[Cite as , 2016-Ohio-5247.] Court of Appeals of Ohio

[Cite as Snyder v. Grant, 2016-Ohio-5247.]

Court of Appeals of Ohio

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION No. 103796

CHARLES DAVID SNYDER

PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT vs.

KENNETH GRANT, ET AL.

DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES

JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED

Civil Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas

Case No. CV-12-791778 BEFORE: Jones, A.J., Keough, J., and E.T. Gallagher, J. RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: August 4, 2016

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT

Paul W. Flowers Paul W. Flowers Co. L.P.A. Terminal Tower, Suite 1910 50 Public Square Cleveland, Ohio 44113

John A. Demer James A. Marniella Marisa A. Marniella Demer & Marniella, L.L.C. 2 Berea Commons, Suite 200 Berea, Ohio 44017

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE

Eugene G. Godward Quillin Keith & Godward 135 Portage Trail P.O. Box 374 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44222

LARRY A. JONES, SR., A.J.: {?1} Plaintiff-appellant, Charles David Snyder, appeals from an order granting

judgment in favor of defendants-appellees, Kenneth Grant and Susan Grant Kalal. We find no merit to the appeal and affirm.

I. Facts and Procedural History {?2} This appeal is the second to arise out of a case that began with a sale leaseback transaction. In 2007, Snyder desired a large sum of cash for his business. At that time, he owned two residential properties: (1) a primary residence located in Lakewood, Ohio, and (2) a vacation home in Chautauqua County, New York. According to the complaint, Grant and his daughter, Kalal, agreed to purchase Snyder's properties for $4 million and allow Snyder to lease the properties with the possibility of eventually buying the properties back. To finance the purchase, Grant and Kalal used the properties as collateral to borrow in excess of $5 million. As part of the settlement for the funds, Grant and Kalal received $1 million. {?3} Following the sale, Snyder and his family continued to live in the two properties for several years. In August or September 2012, Kalal filed an eviction action in Lakewood Municipal Court and attached an unsigned copy of a lease agreement to the complaint. In the eviction complaint, Grant and Kalal alleged that Snyder was in default of the lease for failure to pay rent on the Lakewood house. The municipal court ordered Snyder to post a cash bond of $10,000, which represented one month's rent, on the first

business day of each month during the pendency of the eviction action. At first, Snyder complied with the court order and timely filed the bonds in the municipal court.

{?4} In September 2012, Snyder filed a complaint against appellees in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court seeking (1) a declaratory judgment stating he is the equitable owner of the properties, (2) injunctive relief enjoining Grant and Kalal from taking or selling the personal property in the homes, and (3) compensatory damages in an amount exceeding $100,000. Snyder moved to transfer the eviction action from municipal court to common pleas court. The municipal court granted the motion and transferred the eviction action to common pleas court.

{?5} Pursuant to the transfer order, Snyder posted bond in municipal court through December 2012. The transfer order directed Snyder to continue making monthly payments of $10,000 to the clerk of the common pleas court "unless otherwise directed" by the common pleas court. Snyder tried to make a bond payment in January 2013, but, according to him, the court's bailiff instructed him to "hold on to his check." Snyder did not make payments from January 2013 through July 2013.

{?6} Grant and Kalal moved the court to enforce its prior order requiring Snyder to make immediate bond deposits to the clerk of courts. Snyder opposed the motion and claimed that his signature on the lease had been forged. The trial court agreed with appellees and ordered Snyder to make bond payments.

{?7} Snyder deposited $10,000 with the court in August 2013. The following week, the court granted Grant and Kalal's motion to enforce the court's prior order and

ordered Snyder to file bond deposits of $10,000 for each of the seven months in 2013 during which he had not filed bond deposits.

{?8} Snyder did not post the payments as ordered. In September 2013, Grant and Kalal motioned for default judgment against Snyder and for dismissal of Snyder's claims against them. The court denied the motion but ordered Snyder to pay the bond deposits within 21 days of the order or warned that the court may reconsider its position. Specifically, the court ordered:

In addition, Plaintiff is ordered to file with the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts bond deposits in the amount of $10,000 for each month, beginning with September 2013, that plaintiff has resided in the Lakewood property at issue but failed to pay the court-ordered rent. Plaintiff shall file these bond deposits within twenty-one (21) days of the date of this order, or this court will reconsider dismissing the plaintiff's claims and/or granting a default judgment against plaintiff in defendant's favor. {?9} Snyder again failed to make the required deposits. In December 2013, appellees filed a renewed motion for judgment and dismissal. Snyder opposed the motion, again claiming that his signature on the lease agreement had been forged. This time, the trial court granted appellees' motion and entered judgment in their favor. In its journal entry, the trial court stated, in relevant part: At multiple pretrial conferences, this plaintiff's counsel presented their argument that the lease agreements were invalid. This court, after hearing their arguments, still issued three court orders which plaintiff disobeyed. * * * Plaintiff's only excuse for disobeying court orders is that he did not agree

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