State ex rel. Duncan v. Chippewa Township Trustees

In order to be entitled to a writ of mandamus, the Duncans had to establish a clear legal right to have the road opened and maintained, a clear legal duty on the part of the trustees to open and maintain the road, and the lack of an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of the law. State ex rel. Carter v. Wilkinson (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 65, 637 N.E.2d 1.

Under R.C. 5571.02, 5571.12, and 5579.08, township trustees possess duties to keep township roads in good repair, cut brush and noxious weeds growing along township roads, and drag graveled and unimproved township roads. The court of appeals…