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Compton v. 7-Up Bottling Co./Brooks Beverage Mgt.5/15/1997
JOHN C. YOUNG, Judge.
This matter is before this court upon the appeal of Dorothy A. Compton, appellant, from the October 27, 1996 journal entry of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas that granted the motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by appellee, 7-Up Bottling Co./Brooks Beverage Management ("7-Up Bottling") and dismissed appellant's complaint with prejudice. Appellant sets forth the following assignment of error on appeal:
"The trial court erred in finding that Plaintiff-Appellant's disability is not compensable as a matter of law and in subsequently granting Defendant-Appellee[']s motion for judgment on the pleadings."
The record indicates that appellant was an employee of 7-Up Bottling during the time period relevant to the within proceeding. According to appellant's complaint, she filed a workers' compensation claim alleging that she had contracted rheumatoid arthritis in the course of and arising out of her employment with 7-Up Bottling. Her claim was ultimately denied and, on April 18, 1994, appellant appealed the administrative denial of her claim to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. For purposes of this proceeding, it was undisputed that appellant's arthritis was not caused by her employment. Therefore, as the trial court indicated, the sole issue to be determined is whether appellant sustained a compensable aggravation of a pre-existing condition as a result of her employment with 7-Up Bottling. On July 8, 1996, 7-Up Bottling filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, which was ultimately granted by the trial court, and appellant filed the instant appeal.
Pursuant to Civ.R. 12(C), any party may move for judgment on the pleadings after the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial. Civ.R. 12(C) presents only questions of law and the determination of a motion for judgment on the pleadings is restricted solely to the allegations in the pleadings. All material allegations in the complaint, along with all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom are to be construed in favor of the nonmoving party. Peterson v. Teodosio (1973), 34 Ohio St.2d 161, 165-166, 63 O.O.2d 262, 264-265, 297 N.E.2d 113, 116-117. As the court said in State ex rel. Midwest Pride IV, Inc. v. Pontious (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 565, 664 N.E.2d 931, pursuant to Civ.R. 12(C), dismissal is appropriate where the court "(1) construes the material allegations in the complaint, with all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, in favor of the nonmoving party as true, and (2) finds beyond doubt, that the plaintiff could prove no set of facts in support of his claim that would entitle him to relief." Id. at 570, 664 N.E.2d at 936.
In the present case, appellant's entire claim is that, although she did not contract her rheumatoid arthritis in the course of her employment with 7-Up Bottling, she is entitled to participate in the State Insurance Fund because the aggravation of her pre-existing condition is recognizable as a claim pursuant to the exception to State ex rel. Miller v. Mead Corp. (1979), 58 Ohio St.2d 405, 12 O.O.3d 348, 390 N.E.2d 1192, as set out in Brody v. Mihm (1995), 72 Ohio St.3d 81, 647 N.E.2d 778. The issue in Miller was whether a pre-existing disease, aggravated while a claimant is in the employ of an employer subject to the Workers' Compensation Act, may be the subject of compensation from the Fund. The Ohio Supreme Court held that it was not. Subsequent to Miller, the Ohio Supreme Court recharacterized its definition of an injury to allow a claimant to be compensated for an injury that developed gradually over time as the result of a performance of an injured worker's job-related duties.
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