Riverside Drive Ents., L.L.C. v. Geotechnology, Inc. , 2023 Ohio 583 ( 2023 )

[Cite as Riverside Drive Ents., L.L.C. v. Geotechnology, Inc., 2023-Ohio-583.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO
HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO
RIVERSIDE DRIVE ENTERPRISES, : APPEAL NO. C-220099
LLC, TRIAL NO. A-2004462
:
and
: O P I N I O N.
COLLINS RIVERSIDE
DEVELOPMENT, LLC, :
Plaintiffs-Appellants, :
vs. :
GEOTECHNOLOGY, INC, :
:
S.P. CONTRACTING, LLC, d.b.a S.P.
DRILLING & CONTRACTING, :
and :
EVANS LANDSCAPING, INC., :
Defendants-Appellees :
vs. :
CARDINAL ENGINEERING
CORPORATION :
Third-Party Defendant. :
Civil Appeal From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas
Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed
Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: March 1, 2023
OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
Lindhorst & Dreidame Co. L.P.A. and Barry F. Fagel, for Plaintiffs-Appellants,
Freud, Freeze & Arnold and Shawn M. Blatt, for Defendant-Appellee Geotechnology,
Inc.,
Reminger Co., L.P.A. and Timothy B. Spille, for Defendant-Appellee S.P. Contracting,
LLC, d.b.a S.P. Drilling & Contracting,
Santen & Hughes and Brian P. O’Connor, for Defendant-Appellee Evans Landscaping,
Inc.
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OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
CROUSE, Judge.
{¶1} Plaintiffs-appellants Riverside Drive Enterprises, LLC, and Collins
Riverside Development, LLC, (collectively, “appellants”) undertook development of a
restaurant, gas station, and drive-thru mini-mart on a single project site in Cincinnati,
Ohio. When construction of a retaining wall on the project site did not meet appellants’
expectations, they filed a complaint against the contractors that were hired to plan,
design, and build it: Geotechnology, Inc., (“Geotechnology), S.P. Contracting, LLC,
d.b.a. S.P. Drilling & Contracting (“S.P. Drilling”), and Evans Landscaping, Inc.,
(“Evans Landscaping”) (collectively, “appellees”). After discovery closed, appellees
moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted summary judgment and
appellants now appeal. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the trial
court.
Factual and Procedural Background
{¶2} In December 2020, appellants filed a complaint against the appellees
alleging breach of contract and negligence. Appellants also sought a declaratory
judgment against Geotechnology regarding a disputed settlement agreement.
Appellants demanded damages from each defendant in excess of $25,000, plus costs,
fees, and interest. All defendants filed answers to the complaint. In addition to its
answer, Evans Landscaping filed a cross-claim against each codefendant for
contribution and indemnification, and a third-party complaint against Cardinal
Engineering Corporation for the same.1
{¶3} In March 2021, the trial court journalized a case-management order
that set a deadline of June 25, 2021, for appellants to identify and produce their expert
1 Cardinal Engineering Corporation is not a party to this appeal.
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OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
reports. The deadline for appellees’ expert reports was July 23, 2021. The discovery
cut-off date was September 24, 2021. A jury trial was scheduled for January 31, 2022.
{¶4} On June 24, 2021, appellants shared their expert reports via email.2 The
first report, prepared by civil engineer Anthony Amicon, is titled “Engineer’s Opinion
of Probable Construction Cost.” This two-page report is an itemized breakdown of the
estimated work needed to repair the wall—$1.2 million in total. Appellants also
provided a one-page document titled “Retaining Wall & Hillside Stabilization Design
& Construction Support Fee Estimate Summary” dated January 22, 2021, though it is
not clear on the record before us if Amicon also authored this estimate. Appellees also
produced their respective reports.
{¶5} In October 2021, Geotechnology and S.P. Drilling (later joined by Evans
Landscaping) moved for summary judgment. The thrust of their arguments was that
appellants failed to produce an expert opinion sufficient to overcome summary
judgment as it relates to the standard of care, or any breach of that standard.
{¶6} On December 6, 2021, appellants responded to the motions and filed an
affidavit from Amicon (the “Amicon Affidavit”) that provided opinion testimony about
the condition of the retaining wall and placed blame on Geotechnology and S.P.
Drilling. In response, Geotechnology and S.P. Drilling filed a joint motion to strike the
Amicon Affidavit. They argued, among other things, that the affidavit was untimely
and the opinions included in the affidavit were not included in appellants’ initial
expert reports and thus did not comply with Civ.R. 26(B)(7).
2 In their response to appellees’ motions for summary judgment, appellants later referred to the
reports as merely being “preliminary.”
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OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
{¶7} On January 11, 2022, the court held a hearing on the pending motions
for summary judgment and the joint motion to strike. After hearing argument by the
parties, the court orally announced its decision to grant the motion to strike and the
motions for summary judgment. The court held that the initial expert reports were not
expert reports at all and were merely “cost-analysis construction.” Regarding the
Amicon Affidavit, the court held that it too did not meet the definition of an expert
report, and even if it did, it was late. The court further held that even if the initial
reports were considered to be expert reports, the Amicon Affidavit was not a
supplemental report under the civil rules. Because the appellants did not have any
expert opinion to refute the opinions offered by the appellees, the court found that
there were no genuine issues of material fact.
{¶8} On January 21, 2022, appellants filed a “motion for reconsideration
and/or, in the alternative, for deferral of entry of order.” In their motion, appellants
argued that the Amicon Affidavit should not have been stricken because, given the
delay in jury trials due to COVID-19, appellees would have time to depose Amicon
before trial and would not be prejudiced. On January 31, 2022, the court denied the
motion. On February 7, 2022, the court entered a written order granting the motion
to strike and the motions for summary judgment “pursuant to the court’s findings and
reasons stated on the record.”
{¶9} Appellants timely appealed. In three assignments of error, appellants
contend that the trial court erred by granting the motion to strike and the motions for
summary judgment, and by denying appellants’ motion for reconsideration.
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OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
Motion to Strike
{¶10} Appellants argue that the trial court erred by striking the Amicon
Affidavit because it complied with the civil rules and properly supplemented Amicon’s
initial expert reports. Appellees respond that the affidavit was properly stricken
because it was untimely and did not properly supplement the initial reports.
{¶11} This court reviews a trial court’s ruling on a motion to strike for an abuse
of discretion. Beattie v. McCoy, 2018-Ohio-2535, 115 N.E.3d 867, ¶ 25 (1st Dist.),
citing Siegel v. LifeCenter Organ Donor Network, 2011-Ohio-6031, 969 N.E.2d 1271,
¶ 43 (1st Dist.); see O’Brien v. Angley, 63 Ohio St.2d 159, 163, 407 N.E.2d 490 (1980)
(“when the trial court determines that certain evidence will be admitted or excluded
from trial, it is well established that the order or ruling of the court will not be reversed
unless there has been a clear and prejudicial abuse of discretion”).
{¶12} The rules governing discovery are intended to, among other things,
“eliminate surprise.” Jones v. Murphy, 12 Ohio St.3d 84, 86, 465 N.E.2d 444 (1984).
“This is accomplished by way of a discovery procedure which mandates a free flow of
accessible information between the parties upon request, and which imposes
sanctions for failure to timely respond to reasonable inquiries.” Id. “Pursuant to Civ.R.
37(B)(1), a court may ‘issue further just orders’ when a party ‘fails to obey an order to
provide or permit discovery.’ ” Crutcher v. Oncology/Hematology Care, Inc., 1st Dist.
Hamilton Nos. C-220086 and C-220106, 2022-Ohio-4105, ¶ 52. One such sanction is
the exclusion of evidence. State ex rel. Dewine v. ARCO Recycling, Inc., 8th Dist.
Cuyahoga No. 110703, 2022-Ohio-1758, ¶ 54.
{¶13} Civ.R. 26(B)(7) provides guidelines for the disclosure of expert
testimony. The rule sets forth several requirements relevant to this appeal: First,
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Civ.R. 26(B)(7)(b) provides that “[t]he parties shall submit expert reports and
curricula vitae in accordance with the time schedule established by the court.” See
Loc.R. 15(A) of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County (providing that the
court’s case-management order shall “include definite dates for the completion of all
discovery * * * [and] the identification of any expert witness and their opinions * * *.”).
Those expert reports, “must disclose a complete statement of all opinions and the basis
and reasons for them as to each matter on which the expert will testify.” Civ.R.
26(B)(7)(c). And “[a]n expert will not be permitted to testify or provide opinions on
matters not disclosed in his or her report.” Id.{¶14} Were we to consider the Amicon Affidavit as a new expert report, it
failed to comply with the trial court’s case-management order because it was filed over
two months after the discovery cut-off date, and over five months after appellants’
deadline to disclose experts and associated expert reports. On this basis alone, the
court’s decision to strike the affidavit was not an abuse of discretion. See Myers v.
John A. Hudec Cleveland Dental Ctr. Inc., 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 110328, 2022-Ohio-
80, ¶ 33 (holding that trial court’s exclusion of expert affidavit was not an abuse of
discretion where it was filed late).
{¶15} Appellants argue that the affidavit was timely because it was simply a
supplement to the initial expert reports. Civ.R. 26(E)(1) provides “A party is under a
duty seasonably to supplement his response with respect to any question directly
addressed to * * * (b) the identity of each person expected to be called as an expert
witness at trial and the subject matter on which he is expected to testify.” A court may
exclude expert testimony for violations of the rule. See Jones, 12 Ohio St.3d 84, 465
N.E.2d 444 (1984), at paragraph one of the syllabus.
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{¶16} During the discovery process, both Geotechnology and S.P. Drilling
made requests for full expert disclosure including expert opinions and analysis. Yet,
appellants consistently referred to the initial expert reports, and failed to supplement
their responses with the opinions later included in the Amicon Affidavit. Only after a
motion for summary judgment was filed, did appellants produce the Amicon Affidavit,
clearly in an attempt to avoid summary judgment. It is undisputed that the
information in the affidavit was known to appellants at the time the initial reports were
filed. The affidavit did nothing to clarify the original reports. Rather, the affidavit
contains an entirely new opinion about a new issue—the standard of care. That is not
supplementation. See, e.g., Ullman v. Auto-Owners Mut. Ins. Co., S.D.Ohio No. 2:05-
cv-1000, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25590, 10 (Apr. 5, 2007) (“It is not mere
‘supplementation’ when a party submits a manifestly incomplete report lacking
analysis or a supporting rationale, waits for the summary judgment deadline to pass,
and then submits a fuller report that contains actual reasoning.”).
{¶17} For all of these reasons, the court did not abuse its discretion in striking
the Amicon Affidavit. The first assignment of error is overruled.
Motion for Summary Judgment
{¶18} In their second assignment of error, appellants argue that the trial court
erred when it granted summary judgment in favor of appellees. Appellants argue that
there is sufficient expert testimony in the record to create a genuine issue of material
fact.
{¶19} We review a trial court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Helton v.
Fifth Third Bank, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-210451, 2022-Ohio-1023, ¶ 12, citing
Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co., 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105, 671 N.E.2d 241 (1996). “Summary
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OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
judgment is appropriately granted when there exists no genuine issue of material fact,
the party moving for summary judgment is entitled to judgment as a matter of law,
and the evidence, when viewed in favor of the nonmoving party, permits only one
reasonable conclusion that is adverse to that party.” Id.{¶20} The moving parties bear the initial burden of “demonstrat[ing] the
absence of a genuine issue of material fact as to the essential elements of the case.”
Heiert v. Crossroads Community Church, Inc., 1st Dist. Hamilton Nos. C-200244 and
C-200391, 2021-Ohio-1649, ¶ 38, citing Dresher v. Burt, 75 Ohio St.3d 280, 292, 662
N.E.2d 264 (1996). If that burden is satisfied, the burden then shifts to the nonmoving
party “to ‘set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ”
Dresher at 293, quoting Civ.R. 56(E).
{¶21} Appellants’ complaint alleges that appellees failed to meet the
applicable standards of care related to their respective duties. Whether a contractor
exercises reasonable care depends upon the standards which others in the profession
must follow. Simon v. Drake Constr. Co., 87 Ohio App.3d 23, 26, 621 N.E.2d 837 (8th
Dist.1993) (discussing the standard of care for licensed architects); Moore v. Covenant
Care Ohio, Inc., 2014-Ohio-4113, 18 N.E.3d 1260, ¶ 44 (6th Dist.) (“Professionals must
exercise reasonable care and skill that a reasonable professional would have done
under the circumstances.”). “Expert testimony is required to establish the standard of
care, unless the lack of skill or care of the professional is so apparent as to be within
the comprehension of a layperson and requires only common knowledge and
experience to understand it.” Simon at 26; see Staph v. Sheldon, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga
No. 91619, 2009-Ohio-122, ¶ 18.
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{¶22} The parties acknowledge, and we agree, that both the negligence and
breach-of-contract claims require expert testimony to establish the standard of care
and whether there was a breach of that standard.
{¶23} With regard to Geotechnology’s and S.P. Drilling’s motions for
summary judgment, appellants contend that the opinions in the Amicon Affidavit
create a genuine issue of material fact that precludes summary judgment in favor of
appellees. However, we have already held that the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in striking the Amicon Affidavit. Appellants did not put forth the required
expert testimony to create a genuine issue of material fact and overcome
Geotechnology’s and S.P. Drilling’s motions for summary judgment. Thus, summary
judgment was properly granted in favor of Geotechnology and S.P. Drilling.
{¶24} While appellants admit that the stricken affidavit did not reference
Evans Landscaping at all, they contend that the opinion testimony of the experts
retained by Geotechnology and third-party defendant Cardinal Engineering
Corporation support their claims against Evans Landscaping. However, appellants
failed to disclose to Evans Landscaping their intent to use these experts against them.
Pursuant to Civ.R. 26(B)(7)(a), such disclosure is required. See Civ.R. 26(B)(7)(a) (“A
party must disclose to the other parties the identity of any witness it may use at trial
to present evidence under Ohio Rule of Evidence 702, 703, or 705.”). Thus, appellants
are also without expert testimony on the standard of care as it relates to Evans
Landscaping. Accordingly, summary judgment was properly granted in favor of Evans
Landscaping.
{¶25} The second assignment of error is overruled.
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Motion for Reconsideration
{¶26} In their third assignment of error, appellants argue that their “motion
for reconsideration and/or, in the alternative, for deferral of entry of order” should
have been granted. Appellants contend that appellees would not have been prejudiced
by the Amicon Affidavit because, shortly after the court orally announced its decision,
jury trials in Hamilton County were temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19
pandemic. Therefore, appellants contend that appellees would have had additional
time to depose Amicon prior to trial. Appellees argue that the Ohio Rules of Civil
Procedure do not allow for motions for reconsideration after a final judgment by the
trial court.
{¶27} Appellants’ motion for reconsideration was filed after the court orally
announced its decision at the hearing, but before the court journalized its final
judgment entry. See Civ.R. 54(A) (defining judgment as “a written entry ordering or
declining to order a form of relief, signed by a judge, and journalized on the docket of
the court.”). Thus, the judge’s oral announcement was interlocutory and the motion
for reconsideration was properly before the court. See Nelson v. Powers, 11th Dist.
Geauga No. 2015-G-0031, 2016-Ohio-1159, ¶ 16, citing Pitts v. Ohio Dept. of Transp.,
67 Ohio St.2d 378, 379, 423 N.E.2d 1105 (1981), fn. 1 (“Although Ohio’s Civil Rules do
not specifically provide for a motion for reconsideration of interlocutory orders of a
trial court, the Ohio Supreme Court has stated that such a motion is a permissible
procedural tool.”). And we review the court’s decision for an abuse of discretion. See
id. at ¶ 16.
{¶28} The trial court gave several reasons for why it struck the Amicon
Affidavit, none of which focused on any perceived prejudice that the defendants would
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suffer due to the impending trial date. The trial court’s decision to strike the affidavit
rested on the fact that appellants did not comply with the discovery rules or the trial
court’s case-management order. Appellants have not demonstrated, nor do we hold,
that a later trial date would have impacted the court’s conclusion. It was not an abuse
of discretion for the court to deny the motion for reconsideration. The third
assignment of error is overruled.
Conclusion
{¶29} In light of the foregoing analysis, we overrule all three assignments of
error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Judgment affirmed.
ZAYAS, P. J., and WINKLER, J., concur.
Please note:
The court has recorded its entry on the date of the release of this opinion.
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