RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE - Supreme Court

TITLE VII. JUDGMENTRULE 54.Judgments; Costs(A) Definition; Form. "Judgment" as used in these rules includes a decree and anyorder from which an appeal lies as provided in section 2505.02 of the Revised Code. A judgmentshall not contain a recital of pleadings, the magistrate’s decision in a referred matter, or therecord of prior proceedings.(B) Judgment upon multiple claims or involving multiple parties. When morethan one claim for relief is presented in an action whether as a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim,or third-party claim, and whether arising out of the same or separate transactions, or whenmultiple parties are involved, the court may enter final judgment as to one or more but fewer thanall of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason fordelay. In the absence of a determination that there is no just reason for delay, any order or otherform of decision, however designated, which adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rightsand liabilities of fewer than all the parties, shall not terminate the action as to any of the claims orparties, and the order or other form of decision is subject to revision at any time before the entryof judgment adjudicating all the claims and the rights and liabilities of all the parties.(C) Demand for judgment. A judgment by default shall not be different in kind fromor exceed in amount that prayed for in the demand for judgment. Except as to a party againstwhom a judgment is entered by default, every final judgment shall grant the relief to which theparty in whose favor it is rendered is entitled, even if the party has not demanded the relief in thepleadings.(D) Costs. Except when express provision therefor is made either in a statute or inthese rules, costs shall be allowed to the prevailing party unless the court otherwise directs.[Effective: July 1, 1970; amended effective July 1, 1989; July 1, 1992; July 1, 1994; July1, 1996.]Rule 54(A) Definition; FormStaff Note (July 1, 1996 Amendment)The amendment changed the rule’s reference from “report of a referee” to “magistrate’sdecision” in division (A) in order to harmonize the rule with the language adopted in the 1995 amendmentsto Civ. R. 53. The amendment is technical only and no substantive change is intended.