COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA NO. 68639 NORMA MADDOX : : ACCELERATED DOCKET Plaintiff-appellee : : JOURNAL ENTRY -vs- : AND : OPINION CONCORD APARTMENTS : : PER CURIAM Defendant-appellant : : DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT OF DECISION: OCTOBER 26, 1995 CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING: Civil appeal from Cleveland Hts. Municipal Court Case No. CVI-941609 JUDGMENT: Affirmed. DATE OF JOURNALIZATION: APPEARANCES: For plaintiff-appellee: For defendant-appellant: NORMA MADDOX, PRO SE JOSEPH J. STRAKA, ESQ. 26150 Village Lane MORSCHER & STRAKA Beachwood, Ohio 44122 The Brighton Bldg., Suite 56 11711 Lorain Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44111 - 2 - PER CURIAM: An accelerated appeal is authorized pursuant to App.R. 11.1 and Loc.App.R. 25. The purpose of an accelerated docket is to allow an appellate court to render a brief and conclusionary decision. Crawford v. Eastland Shopping Mall Assn. (1983), 11 Ohio App.3d 158; App.R. 11.1(E). Defendant-appellant Concord Apartments appeals from the decision of the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court, Small Claims Division, which awarded the plaintiff-appellee Norma Maddox the sum of $508.00 plus interest and costs. The court also found for the appellee on the counterclaim, and it is from this decision that the appellant appeals. In the counterclaim the appellant prayed for damages allegedly caused by the appellee to an apartment rented from the appellant. The appellant submitted an acceptance form signed by the appellee when the apartment was rented which detailed the imperfections in the apartment at that point. The appellant submitted the form to prove that the damage for which it sought compensation had been incurred subsequent to the appellee's possession of the apartment. The appellant asserts one assignment of error: I THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AND ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WHEN IT APPROVED THE REPORT OF REFEREE AND THEREBY ENTERED JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF APPELLEE PURSUANT TO SAME. The appellant sets forth two arguments under this one assignment of error. First, the appellant asserts that the referee - 3 - failed to give sufficient weight to the evidence it presented, and second, the appellant argues that the referee erred in failing to award it damages on the counterclaim for expenses incurred in restoration of the apartment to its original condition. Although the appellant failed to file a transcript of the hearing held before the referee, the referee filed a thorough and complete report which was subsequently signed by the trial judge. It must also be noted that even though the appellant has cited no case law to support its assignment of error, it appears that it is objecting to the weight given by the referee to various evidence. A reviewing court will not reverse based upon manifest weight of the evidence where the judgment is supported by competent, credible evidence going to all the essential elements of the case. C.E. Morris Co. v. Foley Construction Co. (1978), 54 Ohio St.2d 279. The trial judge is in the best position to view the witnesses and observe their demeanor, gestures and voice inflections, and to use these observations in weighing the credibility of the testimony. Seasons Coal Co. v. Cleveland (1984), 10 Ohio St.3d 77. In the case sub judice, the trial court approved the referee's report in which the referee detailed the testimony he heard at the hearing. The referee heard testimony from the appellee and from the various witnesses presented on behalf of the appellant. The report states that no direct evidence was presented to contradict the appellee's testimony; that one of the appellant's witnesses had no first-hand knowledge of the condition of the apartment at the - 4 - beginning of the appellee's tenancy; and that another testified that he had not been working for the appellant when the appellee's tenancy began. The referee could easily have given the appellee's live testimony more weight than a form that was presented by witnesses who had no first hand-knowledge of the apartment at the beginning of the tenancy. As to the second contention, the referee found that the deductions from the security deposit for the chain lock installa- tion, the kitchen light fixture removal and the holes inside the bedroom closet did not constitute damage. The referee heard testimony that the appellee placed her light fixture in the same holes used by the previous tenant, and heard testimony that the appellee did not place holes in the closet. Whether analyzed under R.C. 5321.16 or under the terms of the lease, the referee, as the trier of fact, weighed the evidence, and essentially found that since the appellee did not damage the premises, the appellant wrongfully withheld money from her security deposit. Given the thorough and complete details recited in the referee's report, this court finds that the judgment is supported by competent, credible evidence going to all the essential elements of the case. The trial court did not err in approving the report. The appellant's assignment of error is overruled. Judgment affirmed. - 5 - It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant her costs herein taxed. The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal. It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court 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. _________________________________ JAMES D. SWEENEY, PRESIDING JUDGE _________________________________ SARA J. HARPER, JUDGE _________________________________ DIANE KARPINSKI, JUDGE N.B. This entry is made pursuant to the third sentence of Rule 22(D), Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure. This is an announcement of decision (see Rule 26). Ten (10) days from the date hereof this document will be stamped to indicate journalization, at which time .