COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA NO. 68505 FARALLI CUSTOM KITCHEN & : BATH, INC. : : Plaintiff-appellee : : JOURNAL ENTRY -vs- : AND : OPINION RONALD A. BAILEY, ET AL. : : Defendant-appellants : : DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT : NOVEMBER 22, 1995 OF DECISION : CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING : Civil appeal from Court of Common Pleas : Case No. CV-235864 JUDGMENT : DISMISSED DATE OF JOURNALIZATION : APPEARANCES: For plaintiff-appellee: For defendant-appellants: ROBERT D. WILSON, ESQ. JAMES E. O'BRIEN, ESQ. 3690 Orange Place, Suite 515 Assistant County Prosector Cleveland, OH 44122 The Justice Center, 8th Fl. 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, OH 44113 DAVID J. MURRAY, ESQ. Murray and Associates 795 I.N.A. Bldg. 14701 Detroit Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107 WILLIAM J. O'NEILL, ESQ. ERIC E. KINDER, ESQ. 2100 Bank One Center 600 Superior Avenue, E. Cleveland, OH 44114 - 3 - PATTON, C.J. Defendant/cross-complainant Martin Horvath, dba Artistic Tile and Marble, filed this action against defendants Ronald and Daryl Sue Bailey seeking to enforce a mechanics lien and asking for judgment in the amount $12,391 for work he performed on the Baileys' new house. The record indicates this matter was originally tried before a referee, but the referee ended her employment with the court before she could prepare findings of fact and conclusions of law. The parties agreed to submit the matter to the trial judge and stipulated to a hearing on the transcript of proceedings before the referee and the exhibits. In findings of fact and conclusions of law, the trial court found the Baileys had paid Horvath in full for all work he performed on the new house. Horvath appeals, challenging certain evidentiary rulings and the weight of the evidence. We are unable to reach the merits of the assigned errors because the journal entry was not journalized until after the trial judge left the common pleas court bench to assume new judicial duties in another court. Consequently, the judgment is void and, by definition, not final; therefore, we lack jurisdiction. The signed judgment was journalized on January 13, 1995. The trial judge, however, had assumed new judicial duties in a separate court in a term beginning January 2, 1995. Once the judge had been - 4 - sworn in to serve as a judge of another court, he lacked authority to journalize an entry in the court of common pleas. We addressed a similar situation in Vergon v. Vergon (1993), 87 Ohio App.3d 639. In Vergon, a domestic relations court memorandum opinion was journalized after the expiration of the judge's term. Citing authority for the proposition that a judge is without authority to act in an official capacity after the expiration of a term, we found the memorandum opinion signed by the domestic relations judge void. Id. at 642; cf. State ex rel. Solowitch v. Cleary (1989), 59 Ohio App.3d 8 (once a judge leaves his position on a court of common pleas and his docket is assigned to a new judge, he is "unable to act," within the meaning of R.C. 2947.061(C), on matters on his former docket). For the same reasons, we find the trial judge could not act in an official capacity as a judge of the court of common pleas after being sworn to serve in another court, absent special appointment by the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. We have no doubt the judge properly issued his ruling before resigning from the court of common pleas. We attribute the delay in journalization to the time lag between the issuance of rulings and the delay in journalizing them. Nevertheless, we must conclude the opinion and ruling journalized in this case is void. As in Vergon, the parties will have to submit the evidentiary material to a newly assigned judge for a determination on the merits. Appeal dismissed. - 5 - It is ordered that appellees recover of appellant their costs herein taxed. It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Court of Common Pleas to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. SPELLACY, J. NAHRA, J., CONCUR CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN T. PATTON N.B. This entry is made pursuant to the third sentence of Rule 22(D), Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure. This is an announce- ment of decision (see Rule 26). Ten (10) days from the date hereof, this document will be stamped to indicate journalization, .