Points of Practice
Supreme Court
of Ohio: 2021 Year in Review BY SAŠA TRIVUNIĆ
In this second edition of the Supreme Court of Ohio Year in Review, we look at cases that addressed some basics of civil litigation such as the pleading requirements, rules of evidence, and elements of negligence. This year, the Court also addressed a school board resolution to arm teachers and the time limitations for confirming arbitration awards, among others.
Snay v. Burr, Slip Op. No. 2021-Ohio-4113i This case is about a widely asserted cause of action: negligence. Specifically, it’s about the duty of care that owners of land adjacent to a public road owe to errant drivers. According to the Court, the answer is “not very much.” Before Snay, an adjacent landowner did not owe a duty of care to a driver who left the regularly traveled portion of the road and hit an object in the right-of-way (i.e., the easement acquired when the road was built, such as the shoulder, a berm, or a ditch.) Snay asked the Supreme Court to create an exception to this rule and find that an adjacent landowner owes a duty of care to an errant
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