Personal property subjected to compulsory partition

Wetli v. Denny, 6th Dist. No. L-13-1043, 2014-Ohio-1009. The Sixth District upheld a trial court's decision to partition two oil paintings so these could be appraised and sold by auction, or be purchased by one or more of the parties with an ownership interest. The appellate court recognized that, while no Ohio statute authorizes the partition of personal property, the absence of such a statute does not mean that such an action cannot be maintained. In order to ensure that joint owners of personal property would have a legal remedy, the appellate court adopted the general rule that personal property of every class may be subject to compulsory partition. Because the parties were unconditionally gifted the paintings and the grantor believed the grantees could make collective decisions regarding the paintings' futures, the appellate court found that this was a factual scenario that required the equitable remedy of partition and upheld the trial court's holding.