07 Except as otherwise provided in this section, when by the verdict in a civil action tried to a jury any party in the action is entitled to recover money from an adverse party, the jury shall determine the amount of the recovery in its verdict. A jury shall not determine the amount of punitive or exemplary damages recoverable by a party in a tort action pursuant to section 2315.21 or another section of the Revised Code except as provided in division (D)(5) of section 2315.21 of the Revised Code.
As used in this section, "tort action" has the same meaning as in section 2315.21 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2315.23 2315.08 So far as in their nature applicable, sections 2315.01 to 2315.19, inclusive, of the Revised Code, respecting trials by jury, apply to trials by the court.
Sec. 2315.24 2315.09 Parties to a question which that might be the subject of a civil action, on filing an affidavit that the controversy is real and the proceeding in good faith to determine their rights, may agree upon a case containing the facts upon which the controversy depends and present a submission of it to any court of competent jurisdiction, which. The court shall hear and determine the case and render judgment as if an action were pending.
The case, the submission, and the judgment constitutes the record of a question submitted under this section.
Such judgment shall be with costs, may be enforced, and shall be subject to reversal, in like manner, as if it were rendered in an action, unless otherwise provided in the submission.
Sec. 2315.19.  (A)(1) Contributory negligence or implied assumption of the risk of the complainant or of the person for whom the complainant is legal representative may be asserted as an affirmative defense to a negligence claim.
(2) Contributory negligence or implied assumption of the risk of a person does not bar the person or his the person's legal representative as complainant from recovering damages that have directly and proximately resulted from the negligence of one or more other persons, if the contributory negligence or implied assumption of the risk of the complainant or of the person for whom he the complainant is legal representative was no greater than the combined negligence of all other persons from whom the complainant seeks recovery. However, any compensatory damages recoverable by the complainant shall be diminished by an amount that is proportionately equal to the percentage of negligence or implied assumption of the risk of the complainant or of the person for whom he the complainant is legal representative, which percentage is determined pursuant to division (B) of this section. This section does not apply to actions described in section 4113.03 of the Revised Code.
(B) If contributory negligence or implied assumption of the risk is asserted and established as an affirmative defense to a negligence claim, the court in a nonjury action shall make findings of fact, and the jury in a jury action shall return a general verdict accompanied by answers to interrogatories, that shall specify the following:
(1) The total amount of the compensatory damages that would have been recoverable on that negligence claim but for the negligence or implied assumption of the risk of the complainant or the person for whom he the complainant is legal representative;
(2) The portion of the compensatory damages specified under division (B)(1) of this section that represents economic loss;
(3) The portion of the compensatory damages specified under division (B)(1) of this section that represents noneconomic loss;
(4) The percentage of negligenc or implied assumption of the risk that directly and proximately caused the injury, death, or loss to person or property, in relation to one hundred per cent, that is attributable to the complainant or the person for whom he is legal representative, and the percentage of negligence that directly and proximately caused the injury, death, or loss to person or property, in relation to one hundred per cent, that is attributable to each party to the action from whom the complainant seeks recovery. If the court or jury must determine percentages of negligence under this division for two or more parties from whom the complainant seeks recovery and an issue of vicarious liability, including, but not limited to, liability of a principal or master for the negligent actions or omissions of an agent or servant, exists relative to those parties, then, for purposes of determining such percentages, the court in a nonjury action shall determine, or the jury in a jury action pursuant to an instruction from the court shall determine, that the parties in question are to be treated as a single party to the extent that any vicarious liability is determined to exist relative to those parties.
(C) After the court makes its findings of fact or after the jury returns its general verdict accompanied by answers to interrogatories as described in division (B) of this section, the court shall diminish the total amount of the compensatory damages that would have been recoverable by an amount that is proportionately equal to the percentage of negligence or implied assumption of the risk that is attributable to the complainant or the person for whom he the complainant is legal representative, which percentage was determined pursuant to division (B) of this section. If the percentage of the negligence or implied assumption of the risk that is attributable to the complainant or the person for whom he the complainant is legal representative is greater than the total of the percentages of the negligence that is attributable to all parties from whom the complainant seeks recovery, which percentages were determined pursuant to division (B) of this section, the court shall enter judgment in favor of those parties.
(D)(1) If contributory negligence or implied assumption of the risk is asserted as an affirmative defense to a negligence claim, if it is determined that the complainant or the person for whom he the complainant is legal representative was contributorily negligent or impliedly assumed a risk and that such contributory negligence or implied assumption of the risk was a direct and proximate cause of the injury, death, or loss to person or property in question, and if the complainant is entitled to recover compensatory damages pursuant to this section from more than one party, then, after it makes findings of fact or after the jury returns its general verdict accompanied by answers to interrogatories as described in division (B) of this section, the court shall enter a judgment that is in favor of the complainant and that states all of the following:
(a) Proportionate shares of the portion of the compensatory damages that represents noneconomic loss for each party against whom the judgment is entered and for the complainant or the person for whom he is legal representative, which shares shall be computed by multiplying the portion of the compensatory damages that represents noneconomic loss as determined pursuant to division (B)(3) of this section by the respective percentages of negligence or implied assumption of the risk as determined pursuant to division (B)(4) of this section;
(b) In relation to the portion of the compensatory damages that represents noneconomic loss as determined pursuant to division (B)(3) of this section, each party against whom the judgment is entered is liable to the complainant only for the proportionate share of that party as described in division (D)(1)(a) of this section;
(c) In relation to the portion of the compensatory damages that represents economic loss as determined pursuant to division (B)(2) of this section, each party against whom the judgment is entered is jointly and severally liable to the complainant for the entire amount of economic loss for which the complainant is entitled to judgment as determined pursuant to divisions (B)(2) and (C) of this section.
(2) Sections 2307.31 and 2307.32 of the Revised Code apply in relation to the portion of the compensatory damages that represents economic loss and for which joint and several liability attaches under division (D)(1)(c) of this section.
(E) As used in this section:
(1) "Economic loss" means any of the following types of pecuniary harm:
(a) All wages, salaries, or other compensation lost as a result of an injury, death, or loss to person or property that is a subject of a negligence claim;
(b) All expenditures for medical care or treatment, rehabilitation services, or other care, treatment, services, products, or accommodations as a result of an injury, death, or loss to person or property that is a subject of a negligence claim;
(c) Any other expenditures incurred as a result of an injury, death, or loss to person or property that is a subject of a negligence claim.
(2) "Negligence claim" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property to the extent that such damages are sought or recovered based on allegation or proof of negligence.
(3) "Noneconomic loss" means nonpecuniary harm that results from an injury, death, or loss to person or property that is a subject of a negligence claim, including, but not limited to, pain and suffering, loss of society, consortium, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training, or education, mental anguish, and any other intangible loss.
Sec. 2315.20.  (A) As used in this section, "claimant," "harm," "product liability claim," and "supplier" have the same meanings as in section 2307.71 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Express or implied assumption of the risk may be asserted as an affirmative defense to a product liability claim under sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code.
(2) Subject to division (B)(3) of this section, if express or implied assumption of the risk is asserted as an affirmative defense to a product liability claim under sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code and if it is determined that the claimant expressly or impliedly assumed a risk and that such express or implied assumption of the risk was a direct and proximate cause of harm for which the claimant seeks to recover damages, the express or implied assumption of the risk is a complete bar to the recovery of those damages.
(3) If implied assumption of the risk is asserted as an affirmative defense to a product liability claim against a supplier under division (A)(1) of section 2307.78 of the Revised Code, section 2315.19 of the Revised Code is applicable to that affirmative defense and shall be used to determine whether the claimant is entitled to recover compensatory damages based on that claim and the amount of any recoverable compensatory damages.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, contributory negligence is not an affirmative defense to a product liability claim under sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code.
(2) Contributory negligence may be asserted as an affirmative defense to a product liability claim against a supplier under division (A)(1) of section 2307.78 of the Revised Code. If contributory negligence is asserted as an affirmative defense to such a product liability claim, section 2315.19 of the Revised Code is applicable to that affirmative defense and shall be used to determine whether the claimant is entitled to recover compensatory damages based on that claim and the amount of any recoverable compensatory damages.
Sec. 2315.21.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury person or property. "Tort action" includes a product liability claim for damages for injury or loss to person or property that is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code, but does not include a civil action for damages for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.
(2) "Trier of fact" means the jury or, in a nonjury action, the court.
(B) Subject to division (D) of this section, punitive or exemplary damages are not recoverable from a defendant in question in a tort action unless both of the following apply:
(1) The actions or omissions of that defendant demonstrate malice, aggravated or egregious fraud, oppression, or insult, or that defendant as principal or master authorized, participated in, or ratified actions or omissions of an agent or servant that so demonstrate;
(2) The plaintiff in question has adduced proof of actual damages that resulted from actions or omissions as described in division (B)(1) of this section.
(C)(1) In a tort action, the trier of fact shall determine the liability of any defendant for punitive or exemplary damages.
(2) In a tort action, whether the trier of fact is a jury or the court, if the trier of fact determines that any defendant is liable for punitive or exemplary damages, the amount of those damages shall be determined by the court.
(3) In a tort action, the burden of proof shall be upon a plaintiff in question, by clear and convincing evidence, to establish that he the plaintiff is entitled to recover punitive or exemplary damages.
(D) This section does not apply to tort actions against the state in the court of claims or to the extent that another section of the Revised Code expressly provides any of the following:
(1) Punitive or exemplary damages are recoverable from a defendant in question in a tort action on a basis other than that the actions or omissions of that defendant demonstrate malice, aggravated or egregious fraud, oppression, or insult, or on a basis other than that the defendant in question as principal or master authorized, participated in, or ratified actions or omissions of an agent or servant that so demonstrate;
(2) Punitive or exemplary damages are recoverable from a defendant in question in a tort action irrespective of whether the plaintiff in question has adduced proof of actual damages;
(3) The burden of proof upon a plaintiff in question to recover punitive or exemplary damages from a defendant in question in a tort action is one other than clear and convincing evidence;
(4) Punitive or exemplary damages are not recoverable from a defendant in question in a tort action;
(5) The amount of punitive or exemplary damages awarded against a defendant in question in a tort action may be determined by a jury as the trier of fact.
Sec. 2317.62.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Annuity" means an annuity that would be purchased from either of the following types of insurance companies:
(a) An insurance company that the A.M. Best Company, in its most recently published rating guide of life insurance companies, has rated A or better and has rated XII or higher as to financial size or strength;
(b)(i) An insurance company that the superintendent of insurance, under rules adopted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for purposes of implementing this division, determines is licensed to do business in this state and, considering the factors described in division (A)(1)(b)(ii) of this section, is a stable insurance company that issues annuities that are safe and desirable;
(ii) In making determinations as described in division (A)(1)(b)(i) of this section, the superintendent shall be guided by the principle that the trier of fact in a tort action should be presented only with evidence as to the cost of annuities that are safe and desirable for the plaintiffs in such an action who are awarded damages. In making such determinations, the superintendent shall consider the financial condition, general standing, operating results, profitability, leverage, liquidity, amount and soundness of reinsurance, adequacy of reserves, and the management of any insurance company in question and also may consider ratings, grades, and classifications of any nationally recognized rating services of insurance companies and any other factors relevant to the making of such determinations.
(2) "Future damages" means damages that result from an injury or loss to person or property that is a subject of a tort action and that will accrue after the verdict or determination of liability by the trier of fact is rendered in that tort action.
(3) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury or loss to person or property. "Tort action" includes a product liability claim that is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code, but does not include a civil action for damages for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.
(4) "Trier of fact" means the jury or, in a nonjury action, the court.
(B) Consistent with the Rules of Evidence, any party to a tort action may present evidence of the cost of an annuity in connection with any issue of recoverable future damages. If such evidence is presented, then the trier of fact may consider that evidence in determining the future damages suffered by reason of an injury or loss to person or property that is a subject of the tort action. If such evidence is presented, the present value in dollars of any annuity is its cost.
Sec. 2323.51.  (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Conduct" means any of the following:
(a) The filing of a civil action, the assertion of a claim, defense, or other position in connection with a civil action, or the taking of any other action in connection with a civil action;
(b) The filing by an inmate of a civil action or appeal against a government entity or employee, the assertion of a claim, defense or other position in connection with a civil action of that nature or the assertion of issues of law in an appeal of that nature, or the taking of any other action in connection with a civil action or appeal of that nature.
(2) "Frivolous conduct" means either of the following:
(a) Conduct of an inmate or other party to a civil action, of an inmate who has filed an appeal of the type described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, or of the inmate's or other party's counsel of record that satisfies either of the following:
(i) It obviously serves merely to harass or maliciously injure another party to the civil action or appeal.
(ii) It is not warranted under existing law and cannot be supported by a good faith argument for an extension, modification, or reversal of existing law.
(b) An inmate's commencement of a civil action or appeal against a government entity or employee when any of the following applies:
(i) The claim that is the basis of the civil action fails to state a claim or the issues of law that are the basis of the appeal fail to state any issues of law.
(ii) It is clear that the inmate cannot prove material facts in support of the claim that is the basis of the civil action or in support of the issues of law that are the basis of the appeal.
(iii) The claim that is the basis of the civil action is substantially similar to a claim in a previous civil action commenced by the inmate or the issues of law that are the basis of the appeal are substantially similar to issues of law raised in a previous appeal commenced by the inmate, in that the claim that is the basis of the current civil action or the issues of law that are the basis of the current appeal involve the same parties or arise from the same operative facts as the claim or issues of law in the previous civil action or appeal.
(3) "Civil action or appeal against a government entity or employee," "inmate," "political subdivision," and "employee" have the same meanings as in section 2969.21 of the Revised Code.
(4) "Reasonable attorney's fees" or "attorney's fees," when used in relation to a civil action or appeal against a government entity or employee, includes both of the following, as applicable:
(a) The approximate amount of the compensation, and the fringe benefits, if any, of the attorney general, an assistant attorney general, or special counsel appointed by the attorney general that has been or will be paid by the state in connection with the legal services that were rendered by the attorney general, assistant attorney general, or special counsel in the civil action or appeal against the government entity or employee, including, but not limited to, a civil action or appeal commenced pro se by an inmate, and that were necessitated by frivolous conduct of an inmate represented by counsel of record, the counsel of record of an inmate, or a pro se inmate.
(b) The approximate amount of the compensation, and the fringe benefits, if any, of a prosecuting attorney or other chief legal officer of a political subdivision, or an assistant to a chief legal officer of those natures, who has been or will be paid by a political subdivision in connection with the legal services that were rendered by the chief legal officer or assistant in the civil action or appeal against the government entity or employee, including, but not limited to, a civil action or appeal commenced pro se by an inmate, and that were necessitated by frivolous conduct of an inmate represented by counsel of record, the counsel of record of an inmate, or a pro se inmate.
(5) "State" has the same meaning as in section 2743.01 of the Revised Code.
(6) "State correctional institution" has the same meaning as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Subject to divisions (B)(2) and (3), (C), and (D) of this section, at any time prior to the commencement of the trial in a civil action or within twenty-one days after the entry of judgment in a civil action or at any time prior to the hearing in an appeal of the type described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section that is filed by an inmate or within twenty-one days after the entry of judgment in an appeal of that nature, the court may award court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and other reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the civil action or appeal to any party to the civil action or appeal who was adversely affected by frivolous conduct. The award may be assessed as provided in division (B)(4) of this section.
(2) An award may be made pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section upon the motion of a party to a civil action or an appeal of the type described in that division, but only after the court does all of the following:
(a) Sets a date for a hearing to be conducted in accordance with division (B)(2)(c) of this section, to determine whether particular conduct was frivolous, to determine, if the conduct was frivolous, whether any party was adversely affected by it, and to determine, if an award is to be made, the amount of that award;
(b) Gives notice of the date of the hearing described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section to each party or counsel of record who allegedly engaged in frivolous conduct and to each party who allegedly was adversely affected by frivolous conduct;
(c) Conducts the hearing described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section in accordance with this division, allows the parties and counsel of record involved to present any relevant evidence at the hearing, including evidence of the type described in division (B)(5) of this section, determines that the conduct involved was frivolous and that a party was adversely affected by it, and then determines the amount of the award to be made. If any party or counsel of record who allegedly engaged in or allegedly was adversely affected by frivolous conduct is confined in a state correctional institution or in a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, the court, if practicable, may hold the hearing by telephone or, in the alternative, at the institution, jail, or workhouse in which the party or counsel is confined.
(3) The amount of an award made pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section that represents reasonable attorney's fees shall not exceed, and may be equal to or less than, whichever of the following is applicable:
(a) If the party is being represented on a contingent fee basis, an amount that corresponds to reasonable fees that would have been charged for legal services had the party been represented on an hourly fee basis or another basis other than a contingent fee basis;
(b) In all situations other than that described in division (B)(3)(a) of this section, the attorney's fees that were reasonably incurred by a party.
(4) An award made pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section may be made against a party, the party's counsel of record, or both.
(5)(a) In connection with the hearing described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section, each party who may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and the party's counsel of record may submit to the court or be ordered by the court to submit to it, for consideration in determining the amount of the reasonable attorney's fees, an itemized list or other evidence of the legal services rendered, the time expended in rendering the services, and whichever of the following is applicable:
(i) If the party is being represented by that counsel on a contingent fee basis, the reasonable attorney's fees that would have been associated with those services had the party been represented by that counsel on an hourly fee basis or another basis other than a contingent fee basis;
(ii) In all situations other than those described in division (B)(5)(a)(i) of this section, the attorney's fees associated with those services.
(b) In connection with the hearing described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section, each party who may be awarded court costs and other reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the civil action or appeal may submit to the court or be ordered by the court to submit to it, for consideration in determining the amount of the costs and expenses, an itemized list or other evidence of the costs and expenses incurred in connection with that action or appeal, including, but not limited to, expert witness fees and expenses associated with discovery.
(C) An award of reasonable attorney's fees under this section does not affect or determine the amount of or the manner of computation of attorney's fees as between an attorney and the attorney's client.
(D) This section does not affect or limit the application of any provision of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Rules of Appellate Procedure, or another court rule or section of the Revised Code to the extent that the provision prohibits an award of court costs, attorney's fees, or other expenses incurred in connection with a particular civil action or appeal or authorizes an award of court costs, attorney's fees, or other expenses incurred in connection with a particular civil action or appeal in a specified manner, generally, or subject to limitations.
Sec. 2501.02.  Each judge of a court of appeals shall have been admitted to practice as an attorney at law in this state and have, for a total of six years preceding his the judge's appointment or commencement of his the judge's term, engaged in the practice of law in this state or served as a judge of a court of record in any jurisdiction in the United States, or both. One judge shall be chosen in each court of appeals district every two years, and shall hold office for six years, beginning on the ninth day of February next after his the judge's election. In
In addition to the original jurisdiction conferred by Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution, the court shall have jurisdiction: upon an appeal upon questions of law to review, affirm, modify, set aside, or reverse judgments or final orders of courts of record inferior to the court of appeals within the district, including the finding, order, or judgment of a juvenile court that a child is delinquent, neglected, abused, or dependent, for prejudicial error committed by such lower court.
The court, on good cause shown, may issue writs of supersedeas in any case, and all other writs, not specially provided for or prohibited by statute, necessary to enforce the administration of justice.
Sec. 2743.18.  (A)(1) Prejudgment interest shall be allowed with respect to a civil action on which a judgment or determination is rendered against the state for the same period of time and at the same rate as allowed between private parties to a suit.
(2) The court of claims, in its discretion, may deny prejudgment interest for any period of undue delay between the commencement of the civil action and the entry of a judgment or determination against the state, for which it finds the claimant to have been responsible.
(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2) of this section, interest shall be allowed on a judgment or determination rendered against the state in a civil action pursuant to this chapter at the same rate that is applicable to judgments rendered against private parties to a suit as specified in division (A) of section 1343.03 of the Revised Code and for each day between the date of entry of the judgment or the determination pursuant to division (C) of section 2743.10 of the Revised Code and the date of payment of the judgment or determination pursuant to division (C)(3) or (6) of section 2743.19 of the Revised Code, or for sixty days from the date of entry of the judgment or the determination, whichever is less.
(2) If the court of claims renders a judgment pursuant to this chapter against the state in a civil action or the clerk of the court of claims enters an administrative determination under section 2743.10 of the Revised Code against the state in a civil action, the civil action is not based on tortious conduct, and the claimant in the court of claims prevails in any appeal of the judgment or determination, postjudgment interest shall be paid with respect to the judgment or determination rendered against the state at the same rate that is applicable to judgments rendered against private parties to a suit as set forth in division (A) of section 1343.03 of the Revised Code and for each day between the date of entry of the judgment or determination and the date of payment of the judgment or determination pursuant to division (C)(3) or (6) of section 2743.19 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2743.19.  (A) In rendering a judgment against the state, the court of claims shall determine and specify in the judgment the department, office, commission, board, agency, institution, or other instrumentality of the state against which a determination of liability has been made. The court of claims shall award compensation for fees to a prevailing party in an action under this chapter in accordance with section 2335.39 of the Revised Code.
(B) No execution shall issue against the state or any department, board, office, commission, agency, institution, or other instrumentality of the state upon any judgment for the payment of money.
(C) Judgments shall be accomplished only through the following procedure, which may be enforced by writ of mandamus directed to the appropriate official:
(1) The clerk of the court of claims shall forward a certified copy of the judgment to the director of budget and management and the attorney general or the officer who signed the investigative report for the department, office, commission, board, agency, institution, or other instrumentality of the state against which a determination of liability has been made.
(2) The expense of a judgment paid, plus interest at the same rate that is applicable to judgments rendered against private parties to a suit as specified in division (A) of section 1343.03 of the Revised Code and for the number of days determined pursuant to division (B)(1) or (2) of section 2743.18 of the Revised Code, shall be charged by the director of budget and management against available unencumbered moneys in the appropriations to whichever state departments, boards, offices, commissions, agencies, institutions, or other instrumentalities are named in the judgment. The director of budget and management shall have sole discretion to determine whether or not unencumbered moneys in a particular appropriation are available for satisfaction of a judgment.
(3) The director of budget and management, upon receipt of the certified copy of the judgment from the clerk of the court of claims pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, shall provide for payment of the judgment creditor in the amount of the judgment certified by the clerk of the court of claims, plus interest.
(4) If the director of budget and management determines that sufficient unencumbered moneys do not exist in the particular appropriations to pay the judgment and interest, the director may make application for payment of the judgment and interest out of the emergency purposes account or another appropriation for emergencies or contingencies.
(5) If moneys in the emergency purposes account or another appropriation for emergencies or contingencies are not used to pay the judgment and interest, the director of budget and management shall request the general assembly to make an appropriation sufficient to pay the judgment and interest, and no payment shall be made until the appropriation has been made. The appropriate state department, board, office, commission, agency, institution, or other instrumentality shall make this appropriation request during the current biennium and during each succeeding biennium until a sufficient appropriation is made.
(6) If the judgment is against any department, board, office, commission, agency, institution, or other instrumentality of the state whose funds are not handled by the director of budget and management, the instrumentality against which the judgment is made, within sixty days after the date of the judgment, shall pay the judgment creditor in the amount of the judgment plus interest at the same rate that is applicable to judgments rendered against private parties to a suit as specified in division (A) of section 1343.03 of the Revised Code and for the number of days determined pursuant to division (B)(1) or (2) of section 2743.18 of the Revised Code.
(D) No judgment shall be forwarded by the clerk of the court of claims to the director of budget and management until all appeals have been determined and all rights to appeal have been exhausted, except as otherwise provided in this section. If a party to a civil action against the state appeals from only a portion of a judgment and if a remaining portion provides for the payment of money by the state, a certified copy of the judgment and a copy of the notice of appeal shall be forwarded to the director, and that part of the judgment calling for the payment of money by the state and not a subject of the appeal shall be processed for payment as described in this section.
Sec. 2744.01.  As used in this chapter:
(A) "Emergency call" means a call to duty, including, but not limited to, communications from citizens, police dispatches, and personal observations by peace officers of inherently dangerous situations that demand an immediate response on the part of a peace officer.
(B) "Employee" means an officer, agent, employee, or servant, whether or not compensated or full-time or part-time, who is authorized to act and is acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, employee's, or servant's employment for a political subdivision. "Employee" does not include an independent contractor and does not include any individual engaged by a school district pursuant to section 3319.301 of the Revised Code. "Employee" includes any elected or appointed official of a political subdivision. "Employee" also includes a person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a criminal offense and who has been sentenced to perform community service work in a political subdivision whether pursuant to section 2951.02 of the Revised Code or otherwise, and a child who is found to be a delinquent child and who is ordered by a juvenile court pursuant to section 2151.355 of the Revised Code to perform community service or community work in a political subdivision.
(C)(1) "Governmental function" means a function of a political subdivision that is specified in division (C)(2) of this section or that satisfies any of the following:
(a) A function that is imposed upon the state as an obligation of sovereignty and that is performed by a political subdivision voluntarily or pursuant to legislative requirement;
(b) A function that is for the common good of all citizens of the state;
(c) A function that promotes or preserves the public peace, health, safety, or welfare; that involves activities that are not engaged in or not customarily engaged in by nongovernmental persons; and that is not specified in division (G)(2) of this section as a proprietary function.
(2) A "governmental function" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) The provision or nonprovision of police, fire, emergency medical, ambulance, and rescue services or protection;
(b) The power to preserve the peace; to prevent and suppress riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages; to prevent, mitigate, and clean up releases of oil and hazardous and extremely hazardous substances as defined in section 3750.01 of the Revised Code; and to protect persons and property;
(c) The provision of a system of public education;
(d) The provision of a free public library system;
(e) The regulation of the use of, and the maintenance and repair of, roads, highways, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, bridges, aqueducts, viaducts, and public grounds;
(f) Judicial, quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, legislative, and quasi-legislative functions;
(g) The construction, reconstruction, repair, renovation, maintenance, and operation of buildings that are used in connection with the performance of a governmental function, including, but not limited to, office buildings and courthouses;
(h) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of jails, places of juvenile detention, workhouses, or any other detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code;
(i) The enforcement or nonperformance of any law;
(j) The regulation of traffic, and the erection or nonerection of traffic signs, signals, or control devices;
(k) The collection and disposal of solid wastes, as defined in section 3734.01 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, the operation of solid waste disposal facilities, as "facilities" is defined in that section, and the collection and management of hazardous waste generated by households. As used in division (C)(2)(k) of this section, "hazardous waste generated by households" means solid waste originally generated by individual households that is listed specifically as hazardous waste in or exhibits one or more characteristics of hazardous waste as defined by rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, but that is excluded from regulation as a hazardous waste by those rules.
(l) The provision or nonprovision, planning or design, construction, or reconstruction of a public improvement, including, but not limited to, a sewer system;
(m) The operation of a human services department or agency, including, but not limited to, the provision of assistance to aged and infirm persons and to persons who are indigent;
(n) The operation of a health board, department, or agency, including, but not limited to, any statutorily required or permissive program for the provision of immunizations or other inoculations to all or some members of the public, provided that a "governmental function" does not include the supply, manufacture, distribution, or development of any drug or vaccine employed in any such immunization or inoculation program by any supplier, manufacturer, distributor, or developer of the drug or vaccine;
(o) The operation of mental health facilities, mental retardation or developmental disabilities facilities, alcohol treatment and control centers, and children's homes or agencies;
(p) The provision or nonprovision of inspection services of all types, including, but not limited to, inspections in connection with building, zoning, sanitation, fire, plumbing, and electrical codes, and the taking of actions in connection with those types of codes, including, but not limited to, the approval of plans for the construction of buildings or structures and the issuance or revocation of building permits or stop work orders in connection with buildings or structures;
(q) Urban renewal projects and the elimination of slum conditions;
(r) Flood control measures;
(s) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, operation, care, repair, and maintenance of a township cemetery;
(t) The issuance of revenue obligations under section 140.06 of the Revised Code;
(u) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of any park, playground, playfield, indoor recreational facility, zoo, zoological park, bath, swimming pool, pond, water park, wading pool, wave pool, water slide, and other type of aquatic facility, or golf course;
(v) The provision of public defender services by a county or joint county public defender's office pursuant to Chapter 120. of the Revised Code;
(w) A function that the general assembly mandates a political subdivision to perform.
(D) "Law" means any provision of the constitution, statutes, or rules of the United States or of this state; provisions of charters, ordinances, resolutions, and rules of political subdivisions; and written policies adopted by boards of education. When used in connection with the "common law," this definition does not apply.
(E) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(F) "Political subdivision" or "subdivision" means a municipal corporation, township, county, school district, or other body corporate and politic responsible for governmental activities in a geographic area smaller than that of the state. "Political subdivision" includes, but is not limited to, a county hospital commission appointed under section 339.14 of the Revised Code, regional planning commission created pursuant to section 713.21 of the Revised Code, county planning commission created pursuant to section 713.22 of the Revised Code, joint planning council created pursuant to section 713.231 of the Revised Code, interstate regional planning commission created pursuant to section 713.30 of the Revised Code, port authority created pursuant to section 4582.02 or 4582.26 of the Revised Code or in existence on December 16, 1964, regional council established by political subdivisions pursuant to Chapter 167. of the Revised Code, emergency planning district and joint emergency planning district designated under section 3750.03 of the Revised Code, joint emergency medical services district created pursuant to section 307.052 of the Revised Code, fire and ambulance district created pursuant to section 505.375 of the Revised Code, joint interstate emergency planning district established by an agreement entered into under that section, county solid waste management district and joint solid waste management district established under section 343.01 or 343.012 of the Revised Code, and community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code.
(G)(1) "Proprietary function" means a function of a political subdivision that is specified in division (G)(2) of this section or that satisfies both of the following:
(a) The function is not one described in division (C)(1)(a) or (b) of this section and is not one specified in division (C)(2) of this section;
(b) The function is one that promotes or preserves the public peace, health, safety, or welfare and that involves activities that are customarily engaged in by nongovernmental persons.
(2) A "proprietary function" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) The operation of a hospital by one or more political subdivisions;
(b) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of a public cemetery other than a township cemetery;
(c) The establishment, maintenance, and operation of a utility, including, but not limited to, a light, gas, power, or heat plant, a railroad, a busline or other transit company, an airport, and a municipal corporation water supply system;
(d) The maintenance, destruction, operation, and upkeep of a sewer system;
(e) The operation and control of a public stadium, auditorium, civic or social center, exhibition hall, arts and crafts center, band or orchestra, or off-street parking facility.
(H) "Public roads" means public roads, highways, streets, avenues, alleys, and bridges within a political subdivision. "Public roads" does not include berms, shoulders, rights-of-way, or traffic control devices unless the traffic control devices are mandated by the Ohio manual of uniform traffic control devices.
(I) "State" means the state of Ohio, including, but not limited to, the general assembly, the supreme court, the offices of all elected state officers, and all departments, boards, offices, commissions, agencies, colleges and universities, institutions, and other instrumentalities of the state of Ohio. "State" does not include political subdivisions.
Sec. 2744.02.  (A)(1) For the purposes of this chapter, the functions of political subdivisions are hereby classified as governmental functions and proprietary functions. Except as provided in division (B) of this section, a political subdivision is not liable in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by any act or omission of the political subdivision or an employee of the political subdivision in connection with a governmental or proprietary function.
(2) Subject to statutory limitations upon their monetary jurisdiction, the courts of common pleas, the municipal courts, and the county courts have jurisdiction to hear and determine civil actions governed by or brought pursuant to this chapter.
(B) Subject to sections 2744.03 and 2744.05 of the Revised Code, a political subdivision is liable in damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by an act or omission of the political subdivision or of any of its employees in connection with a governmental or proprietary function, as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, political subdivisions are liable for injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by the negligent operation of any motor vehicle by their employees upon the public roads, highways, or streets when the employees are engaged within the scope of their employment and authority. The following are full defenses to that liability:
(a) A member of a municipal corporation police department or any other police agency was operating a motor vehicle while responding to an emergency call and the operation of the vehicle did not constitute willful or wanton misconduct;
(b) A member of a municipal corporation fire department or any other firefighting agency was operating a motor vehicle while engaged in duty at a fire, proceeding toward a place where a fire is in progress or is believed to be in progress, or answering any other emergency alarm and the operation of the vehicle did not constitute willful or wanton misconduct;
(c) A member of an emergency medical service owned or operated by a political subdivision was operating a motor vehicle while responding to or completing a call for emergency medical care or treatment, the member was holding a valid commercial driver's license issued pursuant to Chapter 4506. or a driver's license issued pursuant to Chapter 4507. of the Revised Code, the operation of the vehicle did not constitute willful or wanton misconduct, and the operation complies with the precautions of section 4511.03 of the Revised Code.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in sections 3314.07 and 3746.24 of the Revised Code, political subdivisions are liable for injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by the negligent performance of acts by their employees with respect to proprietary functions of the political subdivisions.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in section 3746.24 of the Revised Code, political subdivisions are liable for injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by their negligent failure to keep public roads, highways, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, bridges, aqueducts, viaducts, or public grounds within the political subdivisions open, in repair and other negligent failure to remove obstructions from public roads, and free from nuisance, except that it is a full defense to that liability, when a bridge within a municipal corporation is involved, that the municipal corporation does not have the responsibility for maintaining or inspecting the bridge.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in section 3746.24 of the Revised Code, political subdivisions are liable for injury, death, or loss to person or property that is caused by the negligence of their employees and that occurs within or on the grounds of, and is due to physical defects within or on the grounds of, buildings that are used in connection with the performance of a governmental function, including, but not limited to, office buildings and courthouses, but not including jails, places of juvenile detention, workhouses, or any other detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code.
(5) In addition to the circumstances described in divisions (B)(1) to (4) of this section, a political subdivision is liable for injury, death, or loss to person or property when liability is expressly imposed upon the political subdivision by a section of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, sections 2743.02 and 5591.37 of the Revised Code. Liability shall not be construed to exist under another section of the Revised Code merely because that section imposes a responsibility or mandatory duty is imposed upon a political subdivision, or because of a general authorization in that section that a political subdivision may sue and be sued, or because that section uses the term "shall" in a provision pertaining to a political subdivision.
(C) An order that denies a political subdivision or an employee of a political subdivision the benefit of an alleged immunity from liability as provided in Chapter 2744. or any other provision of the law is a final order.
Sec. 2744.03.  (A) In a civil action brought against a political subdivision or an employee of a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to persons or property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function, the following defenses or immunities may be asserted to establish nonliability:
(1) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the employee involved was engaged in the performance of a judicial, quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, legislative, or quasi-legislative function.
(2) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the conduct of the employee involved, other than negligent conduct, that gave rise to the claim of liability was required by law or authorized by law, or if the conduct of the employee involved that gave rise to the claim of liability was necessary or essential to the exercise of powers of the political subdivision or employee.
(3) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the action or failure to act by the employee involved that gave rise to the claim of liability was within the discretion of the employee with respect to policy-making, planning, or enforcement powers by virtue of the duties and responsibilities of the office or position of the employee.
(4) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the action or failure to act by the political subdivision or employee involved that gave rise to the claim of liability resulted in injury or death to a person who had been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a criminal offense and who, at the time of the injury or death, was serving any portion of the person's sentence by performing community service work for or in the political subdivision whether pursuant to section 2951.02 of the Revised Code or otherwise, or resulted in injury or death to a child who was found to be a delinquent child and who, at the time of the injury or death, was performing community service or community work for or in a political subdivision in accordance with the order of a juvenile court entered pursuant to section 2151.355 of the Revised Code, and if, at the time of the person's or child's injury or death, the person or child was covered for purposes of Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code in connection with the community service or community work for or in the political subdivision.
(5) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the injury, death, or loss to persons or property resulted from the exercise of judgment or discretion in determining whether to acquire, or how to use, equipment, supplies, materials, personnel, facilities, and other resources unless the judgment or discretion was exercised with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.
(6) In addition to any immunity or defense referred to in division (A)(7) of this section and in circumstances not covered by that division or sections 3314.07 and 3746.24 of the Revised Code, the employee is immune from liability unless one of the following applies:
(a) The employee's acts or omissions were manifestly outside the scope of the employee's employment or official responsibilities;
(b) The employee's acts or omissions were with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner;
(c) Liability is expressly imposed upon the employee by a section of the Revised Code. Liability shall not be construed to exist under another section of the Revised Code merely because that section imposes a responsibility or mandatory duty upon an employee, because of a general authorization in that section that an employee may sue and be sued, or because the section uses the term "shall" in a provision pertaining to an employee.
(7) The political subdivision, and an employee who is a county prosecuting attorney, city director of law, village solicitor, or similar chief legal officer of a political subdivision, an assistant of any such person, or a judge of a court of this state is entitled to any defense or immunity available at common law or established by the Revised Code.
(B) Any immunity or defense conferred upon, or referred to in connection with, an employee by division (A)(6) or (7) of this section does not affect or limit any liability of a political subdivision for an act or omission of the employee as provided in section 2744.02 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2744.04.  (A) An action against a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to persons or property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function, whether brought as an original action, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or claim for subrogation, shall be brought within two years after the cause of action arose, or within any applicable shorter period of time for bringing the action provided by the Revised Code. This division applies to actions brought against political subdivisions by all persons, governmental entities, and the state.
(B) In the complaint filed in a civil action against a political subdivision or an employee of a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to persons or property allegedly caused by an act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function, whether filed in an original action, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or claim for subrogation, the complainant shall include a demand for a judgment for the damages that the judge in a nonjury trial or the jury in a jury trial finds that the complainant is entitled to be awarded, but shall not specify in that demand any monetary amount for damages sought.
Sec. 2744.05.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Revised Code or rules of a court to the contrary, in an action against a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by an act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function:
(A) Punitive or exemplary damages shall not be awarded.
(B)(1) If a claimant receives or is entitled to receive benefits for injuries or loss allegedly incurred from a policy or policies of insurance or any other source, the benefits shall be disclosed to the court, and the amount of the benefits shall be deducted from any award against a political subdivision recovered by that claimant. No insurer or other person is entitled to bring an action under a subrogation provision in an insurance or other contract against a political subdivision with respect to those benefits. The amount of the benefits shall be deducted from an award against a political subdivision under division (B)(1) of this section regardless of whether the claimant may be under an obligation to pay back the benefits upon recovery, in whole or in part, for the claim. A claimant whose benefits have been deducted from an award under division (B)(1) of this section is not considered fully compensated and shall not be required to reimburse a subrogated claim for benefits deducted from an award pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section.
(2) Nothing in this division (B)(1) of this section shall be construed to do either of the following:
(a)(1) Limit the rights of a beneficiary under a life insurance policy or the rights of sureties under fidelity or surety bonds;
(b)(2) Prohibit the department of job and family services from recovering from the political subdivision, pursuant to section 5101.58 of the Revised Code, the cost of medical assistance benefits provided under Chapter 5107., 5111., or 5115. of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) There shall not be any limitation on compensatory damages that represent the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages. However, except in wrongful death actions brought pursuant to Chapter 2125. of the Revised Code, damages that arise from the same cause of action, transaction or occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences and that do not represent the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars in favor of any one person. The limitation on damages that do not represent the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages provided in this division does not apply to court costs that are awarded to a plaintiff, or to interest on a judgment rendered in favor of a plaintiff, in an action against a political subdivision.
(2) As used in this division, "the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages" includes all of the following:
(a) All wages, salaries, or other compensation lost by the person injured as a result of the injury, including wages, salaries, or other compensation lost as of the date of a judgment and future expected lost earnings of the person injured;
(b) All expenditures of the person injured or another person on behalf of the person injured for medical care or treatment, for rehabilitation services, or for other care, treatment, services, products, or accommodations that were necessary because of the injury;
(c) All expenditures to be incurred in the future, as determined by the court, by the person injured or another person on behalf of the person injured for medical care or treatment, for rehabilitation services, or for other care, treatment, services, products, or accommodations that will be necessary because of the injury;
(d) All expenditures of a person whose property was injured or destroyed or of another person on behalf of the person whose property was injured or destroyed in order to repair or replace the property that was injured or destroyed;
(e) All expenditures of the person injured or of the person whose property was injured or destroyed or of another person on behalf of the person injured or of the person whose property was injured or destroyed in relation to the actual preparation or presentation of the claim involved;
(f) Any other expenditures of the person injured or of the person whose property was injured or destroyed or of another person on behalf of the person injured or of the person whose property was injured or destroyed that the court determines represent an actual loss experienced because of the personal or property injury or property loss.
"The actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages" does not include any fees paid or owed to an attorney for any services rendered in relation to a personal or property injury or property loss, and does not include any damages awarded for pain and suffering, for the loss of society, consortium, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training, or education of the person injured, for mental anguish, or for any other intangible loss.
Sec. 2744.06.  (A) Real or personal property, and moneys, accounts, deposits, or investments of a political subdivision are not subject to execution, judicial sale, garnishment, or attachment to satisfy a judgment rendered against a political subdivision in a civil action to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to persons person or property caused by an act or omission of the political subdivision or any of its employees in connection with a governmental or proprietary function. Such judgments shall be paid from funds of the political subdivisions that have been appropriated for that purpose, but, if sufficient funds are not currently appropriated for the payment of judgments, the fiscal officer of a political subdivision shall certify the amount of any unpaid judgments to the taxing authority of the political subdivision for inclusion in the next succeeding budget and annual appropriation measure and payment in the next succeeding fiscal year as provided by section 5705.08 of the Revised Code, unless any such judgment is to be paid from the proceeds of bonds issued pursuant to section 133.14 of the Revised Code or pursuant to annual installments authorized by division (B) or (C) of this section.
(B)(1)(a) As used in this division, "the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages" includes all of the following:
(i) All wages, salaries, or other compensation lost by the person injured as a result of the injury, as of the date of the judgment;
(ii) All expenditures of the person injured or of another person on his behalf of the person injured for medical care or treatment, for rehabilitation services, or for other care, treatment, services, products, or accommodations that were necessary because of the injury;
(iii) All expenditures of a person whose property was injured or destroyed or of another person on his behalf of the person whose property was injured or destroyed in order to repair or replace the property that was injured or destroyed;
(iv) All expenditures of the person injured or whose property was injured or destroyed or of another person on his behalf of the person injured or whose property was injured or destroyed in relation to the actual preparation or presentation of the person's claim;
(v) Any other expenditures of the person injured or of the person whose property was injured or destroyed or of another person on his behalf of the person injured or whose property was injured or destroyed that the court determines represent an actual loss experienced because of the personal or property injury or property loss.
(b) As used in this division, "the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages" does not include any of the following:
(i) Wages, salaries, or other compensation lost by the person injured as a result of the injury, that are future expected earnings of such a person;
(ii) Expenditures to be incurred in the future, as determined by the court, by the person injured or by another person on his behalf of the person injured for medical care or treatment, for rehabilitation services, or for other care, treatment, services, products, or accommodations that will be necessary because of the injury;
(iii) Any fees paid or owed to an attorney for any services rendered in relation to a personal or property injury or property loss;
(iv) Any damages awarded for pain and suffering, for the loss of society, consortium, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training, or education of the person injured, for mental anguish, or for any other intangible loss.
(2) Except as specifically provided to the contrary in this division, a court that renders a judgment against a political subdivision as described in division (A) of this section and that is not in favor of the state may authorize the political subdivision, upon the motion of the political subdivision, to pay the judgment or a specified portion of the judgment in annual installments over a period not to exceed ten years, subject to the payment of interest at the rate specified in section 1343.03 of the Revised Code. A court shall not authorize the payment in installments under this division of any portion of a judgment or entire judgment that represents the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages.
Additionally, a court shall not authorize the payment in installments under this division of any portion of a judgment or entire judgment that does not represent the actual loss of the person who is awarded the damages unless the court, after balancing the interests of the political subdivision and of the person in whose favor the judgment was rendered, determines that installment payments would be appropriate under the circumstances and would not be unjust to the person in whose favor the judgment was rendered. If a court makes such a determination, it shall fix the amount of the installment payments in such a manner as to achieve for the person in whose favor the judgment was rendered, the same economic result over the period as he that person would have received if the judgment or portion of the judgment subject to the installment payments had been paid in a lump sum payment.
(C) At the option of a political subdivision, a judgment as described in division (A) of this section and that is rendered in favor of the state may be paid in equal annual installments over a period not to exceed ten years, without the payment of interest.
Sec.  3123.17.  (A) When a court issues or modifies a court support order, the court shall determine the following:
(1) Whether the obligor is in default under a prior court support order or the court support order being modified;
(2) If the obligor is in default, the date the court support order went into default and the amount of support arrearages owed pursuant to the default.
If the court determines the obligor is in default under a support order, the court shall issue a new order requiring the obligor to pay support. If the court determines the default was willful, the court shall assess interest on the arrearage amount from the date the court specifies as the date of default to the date the court issues the new order requiring the payment of support and shall compute the interest at the rate specified in division (A) of section 1343.03 of the Revised Code. The court shall specify in the support order the amount of interest the court assessed against the obligor and incorporate the amount of interest into the new monthly payment plan.
(B) When a court issues or modifies a court support order, the court may include in the support order a statement ordering either party to pay the costs of the action, including, but not limited to, attorney's fees, fees for genetic tests in contested actions under sections 3111.01 to 3111.18 of the Revised Code, and court costs.
Sec. 3722.08.  (A) If the director of health determines that an adult care facility is in violation of this chapter or rules adopted under it, he the director may impose a civil penalty, pursuant to rules adopted by the public health council under this chapter, on the owner of the facility. The director shall determine the classification and amount of the penalty by considering the following factors:
(1) The gravity of the violation, the severity of the actual or potential harm, and the extent to which the provisions of this chapter or rules adopted under it were violated;
(2) Actions taken by the owner or manager to correct the violation;
(3) The number, if any, of previous violations by the adult care facility.
(B) The director shall give written notice of the order imposing a civil penalty to the adult care facility by certified mail, return receipt requested, or shall provide for delivery of the notice in person. The notice shall specify the classification of the violation as determined by rules adopted by the public health council pursuant to this chapter, the amount of the penalty and the rate of interest, the action that is required to be taken to correct the violation, the time within which it is to be corrected as specified in division (C) of this section, and the procedures for the facility to follow to request a conference on the order imposing a civil penalty. If the facility requests a conference in a letter mailed or delivered not later than two working days after it has received the notice, the director shall hold a conference with representatives of the facility concerning the civil penalty. The conference shall be held not later than seven days after the director receives the request. The conference shall be conducted as prescribed in division (C) of section 3722.07 of the Revised Code. If the director issues an order upholding the civil penalty, the facility may request an adjudication hearing pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, but the order of the director shall be in effect during proceedings instituted pursuant to that chapter until a final adjudication is made.
(C) The director shall order that the condition or practice constituting a class I violation be abated or eliminated within twenty-four hours or any longer period he that the director considers reasonable. The notice for a class II or a class III violation shall specify a time within which the violation is required to be corrected.
(D) If the facility does not request a conference or if, after a conference, it fails to take action to correct a violation, the director shall issue an order upholding the penalty, plus interest at the rate specified in section 1343.03 of the Revised Code for each day beyond the date set for payment of the penalty. The director may waive the interest payment for the period prior to the conference if he the director concludes that the conference was necessitated by a legitimate dispute.
(E) The director may cancel or reduce the penalty for a class I violation if the facility corrects the violation within the time specified in the notice unless a resident suffers physical harm because of the violation or unless the facility has been cited previously for the same violation, in which case the director shall impose the penalty even though the facility has corrected the violation. The director shall cancel the penalty for a class II or class III violation if the facility corrects the violation within the time specified in the notice unless the facility has been cited previously for the same violation. Each day of a violation of any class, after the date the director sets for abatement or elimination, constitutes a separate and additional violation.
(F) If an adult care facility fails to pay a penalty imposed under this section, the director may commence a civil action to collect the penalty. The license of an adult care facility that has failed to pay a penalty imposed under this section shall not be renewed until the penalty has been paid.
(G) If a penalty is imposed under this section, a fine shall not be imposed under section 3722.99 of the Revised Code for the same violation.
(H) Notwithstanding any other division of this section, the director shall not impose a penalty for a class I violation if all of the following apply:
(1) A resident has not suffered physical harm because of the violation;
(2) The violation has been corrected and is no longer occurring;
(3) The violation is discovered by an inspector authorized to inspect an adult care facility pursuant to this chapter by his an examination of the records of the facility.
Sec. 4112.02.  It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:
(A) For any employer, because of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any person, to discharge without just cause, to refuse to hire, or otherwise to discriminate against that person with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment.
(B) For an employment agency or personnel placement service, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry, to do any of the following:
(1) Refuse or fail to accept, register, classify properly, or refer for employment, or otherwise discriminate against any person;
(2) Comply with a request from an employer for referral of applicants for employment if the request directly or indirectly indicates that the employer fails to comply with the provisions of sections 4112.01 to 4112.07 of the Revised Code.
(C) For any labor organization to do any of the following:
(1) Limit or classify its membership on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry;
(2) Discriminate against, limit the employment opportunities of, or otherwise adversely affect the employment status, wages, hours, or employment conditions of any person as an employee because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.
(D) For any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprentice training programs to discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or ancestry in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprentice training.
(E) Except where based on a bona fide occupational qualification certified in advance by the commission, for any employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, or labor organization, prior to employment or admission to membership, to do any of the following:
(1) Elicit or attempt to elicit any information concerning the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of an applicant for employment or membership;
(2) Make or keep a record of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any applicant for employment or membership;
(3) Use any form of application for employment, or personnel or membership blank, seeking to elicit information regarding race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry; but an employer holding a contract containing a nondiscrimination clause with the government of the United States, or any department or agency of that government, may require an employee or applicant for employment to furnish documentary proof of United States citizenship and may retain that proof in the employer's personnel records and may use photographic or fingerprint identification for security purposes;
(4) Print or publish or cause to be printed or published any notice or advertisement relating to employment or membership indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry;
(5) Announce or follow a policy of denying or limiting, through a quota system or otherwise, employment or membership opportunities of any group because of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of that group;
(6) Utilize in the recruitment or hiring of persons any employment agency, personnel placement service, training school or center, labor organization, or any other employee-referring source known to discriminate against persons because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.
(F) For any person seeking employment to publish or cause to be published any advertisement that specifies or in any manner indicates that person's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry, or expresses a limitation or preference as to the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any prospective employer.
(G) For any proprietor or any employee, keeper, or manager of a place of public accommodation to deny to any person, except for reasons applicable alike to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry, the full enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of the place of public accommodation.
(H) For any person to do any of the following:
(1) Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance housing accommodations, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, or otherwise deny or make unavailable housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;
(2) Represent to any person that housing accommodations are not available for inspection, sale, or rental, when in fact they are available, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;
(3) Discriminate against any person in the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations, or any person in the making or purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial assistance that is secured by residential real estate, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing accommodations are located, provided that the person, whether an individual, corporation, or association of any type, lends money as one of the principal aspects or incident to the person's principal business and not only as a part of the purchase price of an owner-occupied residence the person is selling nor merely casually or occasionally to a relative or friend;
(4) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of selling, transferring, assigning, renting, leasing, or subleasing any housing accommodations or in furnishing facilities, services, or privileges in connection with the ownership, occupancy, or use of any housing accommodations, including the sale of fire, extended coverage, or homeowners insurance, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing accommodations are located;
(5) Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of any loan of money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in which the housing accommodations are located;
(6) Refuse to consider without prejudice the combined income of both husband and wife for the purpose of extending mortgage credit to a married couple or either member of a married couple;
(7) Print, publish, or circulate any statement or advertisement, or make or cause to be made any statement or advertisement, relating to the sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease, sublease, or acquisition of any housing accommodations, or relating to the loan of money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations, that indicates any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination;
(8) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(8) or (17) of this section, make any inquiry, elicit any information, make or keep any record, or use any form of application containing questions or entries concerning race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin in connection with the sale or lease of any housing accommodations or the loan of any money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing accommodations. Any person may make inquiries, and make and keep records, concerning race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin for the purpose of monitoring compliance with this chapter.
(9) Include in any transfer, rental, or lease of housing accommodations any restrictive covenant, or honor or exercise, or attempt to honor or exercise, any restrictive covenant;
(10) Induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, a housing accommodations listing, sale, or transaction by representing that a change has occurred or may occur with respect to the racial, religious, sexual, familial status, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or other area in which the housing accommodations are located, or induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, a housing accommodations listing, sale, or transaction by representing that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin, in the block, neighborhood, or other area will or may have results including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) The lowering of property values;
(b) A change in the racial, religious, sexual, familial status, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or other area;
(c) An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the block, neighborhood, or other area;
(d) A decline in the quality of the schools serving the block, neighborhood, or other area.
(11) Deny any person access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing service, real estate brokers' organization, or other service, organization, or facility relating to the business of selling or renting housing accommodations, or discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of that access, membership, or participation, on account of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, or ancestry;
(12) Coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person's having exercised or enjoyed or having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by division (H) of this section;
(13) Discourage or attempt to discourage the purchase by a prospective purchaser of housing accommodations, by representing that any block, neighborhood, or other area has undergone or might undergo a change with respect to its religious, racial, sexual, familial status, or ethnic composition;
(14) Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance, or otherwise deny or withhold, a burial lot from any person because of the race, color, sex, familial status, age, ancestry, disability, or national origin of any prospective owner or user of the lot;
(15) Discriminate in the sale or rental of, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, housing accommodations to any buyer or renter because of a disability of any of the following:
(a) The buyer or renter;
(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available;
(c) Any individual associated with the person described in division (H)(15)(b) of this section.
(16) Discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale or rental of housing accommodations to any person or in the provision of services or facilities to any person in connection with the housing accommodations because of a disability of any of the following:
(a) That person;
(b) A person residing in or intending to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available;
(c) Any individual associated with the person described in division (H)(16)(b) of this section.
(17) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(17) of this section, make an inquiry to determine whether an applicant for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, a person residing in or intending to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available, or any individual associated with that person has a disability, or make an inquiry to determine the nature or severity of a disability of the applicant or such a person or individual. The following inquiries may be made of all applicants for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, regardless of whether they have disabilities:
(a) An inquiry into an applicant's ability to meet the requirements of ownership or tenancy;
(b) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for housing accommodations available only to persons with disabilities or persons with a particular type of disability;
(c) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for a priority available to persons with disabilities or persons with a particular type of disability;
(d) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant currently uses a controlled substance in violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code or a substantively comparable municipal ordinance;
(e) An inquiry to determine whether an applicant at any time has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense, an element of which is the illegal sale, offer to sell, cultivation, manufacture, other production, shipment, transportation, delivery, or other distribution of a controlled substance.
(18)(a) Refuse to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing housing accommodations that are occupied or to be occupied by the person with a disability, if the modifications may be necessary to afford the person with a disability full enjoyment of the housing accommodations. This division does not preclude a landlord of housing accommodations that are rented or to be rented to a disabled tenant from conditioning permission for a proposed modification upon the disabled tenant's doing one or more of the following:
(i) Providing a reasonable description of the proposed modification and reasonable assurances that the proposed modification will be made in a workerlike manner and that any required building permits will be obtained prior to the commencement of the proposed modification;
(ii) Agreeing to restore at the end of the tenancy the interior of the housing accommodations to the condition they were in prior to the proposed modification, but subject to reasonable wear and tear during the period of occupancy, if it is reasonable for the landlord to condition permission for the proposed modification upon the agreement;
(iii) Paying into an interest-bearing escrow account that is in the landlord's name, over a reasonable period of time, a reasonable amount of money not to exceed the projected costs at the end of the tenancy of the restoration of the interior of the housing accommodations to the condition they were in prior to the proposed modification, but subject to reasonable wear and tear during the period of occupancy, if the landlord finds the account reasonably necessary to ensure the availability of funds for the restoration work. The interest earned in connection with an escrow account described in this division shall accrue to the benefit of the disabled tenant who makes payments into the account.
(b) A landlord shall not condition permission for a proposed modification upon a disabled tenant's payment of a security deposit that exceeds the customarily required security deposit of all tenants of the particular housing accommodations.
(19) Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when necessary to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit, including associated public and common use areas;
(20) Fail to comply with the standards and rules adopted under division (A) of section 3781.111 of the Revised Code;
(21) Discriminate against any person in the selling, brokering, or appraising of real property because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;
(22) Fail to design and construct covered multifamily dwellings for first occupancy on or after June 30, 1992, in accordance with the following conditions:
(a) The dwellings shall have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, unless it is impractical to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics of the site.
(b) With respect to dwellings that have a building entrance on an accessible route, all of the following apply:
(i) The public use areas and common use areas of the dwellings shall be readily accessible to and usable by persons with a disability.
(ii) All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises shall be sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons with a disability who are in wheelchairs.
(iii) All premises within covered multifamily dwelling units shall contain an accessible route into and through the dwelling; all light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls within such units shall be in accessible locations; the bathroom walls within such units shall contain reinforcements to allow later installation of grab bars; and the kitchens and bathrooms within such units shall be designed and constructed in a manner that enables an individual in a wheelchair to maneuver about such rooms.
For purposes of division (H)(22) of this section, "covered multifamily dwellings" means buildings consisting of four or more units if such buildings have one or more elevators and ground floor units in other buildings consisting of four or more units.
(I) For any person to discriminate in any manner against any other person because that person has opposed any unlawful discriminatory practice defined in this section or because that person has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing under sections 4112.01 to 4112.07 of the Revised Code.
(J) For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any act declared by this section to be an unlawful discriminatory practice, to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with this chapter or any order issued under it, or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this section to be an unlawful discriminatory practice.
(K)(1) Nothing in division (H) of this section shall bar any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any nonprofit charitable or educational organization that is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of housing accommodations that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving preference in the sale, rental, or occupancy of such housing accommodations to persons of the same religion, unless membership in the religion is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.
(2) Nothing in division (H) of this section shall bar any bona fide private or fraternal organization that, incidental to its primary purpose, owns or operates lodgings for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of the lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members.
(3) Nothing in division (H) of this section limits the applicability of any reasonable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations. Nothing in that division prohibits the owners or managers of housing accommodations from implementing reasonable occupancy standards based on the number and size of sleeping areas or bedrooms and the overall size of a dwelling unit, provided that the standards are not implemented to circumvent the purposes of this chapter and are formulated, implemented, and interpreted in a manner consistent with this chapter and any applicable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations.
(4) Nothing in division (H) of this section requires that housing accommodations be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.
(5) Nothing in division (H) of this section pertaining to discrimination on the basis of familial status shall be construed to apply to any of the following:
(a) Housing accommodations provided under any state or federal program that have been determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C.A. 3607, as amended, to be specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons;
(b) Housing accommodations intended for and solely occupied by persons who are sixty-two years of age or older;
(c) Housing accommodations intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person who is fifty-five years of age or older per unit, as determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C.A. 3607, as amended.
(L) Nothing in divisions (A) to (E) of this section shall be construed to require a person with a disability to be employed or trained under circumstances that would significantly increase the occupational hazards affecting either the person with a disability, other employees, the general public, or the facilities in which the work is to be performed, or to require the employment or training of a person with a disability in a job that requires the person with a disability routinely to undertake any task, the performance of which is substantially and inherently impaired by the person's disability.
(M) Nothing in divisions (H)(1) to (18) of this section shall be construed to require any person selling or renting property to modify the property in any way or to exercise a higher degree of care for a person with a disability, to relieve any person with a disability of any obligation generally imposed on all persons regardless of disability in a written lease, rental agreement, or contract of purchase or sale, or to forbid distinctions based on the inability to fulfill the terms and conditions, including financial obligations, of the lease, agreement, or contract.
(N) An aggrieved individual may enforce the individual's rights relative to discrimination on the basis of age as provided for in this section by instituting a civil action, within two years one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred, in any court with jurisdiction for any legal or equitable relief that will effectuate the individual's rights.
A person who files a civil action under this division is barred, with respect to the practices complained of, from instituting a civil action under section 4112.14 of the Revised Code and from filing a charge with the commission under section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.
(O) With regard to age, it shall not be an unlawful discriminatory practice and it shall not constitute a violation of division (A) of section 4112.14 of the Revised Code for any employer, employment agency, joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship training programs, or labor organization to do any of the following:
(1) Establish bona fide employment qualifications reasonably related to the particular business or occupation that may include standards for skill, aptitude, physical capability, intelligence, education, maturation, and experience;
(2) Observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide employee benefit plan, including, but not limited to, a retirement, pension, or insurance plan, that is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this section. However, no such employee benefit plan shall excuse the failure to hire any individual, and no such seniority system or employee benefit plan shall require or permit the involuntary retirement of any individual, because of the individual's age except as provided for in the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendment of 1978," 92 Stat. 189, 29 U.S.C.A. 623, as amended by the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 3342, 29 U.S.C.A. 623, as amended.
(3) Retire an employee who has attained sixty-five years of age who, for the two-year period immediately before retirement, is employed in a bona fide executive or a high policymaking position, if the employee is entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit from a pension, profit-sharing, savings, or deferred compensation plan, or any combination of those plans, of the employer of the employee, which equals, in the aggregate, at least forty-four thousand dollars, in accordance with the conditions of the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendment of 1978," 92 Stat. 189, 29 U.S.C.A. 631, as amended by the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 3342, 29 U.S.C.A. 631, as amended;
(4) Observe the terms of any bona fide apprenticeship program if the program is registered with the Ohio apprenticeship council pursuant to sections 4139.01 to 4139.06 of the Revised Code and is approved by the federal committee on apprenticeship of the United States department of labor.
(P) Nothing in this chapter prohibiting age discrimination and nothing in division (A) of section 4112.14 of the Revised Code shall be construed to prohibit the following:
(1) The designation of uniform age the attainment of which is necessary for public employees to receive pension or other retirement benefits pursuant to Chapter 145., 742., 3307., 3309., or 5505. of the Revised Code;
(2) The mandatory retirement of uniformed patrol officers of the state highway patrol as provided in section 5505.16 of the Revised Code;
(3) The maximum age requirements for appointment as a patrol officer in the state highway patrol established by section 5503.01 of the Revised Code;
(4) The maximum age requirements established for original appointment to a police department or fire department in sections 124.41 and 124.42 of the Revised Code;
(5) Any maximum age not in conflict with federal law that may be established by a municipal charter, municipal ordinance, or resolution of a board of township trustees for original appointment as a police officer or firefighter;
(6) Any mandatory retirement provision not in conflict with federal law of a municipal charter, municipal ordinance, or resolution of a board of township trustees pertaining to police officers and firefighters;
(7) Until January 1, 1994, the mandatory retirement of any employee who has attained seventy years of age and who is serving under a contract of unlimited tenure, or similar arrangement providing for unlimited tenure, at an institution of higher education as defined in the "Education Amendments of 1980," 94 Stat. 1503, 20 U.S.C.A. 1141(a).
(Q)(1)(a) Except as provided in division (Q)(1)(b) of this section, for purposes of divisions (A) to (E) of this section, a disability does not include any physiological disorder or condition, mental or psychological disorder, or disease or condition caused by an illegal use of any controlled substance by an employee, applicant, or other person, if an employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee acts on the basis of that illegal use.
(b) Division (Q)(1)(a) of this section does not apply to an employee, applicant, or other person who satisfies any of the following:
(i) The employee, applicant, or other person has successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program and no longer is engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance, or the employee, applicant, or other person otherwise successfully has been rehabilitated and no longer is engaging in that illegal use.
(ii) The employee, applicant, or other person is participating in a supervised drug rehabilitation program and no longer is engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance.
(iii) The employee, applicant, or other person is erroneously regarded as engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance, but the employee, applicant, or other person is not engaging in that illegal use.
(2) Divisions (A) to (E) of this section do not prohibit an employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee from doing any of the following:
(a) Adopting or administering reasonable policies or procedures, including, but not limited to, testing for the illegal use of any controlled substance, that are designed to ensure that an individual described in division (Q)(1)(b)(i) or (ii) of this section no longer is engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance;
(b) Prohibiting the illegal use of controlled substances and the use of alcohol at the workplace by all employees;
(c) Requiring that employees not be under the influence of alcohol or not be engaged in the illegal use of any controlled substance at the workplace;
(d) Requiring that employees behave in conformance with the requirements established under "The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 4304, 41 U.S.C.A. 701, as amended;
(e) Holding an employee who engages in the illegal use of any controlled substance or who is an alcoholic to the same qualification standards for employment or job performance, and the same behavior, to which the employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee holds other employees, even if any unsatisfactory performance or behavior is related to an employee's illegal use of a controlled substance or alcoholism;
(f) Exercising other authority recognized in the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 327, 42 U.S.C.A. 12101, as amended, including, but not limited to, requiring employees to comply with any applicable federal standards.
(3) For purposes of this chapter, a test to determine the illegal use of any controlled substance does not include a medical examination.
(4) Division (Q) of this section does not encourage, prohibit, or authorize, and shall not be construed as encouraging, prohibiting, or authorizing, the conduct of testing for the illegal use of any controlled substance by employees, applicants, or other persons, or the making of employment decisions based on the results of that type of testing.
Sec. 4112.14.  (A) No employer shall discriminate in any job opening against any applicant or discharge without just cause any employee aged forty or older who is physically able to perform the duties and otherwise meets the established requirements of the job and laws pertaining to the relationship between employer and employee.
(B) Any person aged forty or older who is discriminated against in any job opening or discharged without just cause by an employer in violation of division (A) of this section may institute a civil action against the employer in a court of competent jurisdiction. If the court finds that an employer has discriminated on the basis of age, the court shall order an appropriate remedy which shall include reimbursement to him the applicant or employee for the costs, including reasonable attorney attorney's fees, of the action, or to reinstate the employee in his the employee's former position with compensation for lost wages and any lost fringe benefits from the date of the illegal discharge and to reimburse him the employee for the costs, including reasonable attorney attorney's fees, of the action. The remedies available under this section are coexistent with remedies available pursuant to sections 4112.01 to 4112.11 of the Revised Code; except that any person instituting a civil action under this section is, with respect to the practices complained of, thereby barred from instituting a civil action under division (N) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code or from filing a charge with the Ohio civil rights commission under section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.
(C) The cause of action described in division (B) of this section and any remedies available pursuant to sections 4112.01 to 4112.11 of the Revised Code shall not be available in the case of discharges where the employee has available to him the employee the opportunity to arbitrate the discharge or where a discharge has been arbitrated and has been found to be for just cause.
Sec. 4112.99.  Whoever violates this chapter is subject to a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, or any other appropriate relief.
Sec. 4113.52.  (A)(1)(a) If an employee becomes aware in the course of his the employee's employment of a violation of any state or federal statute or any ordinance or regulation of a political subdivision that his the employee's employer has authority to correct, and the employee reasonably believes that the violation either is a criminal offense that is likely to cause an imminent risk of physical harm to persons or a hazard to public health or safety or is a felony, the employee orally shall notify his the employee's supervisor or other responsible officer of his the employee's employer of the violation and subsequently shall file with that supervisor or officer a written report that provides sufficient detail to identify and describe the violation. If the employer does not correct the violation or make a reasonable and good faith effort to correct the violation within twenty-four hours after the oral notification or the receipt of the report, whichever is earlier, the employee may file a written report that provides sufficient detail to identify and describe the violation with the prosecuting authority of the county or municipal corporation where the violation occurred, with a peace officer, with the inspector general if the violation is within his the inspector general's jurisdiction, or with any other appropriate public official or agency that has regulatory authority over the employer and the industry, trade, or business in which he the employer is engaged.
(b) If an employee makes a report under division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the employer, within twenty-four hours after the oral notification was made or the report was received or by the close of business on the next regular business day following the day on which the oral notification was made or the report was received, whichever is later, shall notify the employee, in writing, of any effort of the employer to correct the alleged violation or hazard or of the absence of the alleged violation or hazard.
(2) If an employee becomes aware in the course of his the employee's employment of a violation of chapter 3704., 3734., 6109., Or 6111. Of the revised code that is a criminal offense, the employee directly may notify, either orally or in writing, any appropriate public official or agency that has regulatory authority over the employer and the industry, trade, or business in which he the employer is engaged.
(3) If an employee becomes aware in the course of his the employee's employment of a violation by a fellow employee of any state or federal statute, any ordinance or regulation of a political subdivision, or any work rule or company policy of his the employee's employer and the employee reasonably believes that the violation either is a criminal offense that is likely to cause an imminent risk of physical harm to persons or a hazard to public health or safety or is a felony, the employee orally shall notify his the employee's supervisor or other responsible officer of his the employee's employer of the violation and subsequently shall file with that supervisor or officer a written report that provides sufficient detail to identify and describe the violation.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, no employer shall take any disciplinary or retaliatory action against an employee for making any report authorized by division (A)(1) or (2) of this section, or as a result of the employee's having made any inquiry or taken any other action to ensure the accuracy of any information reported under either such division. No employer shall take any disciplinary or retaliatory action against an employee for making any report authorized by division (A)(3) of this section if the employee made a reasonable and good faith effort to determine the accuracy of any information so reported, or as a result of the employee's having made any inquiry or taken any other action to ensure the accuracy of any information reported under that division. For purposes of this division, disciplinary or retaliatory action by the employer includes, without limitation, doing any of the following:
(1) Removing or suspending the employee from employment;
(2) Withholding from the employee salary increases or employee benefits to which the employee is otherwise entitled;
(3) Transferring or reassigning the employee;
(4) Denying the employee a promotion that otherwise would have been received;
(5) Reducing the employee in pay or position.
(C) An employee shall make a reasonable and good faith effort to determine the accuracy of any information reported under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section. If the employee who makes a report under either division fails to make such an effort, he the employee may be subject to disciplinary action by his the employee's employer, including suspension or removal, for reporting information without a reasonable basis to do so under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section.
(D) If an employer takes any disciplinary or retaliatory action against an employee as a result of the employee's having filed a report under division (A) of this section, the employee may bring a civil action for appropriate injunctive relief or for the remedies set forth in division (E) of this section, or both, within one hundred eighty days after the date the disciplinary or retaliatory action was taken, in a court of common pleas in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure. A civil action under this division is not available to an employee as a remedy for any disciplinary or retaliatory action taken by an appointing authority against the employee as a result of the employee's having filed a report under division (A) of section 124.341 of the Revised Code.
(E) The court, in rendering a judgment for the employee in an action brought pursuant to division (D) of this section, may order, as it determines appropriate, reinstatement of the employee to the same position he that the employee held at the time of the disciplinary or retaliatory action and at the same site of employment or to a comparable position at that site, the payment of back wages, full reinstatement of fringe benefits and seniority rights, or any combination of these remedies. The court also may award the prevailing party all or a portion of the costs of litigation, and, if the employee who brought the action prevails in the action, may award the prevailing employee reasonable attorney's fees, witness fees, and fees for experts who testify at trial, in an amount the court determines appropriate. If the court determines that an employer deliberately has violated division (B) of this section, the court, in making an award of back pay, may include interest at the rate specified in section 1343.03 of the Revised Code.
(F) Any report filed with the inspector general under this section shall be filed as a complaint in accordance with section 121.46 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4171.10.  The express assumption of risk set forth in section 4171.09 of the Revised Code shall serve as a complete defense to a suit against an operator by a roller skater for injuries resulting from the assumed risks of roller skating. The comparative negligence provisions of section 2315.19 of the Revised Code shall not apply unless the operator has breached his the operator's duties pursuant to sections 4171.06 and 4171.07 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4399.18.  Notwithstanding section 2307.60 of the Revised Code and except as otherwise provided in this section and in section 4399.01 of the Revised Code, no person, and no executor or administrator of the person, who suffers personal injury, death, or property damage as a result of the actions of an intoxicated person has a cause of action against any liquor permit holder or his an employee of a liquor permit holder who sold beer or intoxicating liquor to the intoxicated person unless the injury, death, or property damage occurred on the permit holder's premises or in a parking lot under his the control of the permit holder and was proximately caused by the negligence of the permit holder or his employees an employee of the permit holder. A person has a cause of action against a permit holder or his an employee of a permit holder for personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the negligent actions of an intoxicated person occurring off the premises or away from a parking lot under the permit holder's control only when both of the following can be shown by a preponderance of the evidence:
(A) The permit holder or his an employee of the permit holder knowingly sold an intoxicating beverage to at least one of the following:
(1) A noticeably intoxicated person in violation of division (B) of section 4301.22 of the Revised Code;
(2) A person in violation of division (C) of section 4301.22 of the Revised Code;
(3) A person in violation of section 4301.69 of the Revised Code;.
(B) The person's intoxication proximately caused the personal injury, death, or property damage.
Notwithstanding sections 4399.02 and 4399.05 of the Revised Code, no person, and no executor or administrator of the person, who suffers personal injury, death, or property damage as a result of the actions of an intoxicated person has a cause of action against the owner of a building or premises who rents or leases the building or premises to a liquor permit holder against whom a cause of action may be brought under this section, except when the owner and the permit holder are the same person.
Sec. 4507.07.  (A) The registrar of motor vehicles shall not grant the application of any minor under eighteen years of age for a probationary license, a restricted license, or a temporary instruction permit, unless the application is signed by one of the minor's parents, the minor's guardian, another person having custody of the applicant, or, if there is no parent or guardian, a responsible person who is willing to assume the obligation imposed under this section.
At the time a minor under eighteen years of age submits an application for a license or permit at a driver's license examining station, the adult who signs the application shall present identification establishing that the adult is the individual whose signature appears on the application. The registrar shall prescribe, by rule, the types of identification that are suitable for the purposes of this paragraph. If the adult who signs the application does not provide identification as required by this paragraph, the application shall not be accepted.
When a minor under eighteen years of age applies for a probationary license, a restricted license, or a temporary instruction permit, the registrar shall give the adult who signs the application notice of the potential liability that may be imputed to the adult pursuant to division (B) of this section and notice of how the adult may prevent any liability from being imputed to the adult pursuant to that division.
(B) Any negligence, or willful or wanton misconduct, that is committed by a minor under eighteen years of age when driving a motor vehicle upon a highway shall be imputed to the person who has signed the application of the minor for a probationary license, restricted license, or temporary instruction permit, which person shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages caused by the negligence or the willful or wanton misconduct. This joint and several liability is not subject to division (D) of section 2315.19, division (F) of section 2315.20, or division (B) of section 2307.31 of the Revised Code with respect to a negligence or other tort claim that otherwise is subject to any of those sections that section.
There shall be no imputed liability imposed under this division if a minor under eighteen years of age has proof of financial responsibility with respect to the operation of a motor vehicle owned by the minor or, if the minor is not the owner of a motor vehicle, with respect to the minor's operation of any motor vehicle, in the form and in the amounts required under Chapter 4509. of the Revised Code.
(C) Any person who has signed the application of a minor under eighteen years of age for a license or permit subsequently may surrender to the registrar the license or temporary instruction permit of the minor and request that the license or permit be canceled. The registrar then shall cancel the license or temporary instruction permit, and the person who signed the application of the minor shall be relieved from the liability imposed by division (B) of this section.
(D) Any minor under eighteen years of age whose probationary license, restricted license, or temporary instruction permit is surrendered to the registrar by the person who signed the application for the license or permit and whose license or temporary instruction permit subsequently is canceled by the registrar may obtain a new license or temporary instruction permit without having to undergo the examinations otherwise required by sections 4507.11 and 4507.12 of the Revised Code and without having to tender the fee for that license or temporary instruction permit, if the minor is able to produce another parent, guardian, other person having custody of the minor, or other adult, and that adult is willing to assume the liability imposed under division (B) of this section. That adult shall comply with the procedures contained in division (A) of this section.
Sec. 4513.263.  (A) As used in this section and in section 4513.99 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Automobile" means any commercial tractor, passenger car, commercial car, or truck that is required to be factory-equipped with an occupant restraining device for the operator or any passenger by regulations adopted by the United States secretary of transportation pursuant to the "National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966," 80 Stat. 719, 15 U.S.C.A. 1392.
(2) "Occupant restraining device" means a seat safety belt, shoulder belt, harness, or other safety device for restraining a person who is an operator of or passenger in an automobile and that satisfies the minimum federal vehicle safety standards established by the United States department of transportation.
(3) "Passenger" means any person in an automobile, other than its operator, who is occupying a seating position for which an occupant restraining device is provided.
(4) "Commercial tractor," "passenger car," and "commercial car" have the same meanings as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Vehicle" and "motor vehicle," as used in the definitions of the terms set forth in division (A)(4) of this section, have the same meanings as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Manufacturer" and "supplier" have the same meanings as in section 2307.71 of the Revised Code.
(7) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property. "Tort action" includes a product liability claim but does not include a civil action for damages for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.
(B) No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Operate an automobile on any street or highway unless that person is wearing all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device, or operate a school bus that has an occupant restraining device installed for use in its operator's seat unless that person is wearing all of the available elements of the device, as properly adjusted;
(2) Operate an automobile on any street or highway unless each passenger in the automobile who is subject to the requirement set forth in division (B)(3) of this section is wearing all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device;
(3) Occupy, as a passenger, a seating position on the front seat of an automobile being operated on any street or highway unless that person is wearing all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device;
(4) Operate a taxicab on any street or highway unless all factory-equipped occupant restraining devices in the taxicab are maintained in usable form.
(C) Division (B)(3) of this section does not apply to a person who is required by section 4511.81 of the Revised Code to be secured in a child restraint device. Division (B)(1) of this section does not apply to a person who is an employee of the United States postal service or of a newspaper home delivery service, during any period in which the person is engaged in the operation of an automobile to deliver mail or newspapers to addressees. Divisions (B)(1) and (3) of this section do not apply to a person who has an affidavit signed by a physician licensed to practice in this state under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code or a chiropractor licensed to practice in this state under Chapter 4734. of the Revised Code that states that the person has a physical impairment that makes use of an occupant restraining device impossible or impractical.
(D) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer shall cause an operator of an automobile being operated on any street or highway to stop the automobile for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of division (B) of this section has been or is being committed or for the sole purpose of issuing a ticket, citation, or summons for a violation of that nature or causing the arrest of or commencing a prosecution of a person for a violation of that nature, and no law enforcement officer shall view the interior or visually inspect any automobile being operated on any street or highway for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of that nature has been or is being committed.
(E) All fines collected for violations of division (B) of this section, or for violations of any ordinance or resolution of a political subdivision that is substantively comparable to that division, shall be forwarded to the treasurer of state for deposit as follows:
(1) Eight per cent shall be deposited into the seat belt education fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury, and shall be used by the department of public safety to establish a seat belt education program.
(2) Eight per cent shall be deposited into the elementary school program fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury, and shall be used by the department of public safety to establish and administer elementary school programs that encourage seat safety belt use.
(3) Two per cent shall be deposited into the Ohio ambulance licensing trust fund created by section 4766.05 of the Revised Code.
(4) Twenty-eight per cent shall be deposited into the trauma and emergency medical services fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury, and shall be used by the department of public safety for the administration of the division of emergency medical services and the state board of emergency medical services.
(5) Fifty-four per cent shall be deposited into the trauma and emergency medical services grants fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury, and shall be used by the state board of emergency medical services to make grants, in accordance with section 4765.07 of the Revised Code and rules the board adopts under section 4765.11 of the Revised Code.
(F) The (1) Subject to division (F)(2) of this section, the failure of a person to wear all of the available elements of a properly adjusted occupant restraining device in violation of division (B)(1) or (3) of this section or the failure of a person to ensure that each minor who is a passenger of an automobile being operated by that the person is wearing all of the available elements of such a properly adjusted occupant restraining device, in violation of division (B)(2) of this section, shall not be considered by the trier of fact in a tort action or used as evidence of negligence or contributory negligence or other tortious conduct or considered for any other relevant purpose if the failure contributed to the harm alleged in the tort action and may, shall not diminish pursuant to section 2315.19 or 2315.20 of the Revised Code a recovery of compensatory for damages in a tort any civil action involving the person arising from the ownership, maintenance, or operation of an automobile; shall not be used as a basis for a criminal prosecution of the person other than a prosecution for a violation of this section; and shall not be admissible as evidence in a any civil or criminal action involving the person other than a prosecution for a violation of this section.
(2) If, at the time of an accident involving a passenger car equipped with occupant restraining devices, any occupant of the passenger car who sustained injury or death was not wearing an available occupant restraining device, was not wearing all of the available elements of such a device, or was not wearing such a device as properly adjusted, then, consistent with the Rules of Evidence, the fact that the occupant was not wearing the available occupant restraining device, was not wearing all of the available elements of such a device, or was not wearing such a device as properly adjusted is admissible in evidence in relation to any claim for relief in a tort action to the extent that the claim for relief satisfies all of the following:
(a) It seeks to recover damages for injury or death to the occupant.
(b) The defendant in question is the manufacturer, designer, distributor, or seller of the passenger car.
(c) The claim for relief against the defendant in question is that the injury or death sustained by the occupant was enhanced or aggravated by some design defect in the passenger car or that the passenger car was not crashworthy.
(3) As used in division (F)(2) of this section, "tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property. "Tort action" includes a product liability claim that is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code, but does not include a civil action for damages for a breach of a contract or another agreement between persons.
Sec. 4582.27.  (A) A port authority created in accordance with section 4582.22 of the Revised Code shall be governed by a board of directors. Members of a board of directors of a port authority created by the exclusive action of a municipal corporation shall consist of the number of members it considers necessary and shall be appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. Members of a board of directors of a port authority created by the exclusive action of a township shall consist of such members as it considers necessary and shall be appointed by the township trustees of the township. Members of a board of directors of a port authority created by the exclusive action of a county shall consist of such members as it considers necessary and shall be appointed by the board of county commissioners of the county. Members of a board of directors of a port authority created by a combination of political subdivisions shall be divided among the political subdivisions in such proportions as the political subdivisions may agree and shall be appointed by the participating political subdivisions in the same manner as this section provides for the appointment of members by a political subdivision creating its own port authority. If a participating political subdivision is not authorized by section 4582.22 of the Revised Code to create its own port authority, the political subdivision's elected legislative body, if the political subdivision has an elected legislative body, or the political subdivision's elected official or officials who appoint the legislative body of the political subdivision shall appoint the members of a board of directors of a port authority that are to be appointed by that political subdivision. If the electors of a participating political subdivision do not elect either the legislative body of the political subdivision or the official or officials who appoint the legislative body of the political subdivision, the participating political subdivision may not appoint any member of a board of directors of a port authority. When a port authority is created by a combination of political subdivisions, the number of directors comprising the board shall be determined by agreement between the political subdivisions, which number may be changed from time to time by amendment of the agreement. The appointing body may at any time remove a director appointed by it for misfeasance, nonfeasance, or malfeasance in office.
A majority of the directors shall have been qualified electors of, or shall have had their businesses or places of employment in, one or more political subdivisions within the area of the jurisdiction of the port authority, for a period of at least three years next preceding their appointment.
The directors of any port authority first appointed shall serve staggered terms. Thereafter each successor shall serve for a term of four years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed to only the unexpired term and any director is eligible for reappointment.
The board of directors by rule may provide for the removal of a director who fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the board. If a director is so removed, a successor shall be appointed for the remaining term of the removed director in the same manner provided for the original appointment.
The directors shall elect one of their membership as chairperson and another as vice-chairperson, and shall designate their terms of office, and shall appoint a secretary who need not be a director. A majority of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum, the affirmative vote of which shall be necessary for any action taken by the port authority. No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the rights of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the port authority.
Each member of the board of directors of a port authority shall be entitled to receive from the port authority such sum of money as the board of directors may determine as compensation for services as director and reimbursement for reasonable expenses in the performance of official duties.
(B) Except for civil actions that arise out of the operation of a motor vehicle and civil actions in which the port authority is the plaintiff, no director, officer, or employee of a port authority shall be liable in any civil action that arises under the law of this state for damage or injury caused in the performance of his duties, unless the director's, officer's, or employee's actions were manifestly outside the scope of his employment or official responsibilities, or unless the director, officer, or employee acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.
This division does not eliminate, limit, or reduce any immunity from civil liability that is conferred upon a director, officer, or employee by any other provision of the Revised Code or by case law.
(C)(1) A port authority shall, except as provided in division (B) of this section, indemnify a director, officer, or employee from liability incurred in the performance of his duties by paying any judgment in, or amount negotiated in settlement of, any civil action arising under federal law, the law of another state, or the law of a foreign jurisdiction. The reasonableness of the amount of any consent judgment or settlement is subject to the review and approval of the board of the port authority. The maximum aggregate amount of indemnification paid directly from funds to or on behalf of any director, officer or employee pursuant to this division shall be one million dollars per occurrence, regardless of the number of persons who suffer damage, injury, or death as a result of the occurrence.
(2) A port authority shall not indemnify a director, officer, or employee under any of the following circumstances:
(a) To the extent the director, officer, or employee is covered by a policy of insurance for civil liability purchased by the port authority;
(b) When the director, officer, or employee acts manifestly outside the scope of his employment or official responsibilities, with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner;
(c) For any portion of a judgment that represents punitive or exemplary damages;
(d) For any portion of a consent judgment or settlement that is unreasonable.
(3) The port authority may purchase a policy or policies of insurance on behalf of directors, officers, and employees of the port authority from an insurer or insurers licensed to do business in this state providing coverage for damages in connection with any civil action, demand, or claim against the director, officer, or employee by reason of an act or omission by the director, officer, or employee occurring in the performance of his duties and not coming within the terms of division (C)(2)(b) of this section.
(4) This section does not affect either of the following:
(a) Any defense that would otherwise be available in an action alleging personal liability of a director, officer, or employee;
(b) The operation of section 9.83 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4909.42.  If the proceeding on an application filed with the public utilities commission under section 4909.18 of the Revised Code by any public utility requesting an increase on any rate, joint rate, toll, classification, charge, or rental or requesting a change in a regulation or practice affecting the same has not been concluded and an order entered pursuant to section 4909.19 of the Revised Code at the expiration of two hundred seventy-five days from the date of filing the application, the proposed increase shall go into effect upon the filing of an undertaking by the public utility. The undertaking shall be filed with the commission and shall be payable to the state for the use and benefit of the customers affected by the proposed increase or change.
The undertaking must be signed by two of the officers of the utility, under oath, and must contain a promise to refund any amounts collected by the utility over the rate, joint rate, toll, classification, charge, or rental, as determined in the final order of the commission. All refunds shall include interest at the rate stated in section 1343.03 of the Revised Code. The refund shall be in the form of a temporary reduction in rates following the final order of the commission, and shall be accomplished in such manner as shall be prescribed by the commission in its final order. The commission shall exercise continuing and exclusive jurisdiction over such refunds.
If the public utilities commission has not entered a final order within five hundred forty-five days from the date of the filing of an application for an increase in rates under section 4909.18 of the Revised Code, a public utility shall have no obligation to make a refund of amounts collected after the five hundred forty-fifth day which exceed the amounts authorized by the commission's final order.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to mitigate any duty of the commission to issue a final order under section 4909.19 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 5111.81.  (A) There is hereby established the pharmacy and therapeutics committee of the department of job and family services. The committee shall consist of eight members and shall be appointed by the director of job and family services. The membership of the committee shall include: two pharmacists licensed under Chapter 4729. of the Revised Code; two doctors of medicine and two doctors of osteopathy licensed under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code; a registered nurse licensed under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code; and a pharmacologist who has a doctoral degree. The committee shall elect one of its members as chairperson.
(B) In the absence of fraud or bad faith, neither the pharmacy and therapeutics committee nor a current or former member, agent, representative, employee, or independent contractor of the committee shall be held liable in damages to a person as the result of an act, omission, proceeding, conduct, or decision relating to the official duties undertaken or performed pursuant to this section or rules promulgated pursuant to section 111.15 or Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. If a current or former member, agent, representative, employee, or independent contractor of the committee requests the state to defend the current or former member, agent, representative, employee, or independent contractor against a claim or in an action arising out of an act, omission, proceeding, conduct, or decision relating to official duties undertaken or performed, if the request is made in writing at a reasonable time before the trial of the claim or in the action, and if the person requesting the defense cooperates in good faith in the defense of the claim or action, the state shall provide and pay for the defense of the claim or action and shall pay any resulting judgment, compromise, or settlement. The state shall not pay that part of a claim or judgment that is for punitive or exemplary damages.
Sec. 5591.36.  The board of county commissioners shall erect and maintain, where not already done, one or more guardrails on each end of a county bridge, viaduct, or culvert more than five feet high and on each side of every approach to a county bridge, viaduct, or culvert, if the approach or embankment is more than six feet high. The board shall also protect, by suitable guardrails, all perpendicular wash banks more than eight feet in height, where such banks have an immediate connection with a public highway other than state highways, or are adjacent thereto in an unprotected condition.
It shall be a sufficient compliance with this section, if the board causes to be erected and maintained a good stockproof hedge fence where a quardrail is required. Such guardrails or hedge fences shall be erected in a substantial manner, having sufficient strength to protect life and property, the expense thereof to be paid out of the county bridge fund.
Sec. 5591.37.  Failure to comply with section 5591.36 of the Revised Code shall render the county liable for all accidents or damages as a result of such failure.
Section 2.02. That all the following are repealed:
(A) Existing sections 1701.95, 1707.01, 1901.18, 2101.31, 2305.25, 2305.251, 2305.37, 2307.24, 2307.27, 2307.30, 2307.60, 2307.61, 2313.46, 2315.07, 2315.08, 2315.18, 2315.23, 2315.24, 2743.18, 2743.19, 2744.01, 2744.02, 2744.03, 2744.05, 3123.17, 4112.02, 4507.07, 4513.263, 4582.27, and 5111.81 of the Revised Code;
(B) Sections 109.36, 163.17, 723.01, 1343.03, 1775.14, 1901.041, 1901.17, 1901.181, 1901.20, 1905.032, 2117.06, 2125.01, 2125.02, 2125.04, 2305.01, 2305.10, 2305.11, 2305.16, 2305.35, 2305.38, 2307.31, 2307.32, 2307.33, 2307.71, 2307.72, 2307.73, 2307.75, 2307.78, 2307.80, 2315.01, 2315.18, 2315.19, 2315.20, 2315.21, 2317.62, 2323.51, 2501.02, 2744.04, 2744.06, 3701.19, 3722.08, 4112.14, 4112.99, 4113.52, 4171.10, 4399.18, 4909.42, 5591.36, and 5591.37 of the Revised Code, as they result from Section 1 of Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly;
(C) Sections 901.52, 2101.163, 2151.542, 2303.202, 2305.011, 2305.012, 2305.113, 2305.252, 2305.381, 2305.382, 2307.31, 2307.42, 2307.43, 2307.48, 2307.791, 2307.792, 2307.80, 2309.01, 2315.37, 2317.46, 2323.54, and 2323.59 of the Revised Code;
(D) Sections 1901.262 and 1907.262 of the Revised Code, as enacted by Section 1 of Am. Sub. H.B. 350;
(E) Section 2305.131 of the Revised Code, both as it results from and as it existed prior to its repeal and re-enactment by Sections 1 and 2 of Am. Sub. H.B. 350;
(F) New sections 2307.31 and 2307.80 of the Revised Code, as enacted by Section 1 of Am. Sub. H.B. 350; and
(G) Section 2317.45 of the Revised Code.
Section 2.03. That sections 2744.01 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code as scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2002, be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2744.01.  As used in this chapter:
(A) "Emergency call" means a call to duty, including, but not limited to, communications from citizens, police dispatches, and personal observations by peace officers of inherently dangerous situations that demand an immediate response on the part of a peace officer.
(B) "Employee" means an officer, agent, employee, or servant, whether or not compensated or full-time or part-time, who is authorized to act and is acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, employee's, or servant's employment for a political subdivision. "Employee" does not include an independent contractor and does not include any individual engaged by a school district pursuant to section 3319.301 of the Revised Code. "Employee" includes any elected or appointed official of a political subdivision. "Employee" also includes a person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a criminal offense and who has been sentenced to perform community service work in a political subdivision whether pursuant to section 2951.02 of the Revised Code or otherwise, and a child who is found to be a delinquent child and who is ordered by a juvenile court pursuant to section 2152.19 or 2152.20 of the Revised Code to perform community service or community work in a political subdivision.
(C)(1) "Governmental function" means a function of a political subdivision that is specified in division (C)(2) of this section or that satisfies any of the following:
(a) A function that is imposed upon the state as an obligation of sovereignty and that is performed by a political subdivision voluntarily or pursuant to legislative requirement;
(b) A function that is for the common good of all citizens of the state;
(c) A function that promotes or preserves the public peace, health, safety, or welfare; that involves activities that are not engaged in or not customarily engaged in by nongovernmental persons; and that is not specified in division (G)(2) of this section as a proprietary function.
(2) A "governmental function" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) The provision or nonprovision of police, fire, emergency medical, ambulance, and rescue services or protection;
(b) The power to preserve the peace; to prevent and suppress riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages; to prevent, mitigate, and clean up releases of oil and hazardous and extremely hazardous substances as defined in section 3750.01 of the Revised Code; and to protect persons and property;
(c) The provision of a system of public education;
(d) The provision of a free public library system;
(e) The regulation of the use of, and the maintenance and repair of, roads, highways, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, bridges, aqueducts, viaducts, and public grounds;
(f) Judicial, quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, legislative, and quasi-legislative functions;
(g) The construction, reconstruction, repair, renovation, maintenance, and operation of buildings that are used in connection with the performance of a governmental function, including, but not limited to, office buildings and courthouses;
(h) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of jails, places of juvenile detention, workhouses, or any other detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code;
(i) The enforcement or nonperformance of any law;
(j) The regulation of traffic, and the erection or nonerection of traffic signs, signals, or control devices;
(k) The collection and disposal of solid wastes, as defined in section 3734.01 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, the operation of solid waste disposal facilities, as "facilities" is defined in that section, and the collection and management of hazardous waste generated by households. As used in division (C)(2)(k) of this section, "hazardous waste generated by households" means solid waste originally generated by individual households that is listed specifically as hazardous waste in or exhibits one or more characteristics of hazardous waste as defined by rules adopted under section 3734.12 of the Revised Code, but that is excluded from regulation as a hazardous waste by those rules.
(l) The provision or nonprovision, planning or design, construction, or reconstruction of a public improvement, including, but not limited to, a sewer system;
(m) The operation of a human services department or agency, including, but not limited to, the provision of assistance to aged and infirm persons and to persons who are indigent;
(n) The operation of a health board, department, or agency, including, but not limited to, any statutorily required or permissive program for the provision of immunizations or other inoculations to all or some members of the public, provided that a "governmental function" does not include the supply, manufacture, distribution, or development of any drug or vaccine employed in any such immunization or inoculation program by any supplier, manufacturer, distributor, or developer of the drug or vaccine;
(o) The operation of mental health facilities, mental retardation or developmental disabilities facilities, alcohol treatment and control centers, and children's homes or agencies;
(p) The provision or nonprovision of inspection services of all types, including, but not limited to, inspections in connection with building, zoning, sanitation, fire, plumbing, and electrical codes, and the taking of actions in connection with those types of codes, including, but not limited to, the approval of plans for the construction of buildings or structures and the issuance or revocation of building permits or stop work orders in connection with buildings or structures;
(q) Urban renewal projects and the elimination of slum conditions;
(r) Flood control measures;
(s) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, operation, care, repair, and maintenance of a township cemetery;
(t) The issuance of revenue obligations under section 140.06 of the Revised Code;
(u) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of any park, playground, playfield, indoor recreational facility, zoo, zoological park, bath, swimming pool, pond, water park, wading pool, wave pool, water slide, and other type of aquatic facility, or golf course;
(v) The provision of public defender services by a county or joint county public defender's office pursuant to Chapter 120. of the Revised Code;
(w) A function that the general assembly mandates a political subdivision to perform.
(D) "Law" means any provision of the constitution, statutes, or rules of the United States or of this state; provisions of charters, ordinances, resolutions, and rules of political subdivisions; and written policies adopted by boards of education. When used in connection with the "common law," this definition does not apply.
(E) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(F) "Political subdivision" or "subdivision" means a municipal corporation, township, county, school district, or other body corporate and politic responsible for governmental activities in a geographic area smaller than that of the state. "Political subdivision" includes, but is not limited to, a county hospital commission appointed under section 339.14 of the Revised Code, regional planning commission created pursuant to section 713.21 of the Revised Code, county planning commission created pursuant to section 713.22 of the Revised Code, joint planning council created pursuant to section 713.231 of the Revised Code, interstate regional planning commission created pursuant to section 713.30 of the Revised Code, port authority created pursuant to section 4582.02 or 4582.26 of the Revised Code or in existence on December 16, 1964, regional council established by political subdivisions pursuant to Chapter 167. of the Revised Code, emergency planning district and joint emergency planning district designated under section 3750.03 of the Revised Code, joint emergency medical services district created pursuant to section 307.052 of the Revised Code, fire and ambulance district created pursuant to section 505.375 of the Revised Code, joint interstate emergency planning district established by an agreement entered into under that section, county solid waste management district and joint solid waste management district established under section 343.01 or 343.012 of the Revised Code, and community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code.
(G)(1) "Proprietary function" means a function of a political subdivision that is specified in division (G)(2) of this section or that satisfies both of the following:
(a) The function is not one described in division (C)(1)(a) or (b) of this section and is not one specified in division (C)(2) of this section;
(b) The function is one that promotes or preserves the public peace, health, safety, or welfare and that involves activities that are customarily engaged in by nongovernmental persons.
(2) A "proprietary function" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) The operation of a hospital by one or more political subdivisions;
(b) The design, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, maintenance, and operation of a public cemetery other than a township cemetery;
(c) The establishment, maintenance, and operation of a utility, including, but not limited to, a light, gas, power, or heat plant, a railroad, a busline or other transit company, an airport, and a municipal corporation water supply system;
(d) The maintenance, destruction, operation, and upkeep of a sewer system;
(e) The operation and control of a public stadium, auditorium, civic or social center, exhibition hall, arts and crafts center, band or orchestra, or off-street parking facility.
(H) "Public roads" means public roads, highways, streets, avenues, alleys, and bridges within a political subdivision. "Public roads" does not include berms, shoulders, rights-of-way, or traffic control devices unless the traffic control devices are mandated by the Ohio manual of uniform traffic control devices.
(I) "State" means the state of Ohio, including, but not limited to, the general assembly, the supreme court, the offices of all elected state officers, and all departments, boards, offices, commissions, agencies, colleges and universities, institutions, and other instrumentalities of the state of Ohio. "State" does not include political subdivisions.
Sec. 2744.03.  (A) In a civil action brought against a political subdivision or an employee of a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to persons or property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function, the following defenses or immunities may be asserted to establish nonliability:
(1) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the employee involved was engaged in the performance of a judicial, quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, legislative, or quasi-legislative function.
(2) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the conduct of the employee involved, other than negligent conduct, that gave rise to the claim of liability was required by law or authorized by law, or if the conduct of the employee involved that gave rise to the claim of liability was necessary or essential to the exercise of powers of the political subdivision or employee.
(3) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the action or failure to act by the employee involved that gave rise to the claim of liability was within the discretion of the employee with respect to policy-making, planning, or enforcement powers by virtue of the duties and responsibilities of the office or position of the employee.
(4) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the action or failure to act by the political subdivision or employee involved that gave rise to the claim of liability resulted in injury or death to a person who had been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a criminal offense and who, at the time of the injury or death, was serving any portion of the person's sentence by performing community service work for or in the political subdivision whether pursuant to section 2951.02 of the Revised Code or otherwise, or resulted in injury or death to a child who was found to be a delinquent child and who, at the time of the injury or death, was performing community service or community work for or in a political subdivision in accordance with the order of a juvenile court entered pursuant to section 2152.19 or 2152.20 of the Revised Code, and if, at the time of the person's or child's injury or death, the person or child was covered for purposes of Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code in connection with the community service or community work for or in the political subdivision.
(5) The political subdivision is immune from liability if the injury, death, or loss to persons or property resulted from the exercise of judgment or discretion in determining whether to acquire, or how to use, equipment, supplies, materials, personnel, facilities, and other resources unless the judgment or discretion was exercised with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.
(6) In addition to any immunity or defense referred to in division (A)(7) of this section and in circumstances not covered by that division or sections 3314.07 and 3746.24 of the Revised Code, the employee is immune from liability unless one of the following applies:
(a) The employee's acts or omissions were manifestly outside the scope of the employee's employment or official responsibilities;
(b) The employee's acts or omissions were with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner;
(c) Liability is expressly imposed upon the employee by a section of the Revised Code. Liability shall not be construed to exist under another section of the Revised Code merely because that section imposes a responsibility or mandatory duty upon an employee, because of a general authorization in that section that an employee may sue and be sued, or because the section uses the term "shall" in a provision pertaining to an employee.
(7) The political subdivision, and an employee who is a county prosecuting attorney, city director of law, village solicitor, or similar chief legal officer of a political subdivision, an assistant of any such person, or a judge of a court of this state is entitled to any defense or immunity available at common law or established by the Revised Code.
(B) Any immunity or defense conferred upon, or referred to in connection with, an employee by division (A)(6) or (7) of this section does not affect or limit any liability of a political subdivision for an act or omission of the employee as provided in section 2744.02 of the Revised Code.
Section 2.04. That existing sections 2744.01 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code as scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2002, are repealed.
Section 2.05.  Sections 2.03 and 2.04 of this act take effect on January 1, 2002.
Section 3. (A) In Section 2.01 of this act:
(1) Sections 1701.95, 1707.01, 2305.25, 2305.251, 2305.37, 2307.60, 2307.61, 2743.18, 2743.19, 2744.01, 2744.02, 2744.03, 2744.05, 3123.17, 4112.02, 4507.07, 4513.263, 4582.27, and 5111.81 of the Revised Code, which have been amended by acts subsequent to their amendment by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly, are amended to remove matter inserted by, or to revive matter removed by, Am. Sub. H.B. 350. Amendments made by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 or the subsequent acts that are independent of the purposes of Am. Sub. H.B. 350 are retained.
(2) Section 1901.18 of the Revised Code, as amended subsequently to Sub. H.B. 350 by Am. Sub. S.B. 1 and Sub. H.B. 302 of the 122nd General Assembly, is amended to ratify a cross-reference correction made to the section by Am. Sub. H.B. 350.
(3) Sections 109.36, 2117.06, 2125.01, 2125.02, 2125.04, 2305.10, 2305.16, 2305.38, 2307.31, 2307.32, 2307.75, 2307.80, 2315.01, 2315.19, 2315.21, 2501.02, 2744.06, 3722.08, 4112.14, 4113.52, 4171.10, and 4399.18 of the Revised Code are revived and amended, supersede the versions of the same sections that are repealed by Section 2.02 of this act, and include amendments that gender neutralize the language of the sections (as contemplated by section 1.31 of the Revised Code) and that correct apparent error.
(4) Sections 163.17, 723.01, 1343.03, 1775.14, 2305.01, 2305.11, 2305.35, 2307.33, 2307.71, 2307.72, 2307.73, 2307.78, 2315.18, 2315.20, 2317.62, 2323.51, 2744.04, 4112.99, 4909.42, 5591.36, and 5591.37 of the Revised Code are revived and supersede the versions of the same sections that are repealed by Section 2.02 of this act.
(5) Notwithstanding its attempted repeal by Am. Sub. H.B. 350, section 2305.27 of the Revised Code is revived and amended to gender neutralize the language of the section.
(6) Former sections 2307.31 and 2307.80 of the Revised Code, as they existed prior to being renumbered by Am. Sub. H.B. 350, are revived and amended as explained in division (A)(2) of this section. Am. Sub. H.B. 350 renumbered former sections 2307.31 and 2307.80 of the Revised Code and reassigned their numbers to new sections. Only new sections 2307.31 and 2307.80 of the Revised Code, as enacted by Section 1 of Am. Sub. H.B. 350, are repealed by Section 2.02 of this act.
(7) Section 3123.17 of the Revised Code is amended as explained in division (A)(1) of this section to remove matter inserted into former section 3113.219 of the Revised Code by Am. Sub. H.B. 350. Am. Sub. S.B. 180 of the 123rd General Assembly amended and renumbered former section 3113.219 of the Revised Code as section 3123.17 of the Revised Code as part of its general revision of the child support laws. The amendments of Am. Sub. S.B. 180 are retained.
(B) The repeal by Section 2.02 of this act of:
(1) Sections 1901.041, 1901.17, 1901.181, 1901.20, 1901.262, 1905.032, and 1907.262 of the Revised Code as they result from Am. Sub. H.B. 350 is intended to enable the sections to remain in effect as they result from Am. Sub. H.B. 438 of the 121st General Assembly, 146 Ohio Laws 4823.
(2) Section 2317.45 of the Revised Code responds to the section having been held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Ohio's decision in Sorrell v. Thevenir (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 415.
(3) Section 3701.19 of the Revised Code as it results from Am. Sub. H.B. 350 is intended to enable the section to remain in effect as it results from Sub. H.B. 670 of the 121st General Assembly, 146 Ohio Laws 6440.
(C) In Section 2.03 of this act sections 2744.01 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code are amended effective January 1, 2002, to continue the amendments made to those sections by Section 2.01 of this act as explained in division (A)(1) of this section. Sections 2744.01 and 2744.03 were amended subsequently to Am. Sub. H.B. 350 by Am. Sub. S.B. 179 of the 123rd General Assembly, effective January 1, 2002.
Section 4. Because Am. Sub. H.B. 551 of the 123rd General Assembly takes effect on October 5, 2001:
(A) Section 1707.01 of the Revised Code, which is presented in this act as it results from Am. Sub. H.B. 551, takes effect as amended by this act on October 5, 2001.
(B) Divisions (CC), (DD), (EE), (FF), (GG), and (HH) of section 1707.01 of the Revised Code, which were inserted into the section by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly, are suspended on the effective date of this section, pending section 1707.01 of the Revised Code taking effect as amended by this act on October 5, 2001.
(C) Sections 1707.432, 1707.433, 1707.434, 1707.435, 1707.436, 1707.437, and 1707.438 of the Revised Code, which were enacted by Am. Sub. H.B. 350, are suspended on the effective date of this section, pending their repeal by Am. Sub. H.B. 551 taking effect on October 5, 2001.
Section 5.01. That Section 3 of Am. Sub. H.B. 438 of the 121st General Assembly, which was amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly, be amended to read as follows:
" Sec. 3. Sections 1 and 2 of Am. Sub. H.B. 438 of the 121st General Assembly shall take effect on July 1, 1997, except that section 2317.023 of the Revised Code, as amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 438 of the 121st General Assembly, shall take effect on the effective date of Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly."
Section 5.02. That existing Section 3 of Am. Sub. H.B. 438 of the 121st General Assembly is repealed.
Section 5.03. Notwithstanding the attempted amendment of Section 3 of Am. Sub. H.B. 438 by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly, section 2317.023 of the Revised Code, as enacted by Am. Sub. H.B. 438 of the 121st General Assembly, took effect on July 1, 1997.
Section 6. Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, and 16 of Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly are repealed.
Section 7. In sections contained in this act that have been amended by acts subsequent to their amendment by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly (other than section 1901.18 of the Revised Code), matter removed by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 is revived, and matter inserted by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 is removed, by amendment indicated as directed in rule 103-5-01 of the Administrative Code. But, notwithstanding rule 103-5-01 of the Administrative Code, in sections contained in this act that have not been amended by acts subsequent to their amendment by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 of the 121st General Assembly (1) matter removed by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 is revived by being reinserted without underlining, so as to indicate the intention that it is old law that is being revived and (2) matter inserted by Am. Sub. H.B. 350 is removed by being omitted, so as to indicate the intention that, by virtue of its noninclusion, it is being repealed because constitutionally meaningless. In section 1901.18 of the Revised Code, ratification of Sub. H.B. 350's cross-reference correction is indicated by amendment as directed in rule 103-5-01 of the Administrative Code.
Section 8.  Section 109.36 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub. H.B. 715 and Am. Sub. H.B. 571 of the 120th General Assembly. Section 4112.02 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. H.B. 264 and H.B. 471 of the 123rd General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composites are the resulting version of the sections in effect prior to the effective date of the sections as presented in this act.
Section 9. This act is an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for the necessity is that repeal of the Tort Reform Act and revival of prior law will clarify the status of law that is unsettled as a result of the act being held unconstitutional. Therefore, this act goes into immediate effect.
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