Saturday, August 07, 2010
RABBINICAL COLLEGE OF TELSHE, INC. v. U.S. BANK
Rabbinical College of Telshe, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
U.S. Bank, et al., Defendants.
[Appeal By Rabbi Zalmen Gifter].
No. 93643.
Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County.
RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: August 5, 2010.
Stephen M. O'Bryan, Patrick J. Krebs, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP, 3500 BP Tower, 200 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44114-2302, Attorneys for Appellant Rabbi Zalmen Gifter.
Joel Levin, Christopher M. Vlasich, Aparesh Paul, Levin & Associates Co., LPA, The Tower at Erieview, Suite 1100, 1301 East 9th Street, Cleveland, OH 44114, Attorneys for Appellee.
Kerin Lyn Kaminski, Melissa A. Laubenthal, Giffen & Kaminski, LLC, 1300 East 9th Street, Suite 1600, Cleveland, OH 44114, Attorneys for Defendant U.S. Bank.
Jay E. Krasovec, Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn Co., LPA, 1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1400, Cleveland, OH 44115, Attorney for Defendant Chase Bank.
Before: Stewart, J., McMonagle, P.J., and Cooney, J.
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
MELODY J. STEWART, J.
{¶ 1} This is an appeal from the judgment of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas denying appellant Rabbi Zalmen Gifter's motion to intervene and granting plaintiff-appellee Rabbinical College of Telshe, Inc. ("Telshe"), through its board of trustees ("the Board"), a permanent injunction against two of the banks that housed the college's accounts. Appellant assigns three errors challenging the trial court's denial of his motion to intervene, the grant of a permanent injunction, and the denial of his motions for reconsideration and relief from judgment. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.
{¶ 2} Telshe is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated in Ohio in 1941 to provide traditional Jewish scholarship and learning. Located in Wickliffe, Ohio, Telshe provides an Orthodox high school, a teachers' seminary, and training for the rabbinate. On June 15, 2009, Telshe, through its Board, filed a complaint seeking injunctive relief against U.S. Bank, Chase Bank, Key Corp, Amtrust Bank, and Huntington Bank after the banks refused to allow the Board to replace the names of the signatories on the college's accounts with newly appointed signatories. The complaint alleged that the persons named on the accounts were no longer authorized to act on behalf of the college and, as a result, there was no one with authority to act on the accounts. The complaint alleged immediate and irreparable harm from the banks' refusal to allow the college to place on the accounts the names of those authorized by the Board to act on behalf of Telshe.
{¶ 3} The trial court granted Telshe's application for a temporary restraining order ("TRO") and ordered the banks to take action only upon the direction of the newly appointed signatories. A hearing on the matter was set for June 29, 2009. Prior to the hearing, the college voluntarily dismissed its claims against three of the defendant banks, leaving only Chase and U.S. Bank in the action.
{¶ 4} Appellant Gifter, a former member of the Board, filed a motion to intervene in the action and a motion to dissolve the TRO. The Board opposed intervention and supported the opposition with a copy of a document translated from the Hebrew language captioned "Agreement of the Members of the Board of the Telshe Yeshiva," dated April 24, 2007, and signed by the eight Rabbis, including appellant, who constituted the Board of the Rabbinical College at that time. By their signatures on the document, the individual members agreed, among other things, that "all matters of administration of the Yeshiva, whether in spiritual matters or in materialistic matters or in financial matters, shall be decided pursuant to the determination of a majority of Board members. An individual Board member has no power or authorization to do anything on Yeshiva matters on his own say without the consent of the members of the Board [to determine which matters are in this category is subject to a decision by the members of the Board.]"
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=inohco20100805499
v.
U.S. Bank, et al., Defendants.
[Appeal By Rabbi Zalmen Gifter].
No. 93643.
Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County.
RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: August 5, 2010.
Stephen M. O'Bryan, Patrick J. Krebs, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP, 3500 BP Tower, 200 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44114-2302, Attorneys for Appellant Rabbi Zalmen Gifter.
Joel Levin, Christopher M. Vlasich, Aparesh Paul, Levin & Associates Co., LPA, The Tower at Erieview, Suite 1100, 1301 East 9th Street, Cleveland, OH 44114, Attorneys for Appellee.
Kerin Lyn Kaminski, Melissa A. Laubenthal, Giffen & Kaminski, LLC, 1300 East 9th Street, Suite 1600, Cleveland, OH 44114, Attorneys for Defendant U.S. Bank.
Jay E. Krasovec, Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn Co., LPA, 1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1400, Cleveland, OH 44115, Attorney for Defendant Chase Bank.
Before: Stewart, J., McMonagle, P.J., and Cooney, J.
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
MELODY J. STEWART, J.
{¶ 1} This is an appeal from the judgment of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas denying appellant Rabbi Zalmen Gifter's motion to intervene and granting plaintiff-appellee Rabbinical College of Telshe, Inc. ("Telshe"), through its board of trustees ("the Board"), a permanent injunction against two of the banks that housed the college's accounts. Appellant assigns three errors challenging the trial court's denial of his motion to intervene, the grant of a permanent injunction, and the denial of his motions for reconsideration and relief from judgment. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.
{¶ 2} Telshe is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated in Ohio in 1941 to provide traditional Jewish scholarship and learning. Located in Wickliffe, Ohio, Telshe provides an Orthodox high school, a teachers' seminary, and training for the rabbinate. On June 15, 2009, Telshe, through its Board, filed a complaint seeking injunctive relief against U.S. Bank, Chase Bank, Key Corp, Amtrust Bank, and Huntington Bank after the banks refused to allow the Board to replace the names of the signatories on the college's accounts with newly appointed signatories. The complaint alleged that the persons named on the accounts were no longer authorized to act on behalf of the college and, as a result, there was no one with authority to act on the accounts. The complaint alleged immediate and irreparable harm from the banks' refusal to allow the college to place on the accounts the names of those authorized by the Board to act on behalf of Telshe.
{¶ 3} The trial court granted Telshe's application for a temporary restraining order ("TRO") and ordered the banks to take action only upon the direction of the newly appointed signatories. A hearing on the matter was set for June 29, 2009. Prior to the hearing, the college voluntarily dismissed its claims against three of the defendant banks, leaving only Chase and U.S. Bank in the action.
{¶ 4} Appellant Gifter, a former member of the Board, filed a motion to intervene in the action and a motion to dissolve the TRO. The Board opposed intervention and supported the opposition with a copy of a document translated from the Hebrew language captioned "Agreement of the Members of the Board of the Telshe Yeshiva," dated April 24, 2007, and signed by the eight Rabbis, including appellant, who constituted the Board of the Rabbinical College at that time. By their signatures on the document, the individual members agreed, among other things, that "all matters of administration of the Yeshiva, whether in spiritual matters or in materialistic matters or in financial matters, shall be decided pursuant to the determination of a majority of Board members. An individual Board member has no power or authorization to do anything on Yeshiva matters on his own say without the consent of the members of the Board [to determine which matters are in this category is subject to a decision by the members of the Board.]"
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=inohco20100805499
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