State v. 1981 Dodge Ram Van

The state contends that it is an abuse of discretion for a court of appeals to decide an appeal on an issue it raises sua sponte where that issue was not raised in the trial court by either party, was not assigned as error by the appellant, was not briefed by either party, and was not factually supported by the record.

The state’s complaint was brought under authority of R.C. 2933.41(C), which allows a governmental unit in possession of certain seized property to bring an action to terminate the rights of other persons in such property. The state claimed that the mismatching VINs established…