“Filing, Not Service”: The Ohio Supreme Court Confirms Civ.R. 6(D) Does Not Extend Time to Object to a Magistrate’s Decision

“Filing, Not Service”: The Ohio Supreme Court Confirms Civ.R. 6(D) Does Not Extend Time to Object to a Magistrate’s Decision

I. Introduction

In Eggleston v. Wood, Slip Opinion No. 2025-Ohio-5292, the Supreme Court of Ohio resolves a recurring and practically important question of civil procedure: Does the three-day “mailing” extension in Civ.R. 6(D) apply to the deadline for filing objections to a magistrate’s decision under Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) when the clerk mails the magistrate’s decision to the parties?

The court’s answer is unequivocal: No. Because the time for objections runs from the filing of the magistrate’s decision, and not from its service on the parties, Civ.R. 6(D) does not add three extra days when the decision is mailed or sent via commercial-carrier service.

Although the dispute arose in a high-income child-support case between Jedda K. Eggleston (appellee) and Christian Wood (appellant) in the domestic-relations and juvenile context, the Supreme Court’s holding is purely procedural and applies across Ohio civil practice. The opinion reiterates, clarifies, and firmly anchors in the rule text an earlier line of authority that had sometimes been misunderstood or overlooked by practitioners.

II. Background and Procedural History

A. The Underlying Domestic-Relations Dispute

The factual backdrop—while not central to the Supreme Court’s procedural ruling— provides context:

  • In 2019, a photograph of Jedda K. Eggleston went viral on Twitter (now X), garnering millions of views.
  • Christian Wood contacted Eggleston through social media; their relationship eventually led to the birth of a child in January 2021.
  • Later in 2021, Eggleston filed a complaint for child support in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division. Wood filed to establish visitation and child support.
  • In September 2021, the parties agreed to an interim child-support order of $5,000 per month, backdated to July 1, 2021.

In April 2023, a trial on visitation and child support was held before a magistrate. In December 2023, the magistrate issued a written decision:

  • The child-support schedule supported a guideline amount of $2,144.39 per month.
  • Nevertheless, the magistrate ordered an upward deviation to $25,000 per month, retroactive to January 2021.
  • The magistrate justified the deviation as being in the child’s best interests, relying in part on R.C. 3119.23(K) (permitting consideration of the standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the parents had been married or remained together).

B. The Critical Procedural Timeline

The procedural sequence concerning objections to the magistrate’s decision is crucial:

  1. December 13, 2023: The magistrate filed his written decision with the domestic-relations court’s clerk of court. That same day, the clerk mailed copies of the decision to the parties.
  2. December 28, 2023: Wood filed written objections to the magistrate’s decision. The same day, he also filed:
    • A motion for leave to file objections, explaining that he believed the objections were not due until January 2, and asking for an extension to January 16.
  3. January 12, 2024: Wood filed a motion for leave to file a supplemental brief in support of his objections.

The trial court denied Wood’s motions and held that under Juv.R. 40 he had only 14 days to object to the magistrate’s decision, which meant that the deadline expired on December 27, 2023, not December 28.

C. The Ninth District’s Decision

Wood appealed to the Ninth District Court of Appeals. Although the trial court had analyzed the issue primarily under the Juvenile Rules (Juv.R. 40), Wood’s argument on appeal turned on the parallel Civil Rules:

  • Wood contended that the trial court should have applied the three-day mailing extension provided by Civ.R. 6(D), because the clerk mailed the magistrate’s decision.
  • He argued that, with the additional three days added to the 14-day objection window, his December 28 filing was timely.

The Ninth District rejected this argument, holding that Civ.R. 6(D) applies only when the time to act is measured from service of the document. By contrast, objections to a magistrate’s decision under Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) must be filed within 14 days of its filing—a trigger that does not involve service. Thus, the three-day extension did not apply, and Wood’s objections were deemed untimely. See Eggleston v. Wood, 2024-Ohio-5428 (9th Dist.).

D. The Accepted Proposition of Law

Wood sought further review in the Supreme Court of Ohio, which accepted the following proposition of law:

“The three (3) day extension provided in [Civ.R.] 6 for actions following the service of documents by U.S. Mail does apply to the time deadlines for objections to a magistrate's decision.”

The Supreme Court ultimately rejected this proposition and affirmed the Ninth District.

III. Summary of the Supreme Court’s Opinion

Chief Justice Kennedy, writing for a unanimous court, framed the question as a pure matter of rule interpretation: whether Civ.R. 6(D) extends the 14-day period to file objections to a magistrate’s decision under Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) when the clerk sends the decision by U.S. mail or commercial carrier.

The court held:

  • Civ.R. 6(D) applies only when a party’s time to act runs from the service of a document, and that document is served by mail or commercial carrier under Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c) or (d).
  • Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) measures the 14-day objection period from the filing of the magistrate’s decision, not its service.
  • Because the deadline is triggered by filing, the three-day extension in Civ.R. 6(D) does not apply.

The court reaffirmed its earlier statement in Duganitz v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth. that the mailing-extension rule does not extend the time to object to a magistrate’s decision, and confirmed that this remains correct under the current numbering and text of Civ.R. 6(D).

Applying that rule, the court concluded that Wood’s objections, filed on December 28, 2023, were untimely because the 14-day period, measured from the December 13 filing, expired on December 27. The Ninth District’s judgment was therefore affirmed.

IV. Precedents and Authorities Cited

A. Duganitz v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth. (2001-Ohio-1283)

The court’s prior decision in Duganitz is central. There, the Supreme Court had already stated that then-Civ.R. 6(E) (now Civ.R. 6(D)) “does not extend the time to file an objection to a magistrate’s decision.” In Eggleston, the court cites Duganitz as established authority for this proposition.

The key value of Duganitz in this case is not its factual context but its interpretive holding:

  • Civ.R. 6(E), the predecessor to current Civ.R. 6(D), provided an extra three days when a party was required to act within a time period after service of a document by mail.
  • In Duganitz, the court concluded that this “mailing extension” had no application to objections to a magistrate’s decision, which were then, as now, governed by a rule that ties the deadline to the filing, not the service, of the decision.

The court in Eggleston emphasizes that this prior interpretation of the rule is still textually correct and unaffected by the renumbering of Civ.R. 6(E) to 6(D).

B. Pulfer v. Pulfer, 110 Ohio App.3d 90 (3d Dist. 1996)

The court also cites Pulfer v. Pulfer, a Third District Court of Appeals decision, in which that court held that the three-day mailing provision did not extend the time to object to a magistrate’s report and recommendation.

Pulfer thus served as an early appellate articulation of the same principle later adopted by the Supreme Court in Duganitz. By invoking Pulfer, the Supreme Court situates its ruling in a broader, long-standing consensus: when the rules speak in terms of “filing,” the mailing-extension rule is inapplicable.

C. Zanesville v. Rouse, 2010-Ohio-2218

The court relies on Zanesville v. Rouse for a straightforward but critical definition:

“A document is ‘filed’ when it is deposited properly for filing with the clerk of courts.” Zanesville v. Rouse, 2010-Ohio-2218, paragraph one of the syllabus.

Applying this definition, the magistrate’s decision in Eggleston was “filed” when it was properly deposited with the clerk on December 13, 2023. That date, not the later date of mail receipt, starts the 14-day objection clock.

D. Staff Notes and Rule History

The court also cites the 2012 Staff Note to Civ.R. 6, which states that former Civ.R. 6(E) is now Civ.R. 6(D). This is relevant in two ways:

  • It confirms that the substance of the three-day mailing extension rule has not materially changed; only its location in the rule has.
  • It reinforces the continuity between Duganitz (interpreting former 6(E)) and the court’s present decision applying current 6(D).

While staff notes are not binding, they are routinely considered as persuasive aids in interpreting the Civil Rules. Here they confirm that the renumbering was organizational, not substantive.

V. The Court’s Legal Reasoning

A. Standard of Review

The court classified the question presented—whether Civ.R. 6(D) extends the time to object to a magistrate’s decision—as a pure question of law, subject to de novo review. Under de novo review, an appellate court gives no deference to the lower court’s legal conclusions and decides the legal question independently.

B. The Text of Civ.R. 6(D)

The core of the court’s reasoning is textual. Civ.R. 6(D) provides:

“Whenever a party has the right or is required to do some act or take some proceedings within a prescribed period after the service of a notice or other document upon that party and the notice or paper is served upon that party by mail or commercial carrier service under Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c) or (d), three days shall be added to the prescribed period.” (Emphasis added.)

The rule has three key components:

  1. A party must have a right or obligation to act “within a prescribed period.”
  2. That prescribed period must run “after the service” of a document.
  3. The document must be served by mail or commercial carrier under Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c) or (d).

Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c) and (d) are referenced to identify the relevant methods of service:

  • Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c) – Service by United States mail to the party’s last known address, with service complete upon mailing.
  • Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(d) – Service by commercial carrier for delivery to the party’s last known address within three calendar days, with service complete upon delivery to the carrier.

Thus, Civ.R. 6(D) is triggered only where:

  • The operative trigger for the deadline is “service” of a document; and
  • That service occurs by mail or commercial carrier as defined in Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c)-(d).

C. The Text of Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i)

Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) provides:

“A party may file written objections to a magistrate's decision within fourteen days of the filing of the decision, whether or not the court has adopted the decision during that fourteen-day period.” (Emphasis added.)

Unlike Civ.R. 6(D), this rule uses the term “filing”, not “service,” as the event that starts the deadline. Two points flow from this:

  • The time to object does not depend on when the decision is served, received, or read by a party.
  • It depends only on when the magistrate’s decision is filed with the clerk of court, as defined in Zanesville v. Rouse.

Thus, the 14-day period is linked to the court’s internal act of filing, not the external act of service on the parties.

D. Service vs. Filing: Why the Distinction Matters

The Supreme Court’s reasoning turns on the clear difference between:

  • Service (sending a copy to a party), and
  • Filing (depositing a document with the clerk for inclusion in the official record).

The court reasons as follows:

  1. Civ.R. 6(D) expressly applies only to periods measured “after the service” of a document.
  2. Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) measures the time to object “within fourteen days of the filing” of the magistrate’s decision.
  3. Because the objections deadline is based on filing and not on service, it falls outside the scope of Civ.R. 6(D).
  4. For Civ.R. 6(D) to apply, the rule would have to speak in terms of filing. As the court notes (citing Harvey v. Hwang), to apply here Civ.R. 6(D) “would have to use the term ‘filing’—not ‘service.’”

In short, the court refuses to blur the textual boundary between “service” and “filing.” The three-day extension is reserved for deadlines keyed to service by mail or carrier; it cannot be imported into deadlines keyed to filing.

E. Reaffirming Prior Authority

Having established the textual reading, the Supreme Court points out that this is not a new rule. It directly references its prior statement in Duganitz v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth. that Civ.R. 6(E) (now Civ.R. 6(D)) does not extend the time to file objections to a magistrate’s decision. The court describes that holding as still making sense “textually.”

By emphasizing continuity, the court signals that:

  • Practitioners who were relying on Duganitz and Pulfer were already correct.
  • To the extent some lawyers or parties had assumed a three-day cushion for magistrate objections simply because the decision was mailed, that assumption was never grounded in the rules and remains incorrect.

F. Application to Wood’s Objections

With the legal rule clarified, the application to this case is mechanical:

  1. The magistrate filed the decision with the clerk on December 13, 2023.
  2. Under Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i), Wood had 14 days from that filing to lodge objections.
  3. The 14-day period expired on December 27, 2023.
  4. Wood filed his written objections on December 28, 2023—one day late.
  5. Civ.R. 6(D) did not grant him an extra three days, because the relevant period ran from filing, not from service.

Accordingly, the trial court properly rejected the objections as untimely, and the Ninth District correctly affirmed that outcome. The Supreme Court, in turn, affirmed the Ninth District.

VI. Simplifying the Key Procedural Concepts

For non-specialists and for clarity, several procedural concepts used in the opinion are worth explaining more plainly.

A. What Is a Magistrate and a Magistrate’s Decision?

  • In Ohio trial courts, magistrates are judicial officers who conduct hearings, take evidence, and issue written “magistrate’s decisions” or “magistrate’s orders.”
  • A magistrate’s decision is not the final judgment of the court. Instead, it is a recommendation to the judge, subject to objections by the parties and ultimate adoption, modification, or rejection by the judge.

Because of this structure, the rules provide a defined period (here, 14 days) in which parties may object to a magistrate’s decision before the judge finalizes the matter.

B. What Does It Mean to “File” a Document?

  • To “file” a document means to properly deposit it with the clerk of the court, in compliance with any governing requirements (such as formatting, payment of fees if applicable, signature, etc.).
  • Once a document is filed, it becomes part of the court’s official record. The date and time of filing are recorded in the docket.

As confirmed in Zanesville v. Rouse, a document is “filed” when it is properly deposited with the clerk—not when it is mailed, emailed, or otherwise transmitted by a party.

C. What Is “Service”?

  • “Service” refers to the act of formally sending a copy of a filed document to the other parties in the case.
  • Service rules ensure that each party is notified of filings and has an opportunity to respond.

Under Civ.R. 5(B), service can be accomplished in several ways, including:

  • Personal delivery,
  • United States mail,
  • Commercial-carrier service,
  • Electronic means (e.g., e-mail) when authorized, etc.

In Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c)-(d), the rule specifies that:

  • For U.S. mail, service is complete upon mailing (even though the document has not yet physically reached the recipient).
  • For commercial-carrier service, service is complete upon delivery to the carrier.

D. The “Three-Day Mailing Rule” (Civ.R. 6(D))

Civ.R. 6(D), often informally called the “three-day mailing rule,” adds three extra days to certain deadlines when:

  1. A party must act within a certain time “after service” of a document; and
  2. That service is by mail or commercial carrier.

The policy behind the rule is straightforward: mail and carrier delivery can cause delays between the time a document is served (mailed/sent) and the time the party actually receives it. The extra three days are meant to partially account for that lag.

But this accommodation is limited to deadlines tied to service. If the rule uses a different word—like “filing”—the three-day extension does not apply.

E. De Novo Review

De novo review means that the appellate court, including the Supreme Court, decides the question of law anew, without giving deference to the legal conclusion reached by the lower courts. It is as if the appellate court were deciding the question for the first time, using only the law and the undisputed facts in the record.

VII. Impact and Practical Significance

A. Clarification for Ohio Civil Practice

The most immediate impact of Eggleston v. Wood is to provide a clear, simple rule for practitioners:

  • If a deadline is keyed to “filing,” the three-day extension in Civ.R. 6(D) does not apply, even if the document is mailed.
  • Only if the deadline is expressly keyed to “service” of the document, and service is by mail or commercial carrier under Civ.R. 5(B)(2)(c) or (d), does Civ.R. 6(D) add three days.

This clarification affects not only magistrate’s decisions under Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) but any procedural context in which a rule uses “filing” as the trigger for a deadline. Lawyers can no longer plausibly argue that the mere fact of mailing has any impact on a filing-based deadline.

B. Specific Effect on Magistrate Practice (Civ.R. 53 / Juv.R. 40)

In magistrate proceedings, the ruling has particularly concrete consequences:

  • Parties must calculate the 14-day objection period from the date the magistrate’s decision is filed with the clerk, not from the date it is mailed or received.
  • This applies equally in domestic-relations, juvenile, and other civil contexts where magistrates operate under rules that mirror Civ.R. 53, such as Juv.R. 40.
  • If a party receives the magistrate’s decision by mail several days after filing, those days are effectively “lost” from the 14-day window. There is no automatic restoration of time via Civ.R. 6(D).

Practically, this may result in shorter effective response times for parties who rely solely on mail delivery to learn of filings. This underscores the importance of actively monitoring the court’s docket—especially in electronic filing systems—rather than waiting for paper service.

C. Practice Pointers for Attorneys and Parties

The decision suggests several practical takeaways:

  1. Track the docket, not just the mail.
    Because deadlines run from filing, counsel should regularly check the court’s docket, particularly around expected decision dates. Reliance on postal delivery may result in late filings.
  2. Do not assume a “mailing cushion.”
    The once-common assumption that “if it was mailed, I get an extra three days” is no longer safe—if it ever was. The extra days apply only to service-based deadlines.
  3. Read each rule carefully.
    The decision illustrates the importance of precise language in procedural rules:
    • “After service” → Civ.R. 6(D) may apply if by mail or carrier.
    • “After filing” or “within X days of the filing” → Civ.R. 6(D) does not apply.
  4. Seek extensions proactively.
    If a party anticipates difficulty meeting a filing-based deadline (e.g., because of late notice of filing), the appropriate remedy is a motion for extension or leave filed before the deadline expires, not a post hoc reliance on Civ.R. 6(D).
  5. Standard office procedures.
    Law offices should adjust internal calendaring systems to reflect that magistrate-objection deadlines run strictly from the filing date. Calendaring software should be keyed to docket entries rather than mail-receipt dates.

D. Doctrinal Continuity and Textualism

Doctrinally, Eggleston is significant not because it announces a novel rule, but because it reaffirms and clarifies an existing one in crisp, textual terms:

  • The opinion reflects a strongly textualist approach to rule interpretation: the court takes seriously the difference between “filing” and “service,” and refuses to treat them as interchangeable even when fairness concerns might suggest leniency.
  • It reaffirms Duganitz and Pulfer as correct interpretations of the rule, anchoring them in the current numbering and staff notes of Civ.R. 6.

The message to lower courts is that process rules mean what they say, and courts should resist the temptation to “read in” the three-day mailing cushion where the rule text does not support it.

E. Potential Areas of Future Attention

While the court’s opinion is straightforward, it may spur attention in a few areas:

  • Rulemaking, not adjudication, as the vehicle for change.
    If the bar or judiciary perceive a systemic fairness issue arising from short, filing-based deadlines combined with mail delays, the appropriate response would be an amendment to the Civil or Juvenile Rules, not a judicial re-interpretation of existing language.
  • Greater reliance on electronic service and e-filing.
    The opinion indirectly incentivizes courts and parties to use systems that provide real-time or near-real-time access to filings, thereby reducing the risk that parties will be unaware of a filing until much of the response time has expired.
  • Litigation over actual notice vs. constructive notice.
    Though not directly addressed in this case, some litigants may in future raise due-process or equitable arguments when they receive actual notice of a filing only after the objection or response period has largely or entirely elapsed. The court’s textual approach in Eggleston suggests such arguments will face an uphill battle unless tethered to specific rule provisions or constitutional concerns.

VIII. Conclusion

Eggleston v. Wood, 2025-Ohio-5292, firmly establishes the following rule for Ohio practice:

Civ.R. 6(D) does not extend the time a party has to object to a magistrate’s decision that the clerk serves by United States mail or commercial-carrier service. The 14-day period for objections under Civ.R. 53(D)(3)(b)(i) runs from the filing of the magistrate’s decision, not its service.

The decision resolves a discrete but important procedural question, ensuring statewide clarity on the inapplicability of the “three-day mailing rule” to magistrate objections. It reaffirms prior precedent (Duganitz, Pulfer) and demonstrates the court’s commitment to a straightforward, textual reading of the Civil Rules.

Practitioners should adjust their expectations and practices accordingly: monitor filing dates rather than mailing dates, do not assume additional time for mail, and seek extensions prospectively when necessary. In the broader legal context, Eggleston underscores that in Ohio civil procedure, the words “filing” and “service” are not interchangeable—and whether a party gains extra days under Civ.R. 6(D) will depend precisely on which of those words the governing rule employs.

Case Details

Year: 2025
Court: Supreme Court of Ohio

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