State ex rel. Nix v. Bath Twp., (Ohio 2011)

Ohio Supreme Court

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negligence – nuisance – immunity – political subdivision – maintenance – design – sewer – drainage – trespass

Summary


negligence – nuisance – immunity – political subdivision – maintenance – design – sewer – drainage – trespass

Text




[Cite as State ex rel. Nix v. Bath Twp., 2011-Ohio-5636.]

  STATE OF OHIO    )      IN THE COURT OF APPEALS          )ss:      NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT  COUNTY OF SUMMIT  )    STATE OF OHIO, ex rel.  C.A. No.  25633  DAVID M. NIX, et al.         Appellee      APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT   v.  ENTERED IN THE    COURT OF COMMON PLEAS  BATH TOWNSHIP, et al.  COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO    CASE No.  CV-2009-08-6109   Appellant    DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY    Dated: November 2, 2011                               WHITMORE,  Judge.  {¶1}  Defendant-Appellant, Bath Township, appeals from the order of the Summit  County Court of Common Pleas, denying its motion for summary judgment on the issue of  governmental immunity.  This Court affirms.  I  {¶2}  Plaintiff-Appellees, David and Sarah Nix (“the Nixes”) and Robert and Celeste  Eller (“the Ellers”), own adjoining lots located on Treecrest Drive in the Yellow Creek Woods  Subdivision of Bath Township.  One of the two water collection systems on Treecrest Drive  drains water from the road and other properties through a pipe, which discharges the water at the  boundary point of the Nixes’ and the Ellers’ properties.  As a result of the water discharging,  both properties sustained erosion damage.  In 1989, Bath Township added to the existing water  collection system, which had been installed by the County in the 1960s.  Specifically, Bath  Township installed additional drainage facilities, adding a catch basin, grating, extended 

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2  underground drainage piping, and top soil to help repair the erosion.  Bath Township did not take  any further action on the properties after the 1989 installation occurred.  {¶3}  During the 1990s, David Nix made several repairs and changes to the drainage  facilities that Bath Township installed.  In 1993, a pipe that Bath Township had installed pulled  away and Nix reconnected it.  In 1996, the same pipe pulled away again and, when he could not  reconnect it because it had filled with sand and debris, Nix bought a new pipe, positioned it over  the old pipe, and connected it to the system.  He also filled in the open drainage ditch near the  road, blocked the windows of the catch basin in the same area, built two weirs to slow the flow  of water, added French drains, and installed both underground perforated pipe in the filled-in  ditch and an alternate inlet that drained into the covered catch basin.  Bath Township was  unaware of the work that David Nix performed.  {¶4}  In 2009, the Nixes and the Ellers discovered that a portion of the drainage pipe  that Bath Township had installed in 1989 had torn apart.  The tear was situated above the point at  which the extension pipe previously had disconnected and been replaced by Nix.  As a result of  the break in the pipe, water flowed from that portion of the pipe rather than being carried to its  intended termination point.  The Nixes’ and the Ellers’ properties sustained serious erosion  damage due to the breakage of the pipe.  The Nixes and the Ellers contacted Bath Township after  the pipe tore and asked it to remedy the tear, but Bath Township declined to take any action to  remedy the tear.  {¶5}  On August 18, 2009, the Nixes and the Ellers brought suit against Bath Township,  alleging negligence, trespass, and nuisance and seeking a declaratory judgment, writ of  mandamus, and injunction.  Bath Township ultimately sought an award of summary judgment on  the grounds that all of the foregoing claims were barred both by the statute of limitations and its              

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3  own governmental immunity.  The parties filed stipulations of fact with the court on October 4,  2010.  On October 8, 2010, the Nixes and the Ellers filed a memorandum in opposition to Bath  Township’s motion for summary judgment.  The Nixes and the Ellers also filed their own motion  for summary judgment, asking the trial court to declare that Bath Township had an easement on  their properties “in the area of the storm water drainage system.”  On October 13, 2010, the trial  court granted the Nixes and the Ellers’ motion and concluded that Bath Township had an  easement on their properties and/or that they had dedicated a portion of their properties for  public use.  On October 14, 2010, the trial court denied Bath Township’s motion for summary  judgment and concluded that it was not immune from suit.  {¶6}  Bath Township now appeals from the trial court’s order and raises three  assignments of error for our review.  For ease of analysis, we consolidate two of the assignments  of error.  II  Assignment of Error Number One  “THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING BATH TOWNSHIP THE  BENEFIT OF IMMUNITY PURSUANT TO R.C. 2744.02(A) WHERE NONE  OF THE EXCEPTIONS OUTLINED IN R.C. 2744.02(B) APPLY.”  Assignment of Error Number Two  “THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DETERMINING THAT BATH TOWNSHIP  WAS NOT IMMUNE IN FINDING THAT BATH TOWNSHIP’S ACTIONS  WERE NOT DISCRETIONARY UNDER R.C. 2744.03.”  {¶7}  In its first and second assignments of error, Bath Township argues that the trial  court erred by denying its motion for summary judgment as to the Nixes and the Ellers’              

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4  negligence and nuisance claims.1  Specifically, Bath Township argues it was immune from  liability on those claims.  We disagree.    {¶8}  This Court reviews an award of summary judgment de novo.  Grafton v. Ohio  Edison Co. (1996), 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105.  Pursuant to Civ.R. 56(C), summary judgment is  proper if:  “(1) No genuine issue as to any material fact remains to be litigated; (2) the  moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) it appears from  the evidence that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and viewing  such evidence most strongly in favor of the party against whom the motion for  summary judgment is made, that conclusion is adverse to that party.”  Temple v.  Wean United, Inc. (1977), 50 Ohio St.2d 317, 327.  The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of informing the trial court of  the basis for the motion and pointing to parts of the record that show the absence of a genuine  issue of material fact.  Dresher v. Burt (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 280, 292-93.  Specifically, the  moving party must support the motion by pointing to some evidence in the record of the type  listed in Civ.R. 56(C).  Id.  Once this burden is satisfied, the non-moving party bears the burden  of offering specific facts to show a genuine issue for trial.  Id. at 293.  The non-moving party  may not rest upon the mere allegations and denials in the pleadings but instead must point to or  submit some evidentiary material that demonstrates a genuine dispute over a material fact.   Henkle v. Henkle (1991), 75 Ohio App.3d 732, 735.  {¶9}  Generally, political subdivisions are immune from civil liability “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                                                  1 Bath Township’s argument here also briefly references the Nixes and the Ellers’ trespass claim.   We reserve our discussion of that claim in this portion of the opinion, however, as it is the basis  for Bath Township’s third assignment of error.              

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5  function.”  R.C. 2744.02(A)(1).  Certain exceptions to that immunity exist, however, as set forth  in R.C. 2744.02(B).  One of those exceptions provides that a political subdivision will be liable  for damages caused to person or property “by the negligent performance of acts by their  employees with respect to proprietary functions of the political subdivisions.”  R.C.  2744.02(B)(2).  Accordingly, if a subdivision negligently causes damage while engaging in a  governmental function its immunity remains intact, but if it does so while engaging in a  proprietary function its immunity falters.  Bauer v. Brunswick, 9th Dist. No. 11CA0003-M,  2011-Ohio-4877, at ¶5.  The political subdivision then may seek to reestablish its immunity by  asserting one of the defenses to liability set forth in R.C. 2744.03(A).    Exceptions to Immunity  {¶10}  Bath Township first argues that the trial court erred by concluding that it was not  entitled to retain its general grant of immunity.  Bath Township avers that the Nixes and the  Ellers brought suit against it on the basis of a governmental function, not a propriety one.   Specifically, Bath Township argues that this case involves one of the following: (1) “[t]he  regulation of the use of, and the maintenance and repair of *** aqueducts *** and public  grounds”; (2) “[t]he provision or nonprovision, planning or design, construction, or  reconstruction of *** a sewer system”; or (3) a flood control measure.  R.C.  2744.01(C)(2)(e),(l),(r) (categorizing all three functions as governmental ones).  The trial court  rejected Bath Township’s arguments and determined that this matter involved “[t]he  maintenance, destruction, operation, and upkeep of a sewer system.”  R.C. 2744.01(G)(2)(d)  (categorizing such maintenance as a proprietary function).  The issue, therefore, is whether the  court erred by concluding that the undisputed facts demonstrate that Bath Township was  engaging in a proprietary function.              

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6  {¶11}  We first address Bath Township’s contention that it was entitled to retain its  general grant of immunity because the additional drainage facilities it installed here constituted  either “[t]he regulation of the use of, and the maintenance and repair of *** aqueducts *** and  public grounds” under R.C. 2744.01(C)(2)(e) or a flood control measure under R.C.  2744.01(C)(2)(r).  As to R.C. 2744.01(C)(2)(e), Bath Township did not offer any independent  analysis as to why that subsection might apply.  It simply grouped that subsection into its  discussion of its immunity for sewer system design under R.C. 2744.01(C)(2)(l) and did not set  forth any additional argument.  As set forth, infra, we reject Bath Township’s argument that R.C.  2744.01(C)(2)(l) applies here.  Thus, we similarly reject its unsupported conclusion that R.C.  2744.01(C)(2)(e) applies.    {¶12}  As to its argument that the drainage facilities constituted a flood control measure,  Bath Township relied upon one case, Engel v. Williams County, 6th Dist. No. F-07-027, 2008- Ohio-3852, and a single portion of deposition testimony where a Summit County Engineer  testified that the act of removing water from the roadway near the Nixes’ and the Ellers’  properties helped prevent flooding.  There was no evidence in the record, however, that the area  was prone to flooding in the least.  Bath Township’s own road superintendent, John Peltier,  testified in his deposition that he was not aware of any road flooding issue in that area during his  fifteen years as road superintendent.  Further, Engel is wholly inapplicable to the case at hand.   Engel involved Williams County’s struggle to keep one of its county roads free from standing  water and flooding, which the road frequently experienced after rainfall.  Engel at ¶2-4.   Specifically, the case revolved around the County’s maintenance of a ditch that was designed to  handle run-off water from the road and channel the water to an adjacent field through drains  situated in the ditch.  Id. at ¶17.  The case hinged upon the fact that the ditch was part of a major,              

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7  ongoing flood control effort on that road and never part of any sewer system.  Id.  The Sixth  District determined that the ditch was a flood control measure, and therefore a governmental  function, because the ditch’s purpose was to alleviate flooding and it was not connected to a  sewer system.  Id.    {¶13}  Unlike  Engel, the drainage facilities at issue here were part of a sewer system.   Bath Township connected the drainage facilities to the County’s existing drainage system on  Treecrest Drive.  Although the drainage facilities did move water that otherwise might have  accumulated elsewhere, Bath Township has not pointed to any law standing for the proposition  that the diversion of water, in and of itself, constitutes a flood control measure.  Were it  otherwise, every sewer system would be a flood control measure.  Here, there is no evidence that  the Treecrest Drive area had a problem with flooding.  The additional drainage facilities that  Bath Township installed simply carried the water collected from the County’s drainage system to  a lower termination point than it otherwise would have been deposited.  Bath Township failed to  demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact as to whether its actions constituted  a flood control measure.  As such, the trial court did not err by rejecting that argument.    {¶14}  The only remaining subsection under which Bath Township claimed a general  grant of immunity was R.C. 2744.01(C)(2)(l), which pertains to “[t]he provision or nonprovision,  planning or design, construction, or reconstruction of *** a sewer system.”  A distinction exists  between damages sustained to property as a result of a sewer system’s actual design and  damages sustained due to a political subdivision’s failure to perform routine maintenance on the  system, as designed.  Zimmerman v. County of Summit, Ohio (Jan. 15, 1997), 9th Dist. No.  17610, at *3.  A political subdivision is immune from damages caused by the negligent  installation of a faulty design (a governmental function), but not from damages caused by a              

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8  failure to maintain it (a proprietary function).  Compare Dowell v. North Canton (June 1, 1999),  5th Dist. No. 1998CA00290, at *1-3 (determining city was immune when it deviated from an  originally approved design and installed a drainage system whose slope, location, and pipe size  caused flooding on plaintiff’s property) with Nimishillen Twp. Trustees v. State ex rel. Groffre  Investments, 5th Dist. No. 2003CA00410, 2004-Ohio-3371, at ¶30-39 (concluding immunity did  not apply to city where claim was premised upon city’s failure to inspect and maintain a storm  water drainage system).  The Ohio Supreme Court has explained that:  “A municipality is not obliged to construct or maintain sewers, but when it does  construct or maintain them it becomes its duty to keep them in repair and free  from conditions which will cause damage to private property; and in the  performance of such duty the municipality is in the exercise of a ministerial or  proprietary function and not a governmental function within the rule of municipal  immunity from liability for tort.”  Doud v. Cincinnati (1949), 152 Ohio St. 132,  137.  A problem of design is one that, to rectify, “would require extensive redesigning and  reconstructing of the system to meet current demands.”  Zimmerman, at *3.  Maintenance  problems are classified as those that may be remedied through repairs, inspections, the removal  of obstructions, and attention to general deterioration.  Id.  See, also, Duvall v. Akron (Nov. 6,  1991), 9th Dist. No. 15110, at *2-3 (discussing distinction between design problems and  maintenance problems in the context of a city sewer system).  {¶15}  In its motion for summary judgment, Bath Township relied upon the deposition  testimony of David Nix and Phillip Degroot, an expert retained by the Nixes and the Ellers.  Nix  testified that a period of heavy rain occurred in April 2009 and the lots at issue sustained erosion  damage after a pipe that Bath Township installed in 1989 tore apart.  Nix opined that the pipe  failed because its diameter was too small to accommodate the amount and velocity of the water  that flowed in the pipe during a heavy downpour.  He also admitted that he made numerous              

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9  changes to the drainage system that Bath Township installed, all of which were designed to ease  the stem of water.  The changes included weirs that slowed down the water flow to give it time to  be absorbed in the system.  Further, he installed buried pipes and French drains on the sides of  the catch basin that was situated between the two properties.  He testified that before he made the  changes, he noticed problems with the catch basin back flushing in heavy rain, spilling over, and  creating runoff from the sides that caused erosion.  Nix also installed buried pipes in the ditch  near the road.  Nix testified that his “makeshift drain” near the road would sometimes clog and  allow water to flow over his lawn, but that he cleaned his drains and handled any problems  himself instead of contacting Bath Township.  Nix testified that he did not observe any  significant erosion problems on his property from April 1996 until March 2009, when Bath  Township’s pipe tore apart.  {¶16}  Degroot opined that the additional drainage facilities that Bath Township installed  in 1989 helped to ease the erosion problems that would have occurred on the properties at issue  had the County design been left intact.  He further opined, however, that Bath Township  incorrectly installed its pipe because it was not properly anchored given the steep slope it was on.   According to Degroot, the slope of the pipe, combined with its smaller diameter, caused water to  flow faster inside the pipe.  The overall effect was that the pipe vibrated, loosened without being  properly anchored, and ultimately fatigued and broke apart from the vibrations.  Degroot  specified that the pipe at issue broke at the point at which the slope changed and the vibrations  would have been significant.  {¶17}  Bath Township argues that all of the foregoing testimony supports the conclusion  that this was an issue of negligent design, not maintenance.  It argues that this case is analogous  to Dowell v. North Canton, in which the Fifth District determined that the City was not liable for              

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10  the damages caused by the drainage system it installed.  Dowell, at *4-5.  There, the direction of  the drainage pipes at issue, their location, their slope, and their diameter caused increased  flooding on the property owner’s land.  Id., at *1-2.  To alleviate the problems that the landowner  experienced, the installation of a multiple pipe system was necessary.  Id.  The Fifth District  concluded that, because the design of the system itself was the problem, the City could not be  held liable for the damages its design had caused.  Id., at *4-5 (classifying the problem as one of  design and concluding that the City had engaged in a governmental function for which it was  immune from liability).  Bath Township argues that, like Dowell, the damage the Nixes and the  Ellers experienced was a result of the slope and diameter of the drainage pipes that the City  installed; a problem of design.    {¶18}  Unlike the landowner in Dowell, however, the Nixes and the Ellers did not  experience any problems on their land for several years after Bath Township installed its  additional drainage facilities.  In 2009, when the pipe at issue finally tore apart, it was nearly  twenty years old.  The ultimate conclusion of the expert, upon whose testimony Bath Township  relies, was that the pipe broke due to fatigue.  Even if the design that Bath Township selected  caused the drainage pipe to fatigue more quickly than another design might have, it was  ultimately the fatigue that caused the pipe to fail and damage the property here, not the design  itself.  Bath Township stipulated that it did not take any action whatsoever to inspect, to  maintain, or to repair the additional drainage facilities it installed in 1989.  See Doud, 152 Ohio  St. at 137-38 (discussing political subdivision’s duty to maintain and to remain diligent and  protect against the deterioration and dilapidation of a sewer system).  It did not point to any  evidence demonstrating that a genuine issue of material fact existed with regard to the drainage  problem being one of design, rather than maintenance.  That is, Bath did not set forth a genuine              

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11  dispute that the damage here was caused by the design of its drainage facilities and not its failure  to maintain them over a twenty-year period.  See Zimmerman, at *2-3 (including as maintenance  problems those that are redressable by way of attention to “general deterioration”).    Consequently, the trial court did not err by determining that Bath Township was not entitled to a  general grant of immunity.  See R.C. 2744.02(B)(2) (defining one exception to general immunity  as the negligent performance of a proprietary function); R.C. 2744.01(G)(2)(d) (categorizing  sewer system maintenance as a proprietary function).  Defenses to Liability  {¶19}  R.C. 2744.03 provides, in relevant part, as follows:  “[A] 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.  “***  “[A] political subdivision is immune from liability if the injury, death, or loss to  person 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.”  R.C. 2744.03(A)(3),(5).  “Routine decisions are not shielded by immunity under R.C. 2744.03(A)(3) or 2744.03(A)(5).  A  ‘discretionary’ act necessarily involves ‘[s]ome positive exercise of judgment that portrays a  considered adoption of a particular course of conduct in relation to an object to be achieved[.]’”   Sturgis v. E. Union Twp., 9th Dist. No. 05CA0077, 2006-Ohio-4309, at ¶18 quoting Addis v.  Howell (2000), 137 Ohio App.3d 54, 60.  {¶20}  In asserting that it was entitled to have its immunity restored under either of the  foregoing subsections, Bath Township categorizes the Nixes and the Ellers’ suit as a challenge to              

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12  its discretionary decision to install additional drainage facilities.  Yet, the Nixes and the Ellers do  not take issue with Bath Township’s decision to install the drainage facilities here.  Much of the  deposition testimony elicited below, including that of David Nix, supports the conclusion that the  drainage facilities that Bath Township installed, when functioning properly, actually benefitted  the property owners.  The Nixes and the Ellers’ complaint stems from Bath Township’s failure to  maintain the drainage facilities, not its decision to install them in 1989.  Bath Township did not  point to any evidence that its failure to inspect or maintain the facilities over a twenty-year  period was the result of any discretionary decision.  See Sturgis at ¶17-19; Nimishillen Twp.  Trustees at ¶38 (concluding that township was not entitled to either defenses under R.C.  2744.03(A)(3) or (A)(5) because it “produced no evidence of upkeep or reasonable diligence in  the inspection and maintenance of the system”).  Compare Shumaker v. Park Lane Manor of  Akron, 9th Dist. No. 25212, 2011-Ohio-1052, at ¶20-21 (concluding that city had defense to  liability where it exercised discretion to address more pressing matters before attending to the  repair at issue).  As such, the trial court did not err by concluding that Bath Township could not  avail itself of the defenses to immunity set forth in R.C. 2744.03(A)(3) and (A)(5).  {¶21}  In sum, the trial court did not err by denying Bath Township’s motion for  summary judgment.  Bath Township failed to demonstrate the existence of any genuine issues of  material fact to show that it was immune from suit with regard to the Nixes and the Ellers’  negligence and nuisance claims.  As such, Bath Township’s first and second assignments of error  are overruled.  Assignment of Error Number Three  “THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING BATH TOWNSHIP THE  BENEFIT OF IMMUNITY AGAINST PLAINTIFFS’ TRESPASS CLAIM.”              

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13  {¶22}  In its third assignment of error, Bath Township argues that the trial court erred by  denying its motion for summary judgment on the Nixes and the Ellers’ claim for trespass.   Specifically, it argues that trespass is an intentional tort for which a political subdivision cannot  be held liable.  We need not address Bath Township’s argument for the reasons set forth below.  {¶23}  In their complaint, the Nixes and the Ellers stated a claim for trespass against  Bath Township based on the following assertion:  “31. Bath Township has collected water through the Treecrest Drainage System  and discharged that water through the Drainage System Extension onto a portion  of the Eller Property and the Nix Property resulting in severe erosion and other  damage thereto.  Said conduct is in violation of Bath Township’s continuing duty  to manage and control the water in the Treecrest Drainage System in a manner  that does not result in damage to private landowners.”  The Nixes and the Ellers later moved for summary judgment and asked the court for a  declaration that Bath Township had an easement on their properties, as evidenced by its  placement of drainage facilities there and its continual discharge of storm water onto their  properties.  On October 13, 2010, the trial court granted their motion and determined that Bath  Township had an express easement on the properties or, alternatively, that the portion of the  properties at issue was private land dedicated to public use.  The trial court relied upon the Nixes  and the Ellers’ desire to have the drainage facilities on their properties so long as the facilities  functioned correctly.  The court’s decision described the easement and/or dedication as  encompassing both the drainage facilities themselves and the area of land across which the  collected water discharged.  {¶24}  “A common-law tort in trespass upon real property occurs when a person, without  authority or privilege, physically invades or unlawfully enters the private premises of another  whereby damages directly ensue[.]”  (Emphasis added.)  Apel v. Katz (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 11,  19, quoting Linley v. DeMoss (1992), 83 Ohio App.3d 594, 598.  A theory that Bath Township              

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14  trespassed upon the Nixes and the Ellers’ property would be inconsistent with the theory that it  had an easement on the property or that the land was dedicated for its benefit.  The Nixes and the  Ellers conceded as much in their brief when they noted the following:  “Notably, Nix/Eller asserted a trespass claim in the alternative.  Nix/Eller first  sought the Court to recognize an easement possessed by Bath Township, and the  attendant responsibility to maintain that easement.  In the alternative, if no  easement existed, Bath Township was trespassing when it collected public water  for discharge onto the lands of Nix/Eller.”  (Emphasis added.)  Because the trial court determined that an easement did exist, that determination eliminated the  Nixes and the Ellers’ specific claim for trespass here.  Compare Carter v. Orrville, 9th Dist. No.  06CA0013, 2006-Ohio-6476, at ¶16-23 (involving claim that the scope of an easement had been  exceeded); Bell v. Joecken (Apr. 10, 2002), 9th Dist. No. 20705, at *2-3 (involving claim for the  obstruction of an existing easement).    {¶25}  The trial court did not affirmatively state that Bath Township was not entitled to  immunity with regard to the Nixes and the Ellers’ trespass claim.  Bath Township presumes that  the trial court reached that conclusion because the court denied its motion for summary  judgment.  The court’s ruling on that motion, however, focused entirely on the Nixes and the  Ellers’ negligence and nuisance claims, not their trespass claim.  The trial court did not  specifically address the status of the trespass claim.  Upon our review of the record, however,  that claim was resolved by virtue of the trial court’s October 13, 2010 entry, which concluded  that an easement and/or dedication existed.  While the trial court could have been clearer, its  conclusion that the Nixes and the Ellers gave Bath Township the right to enter their property is  akin to a conclusion that Bath Township did not trespass there.  See Apel, 83 Ohio St.3d at 19  (defining trespass as an unauthorized or unprivileged entry).                 

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15  {¶26}  The court did not deny Bath Township immunity on the trespass claim.  Rather,  the trial court did not reach that issue because of its ruling in response to the Nixes and the  Ellers’ motion for summary judgment.  Unlike the court’s ruling on Bath Township’s motion for  immunity, its ruling on the Nixes and the Ellers’ motion is not immediately appealable.  Should  the court’s ruling on the easement and/or dedication issue later prove incorrect, Bath Township’s  argument that it is entitled to immunity on the trespass claim could be raised.  At this time,  however, it is moot and we decline to address it.  See App.R. 12(A)(1)(c).  III  {¶27}  Bath Township’s first and second assignments of error are overruled.  Its third  assignment of error is moot.  The judgment of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas is  affirmed.  Judgment affirmed.            There were reasonable grounds for this appeal.    We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common  Pleas, County of Summit, State of Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution.  A certified copy  of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27.    Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of  judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the  period for review shall begin to run.  App.R. 22(E).  The Clerk of the Court of Appeals is  instructed to mail a notice of entry of this judgment to the parties and to make a notation of the  mailing in the docket, pursuant to App.R. 30.              

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16    Costs taxed to Appellant.                                            BETH WHITMORE                FOR THE COURT        BELFANCE, P. J.  MOORE, J.  CONCUR    APPEARANCES:    DAVID G. UTLEY, Attorney at Law, for Appellant.    TODD M. RASKIN, Attorney at Law, for Appellant.    HAMILTON DESAUSSURE, JR., BLAKE R. GERNEY, and COLIN G. SKINNER, Attorneys  at Law, for Appellee.              

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