OH · rules

Ohio App.R. 12

Determination and Judgment on Appeal

activein force · 2015-07-01 – presentact-effective-date

(A) Determination

(1) On an undismissed appeal from a trial court, a court of appeals shall do all of the

following:

(a) Review and affirm, modify, or reverse the judgment or final order

appealed;

(b) Determine the appeal on its merits on the assignments of error set

forth in the briefs under App.R. 16, the record on appeal under

App.R. 9, and, unless waived, the oral argument under App.R. 21;

assignment of error, decide each assignment of error and give

reasons in writing for its decision.

(2) The court may disregard an assignment of error presented for review if the party

raising it fails to identify in the record the error on which the assignment of error is

based or fails to argue the assignment separately in the brief, as required under

App.R. 16(A).

(B) Judgment as a matter of law

When the court of appeals determines that the trial court committed no error prejudicial to

the appellant in any of the particulars assigned and argued in appellant's brief and that the

appellee is entitled to have the judgment or final order of the trial court affirmed as a matter

of law, the court of appeals shall enter judgment accordingly. When the court of appeals

determines that the trial court committed error prejudicial to the appellant and that the

appellant is entitled to have judgment or final o rder rendered in his favor as a matter of

law, the court of appeals shall reverse the judgment or final order of the trial court and

render the judgment or final order that the trial court should have rendered, or remand the

cause to the court with instruc tions to render such judgment or final order. In all other

cases where the court of appeals determines that the judgment or final order of the trial

court should be modified as a matter of law it shall enter its judgment accordingly.

judgment of trial court is against the manifest weight of the evidence

(1) In any civil action or proceeding that was tried to the trial court without the

intervention of a jury, and when upon appeal a majority of the judges hearing the

appeal find that the judgment or final order rendered by the trial court is against the

manifest weight of the evidence and have not found any other prejudicial error of

the trial court in any of the particulars assigned and argued in the appellant's brief,

and have not found that the appellee is entitled to judgment or final order as a matter

of law, the court of appeals shall reverse the judgment or final order of the trial

court and either weigh the evidence in the record and render the judgment or final

order that the trial court should have rendered on that evidence or remand the case

to the trial court for further proceedings.

(2) In any civil action or proceeding that was tried to a jury, and when upon appeal all

three judges hearing the appeal find that the judgment or final order rendered by

the trial court on the jury’s verdict is against the manifest weight of the evidence

and have not found any other prejudicial error of the trial court in any of the

particulars assigned and argued in the appellant's brief, and have not found that the

appellee is entitled to judgment or final order as a matter of law, the court of appeals

shall reverse the judgment or final order of the trial court and remand the case to

the trial court for further proceedings.

(D) All other cases

In all other cases where the court of appeals finds error prejudicial to the appellant, the

judgment or final order of the trial court shall be reversed and the cause shall be remanded

to the trial court for further proceedings.

History

Effective Date: July 1, 1971 Amended: July 1, 1973; July 1, 1992; July 1, 2015 Staff Note (July 1, 2015 Amendment) App.R. 12(C) is amended to avoid the implication of the former rule that a reversal on the manifest weight of the evidence was not available in civil cases tried to a jury. See Eastley v. Volkman, 4th Dist. Scioto Nos. 09CA3308, 09CA3309, 2010- Ohio-4771, ¶ 58 (Kline, J., dissenting), citing Painter & Pollis, Ohio Appellate Practice, Section 7:19 (2009- 2010 Ed.), rev’d, 132 Ohio St.3d 328, 2012- Ohio-2179, 972 N.E.2d 517. The amendment clarifies that a manifest-weight reversal is available in civil cases tried t o a jury, but there are distinctions. In a civil case tried to a court without a jury, a majority of the appellate court may reverse, and it may either remand the case for a new trial or enter judgment for the appellee. By contrast, in a case tried to a jury, a reversal on the manifest weight of the evidence must be unanimous, see Ohio Constitution, Article IV, Section 3(B)(3), and the trial court is permitted to reverse and remand, not to enter judgment for the appellee. See Hanna v. Wagner, 39 Ohio St.2d 64, 313 N.E.2d 842 (1974). In addition, the amendments remove the restriction in the current rule allowing an appellate court to reverse a judgment based on the manifest weight of the evidence only once in either instance.

Provenance

Source: supremecourt.ohio.gov
Retrieved: 2026-09-14
Edition: 2026-09-14
Content hash: 2d455493ca271d8b5d0af71ffe03c40f7f7ffc366151c04a09df8c90a6c37cb5

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