The four Mahoning County Area Court judges recused themselves from a breach-of-contract case filed against Clerk of Courts Michael P. Ciccone, contending he owes $4,250 to Jennifer J. Ciccone, his former chief deputy and chief of staff whom he fired after a falling out.

Magistrate Donald DeSanto had scheduled a May 1 hearing in Mahoning County Court in Austintown on Jennifer J. Ciccone’s motion for summary judgment, as her former boss hasn’t responded to the civil complaint she filed Oct. 24.

But that hearing will almost certainly be postponed, as a new judge is needed, though essentially nothing has happened in this case that is nearly six months old.

In an April 8 judgment entry, Scott Hunter, the area court’s administrative and presiding judge, wrote that all four county court judges “have a conflict of interest” in this case, as Michael P. Ciccone is the clerk of courts.

Besides Hunter, the other county court judges are Joseph Houser, Molly Johnson and Joe Schiavoni.

In the same entry, Hunter requested the appointment of a visiting judge to hear the case.

Visiting judges are appointed by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy, who typically makes those selections promptly.

The journal entry came one day after The Vindicator published an article about the scheduling of the hearing in the civil case.

In a March 26 filing, Jennifer J. Ciccone wrote “that the pleadings and evidentiary materials filed with the complaint clearly shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact and plaintiff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Defendant has failed to respond and has presented no evidence to create a dispute of material fact.”

She filed a civil complaint contending breach of contract because she let Michael P. Ciccone borrow money — $2,750 in December 2023 that he hasn’t paid back and $3,500 in September 2024 that he made payments of $2,000 on, but still owes her $1,500. She sued for $4,250 plus interest.

Jennifer J. Ciccone wrote in the complaint that Michael P. Ciccone needed the $3,500 to “avoid being found culpable in the grievance proceedings” involving a former client who accused him of “gross neglect and misconduct.”

Both Ciccones, who aren’t related, are attorneys.

Michael P. Ciccone never responded to the complaint.

A summons was sent Oct. 27, three days after the complaint was filed by certified mail to Michael P. Ciccone through the clerk of courts’ office. The court docket shows the certified mail sent to his home by his office went unclaimed as of Dec. 1. Jennifer J. Ciccone then asked the summons be issued Dec. 4 by regular mail to him.

Service of process issues have been an ongoing problem since Michael P. Ciccone took over in January 2025 as clerk of courts.

A notice of the hearing was sent March 30 to both parties.

On Oct. 17, hours after she was fired, Jennifer J. Ciccone posted several incriminating and embarrassing text messages from and photos of her former boss and once close friend on Facebook. That included the use of a racial epithet a number of times and slurs about elected officials. She later removed nearly all of them, but screenshots are on other Facebook pages.

She filed the civil suit seven days after she was fired.

The chairmen of the Mahoning County Republican and Democratic parties have called for Michael P. Ciccone, a Republican, to resign, which he refuses to do.

The two political parties announced Dec. 19 they would seek to remove Ciccone through legal action that started in January.

The parties need at least 13,029 valid signatures from county residents on petitions to force a court hearing on Ciccone’s removal.

Tom McCabe, chairman of the county Republican Party’s executive committee, said last week that both parties are collecting signatures, but “we’re a ways off. It’s going to take a while.”

Ciccone wrote in an Oct. 19 statement that he wouldn’t resign. He hasn’t made any other public comments since then.

The political parties accuse Ciccone of repeatedly abusing the authority of his office, using “discriminatory and degrading language,” and failing to “perform core statutory duties and administered the clerk’s office in a manner that undermined fiscal integrity, employee safety and public confidence in the judicial system.”

The complaint lists counts of malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, neglect of duty and negligence in office. It accuses Ciccone of mismanaging the title office, overhiring and overpaying personnel, engaging in favoritism, improperly waiving filing fees, failing to properly supervise employees and “failing to perform essential statutory duties.”