Central Hyde Park Savings & Loan Co. v. Feck

45 Ohio Law. Abs. 129
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 1, 1945
DocketNo. 6542
StatusPublished

This text of 45 Ohio Law. Abs. 129 (Central Hyde Park Savings & Loan Co. v. Feck) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Central Hyde Park Savings & Loan Co. v. Feck, 45 Ohio Law. Abs. 129 (Ohio Ct. App. 1945).

Opinion

OPINION

By ROSS, J.

Appeal on questions of law from a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County, Ohio.

The original action instituted by the plaintiff was for foreclosure of a mortgage and recovery of amount of balance due on note, secured by such mortgage. The plaintiff was The Central Hyde Park Sayings & Loan Company. The defendants Walter Feck and Emma Feck were owners of the real estate involved and mortgagors. The defendant William H. Barber held a money judgment against the Fecks, which at. the time the action was commenced was a junior lien to that of the [131]*131plaintiff. George E. Thurner purchased the real estate from the Fecks.

Walter Feck and George E. Thurner are the appellants.

The question presented by this appeal arises by reason of the dismissal of the original action by the plaintiff, whose mortgage claim was satisfied. The court made entry of such dismissal.

Later Barber, the judgment creditor, succeeded in causing the court to vacate the entry dismissing the action, as far as he personally was concerned, the action then being reinstated to the extent of permitting Barber to prosecute his cross-petition against the Fecks and Thurner, the purchaser, so far as the latter was involved. The motion to vacate was filed after the term in which the entry of dismissal was made.

From this judgment vacating in part the former entry of dismissal and reinstating the action as to Barber, the Fecks and Thurner appeal upon questions of law.

The primary question thus presented is whether a contest between co-defendants may be retained after the dismissal of the principal action by the plaintiff?

A secondary question is presented, owing to the fact that the Barber judgment became dormant after the filing of his cross-petition, but prior to the dismissal of the action by the plaintiff. This question is whether or not the filing of a cross-petition in an action for foreclosure prevents dormancy of a judgment held by such cross-petitioner, in the absence of the usual procedure required to prevent such dormancy?

A third, and probably a preliminary question is also raised by the appellant, in that the original entry of dismissal of the action was modified as to Barber upon his motion, instead of upon a petition. Such action in modifying the original entry being after term, it is claimed that such modification or vacation of the former entry of dismissal could only occur upon petition to vacate, and that such vacation or modification having taken place upon motion of Barber, such judgment of vacation or modification must be set aside by this Court.

Sec. 11634 GC, provides:

“The proceedings to correct mistakes or omissions of the clerk, or irregularity in obtaining a judgment or order, shall be by motion, upon reasonable notice to the adverse party, or his attorney in the action. But the motion to vacate a judgment because of its rendition before the action regularly stood [132]*132for trial, can be made only in the first three days of the succeeding term.”

Sec. 11631 GC, provides in part:

“The common pleas court or the court of appeals may vacate or modify its own judgment or order, after the term at which it was made:

“1. By granting a new trial of the cause, within the time and in the manner provided in section eleven thousand five hundred and eighty.

“2. By a new trial granted in proceedings against defendants constructively summoned as provided in section eleven thousand two hundred and ninety-six.

“3. For mistake, neglect or omission of the clerk, or irregularity in obtaining a judgment or order.

Sec. 11635 GC, provides:

“The proceedings to vacate the judgment or order on the grounds mentioned in divisions four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten, of the first section in this chapter (§11631 GC), shall be by petition, verified by affidavit, setting forth the judgment or order, the grounds to vacate or modify it, and, if the party applying was defendant, the defense to the action. On such petition a summons shall issue and be served as in the commencement of an action.”

So that if the original entry of dismissal was, due to any •“irregularity in obtaining” such .order, a motion to vacate such original entry of dismissal would meet the procedural requirements involved.

1 It is obvious if the position of Barber is correct that the court was in error in dismissing the action as far as the co-defendants were concerned. It appears from the evidence that Barber had no notice of any kind that the Court Intended to dismiss the action. If the Court was in error in dismissing the action as to Barber, the entry of such judgment of dismissal without any notice to him, or his attorney of record, would constitute an irregularity in obtaining the judgment justifying its vacation or modification upon motion.

2 [133]*1333 [132]*132There is no certificate by the trial court that the Bill of Exceptions presented to this Court contains all the evidence presented to that court. There is always a presumption in favor of the regularity of a judgment of a court [133]*133of record and that the same in absence of an affirmative showing to the contrary was based upon sufficient evidence.

See: 2 Oh Jur., p. 438, sec. 383; p. 449 sec. 393. Lyons v Weihe, et al., 62 Oh Ap., 527.

Upon this preliminary question, therefore, it must be concluded that the final judgment of vacation cannot be attacked because tlie same was predicated upon motion rather than petition.

4 Incidentally, there can be no doubt that such final judgment modifying the former action of the Court constituted a final order from which appeal upon questions of law may be taken to this Court. Van Camp v McCulley, Trustee, 89 Oh St., 1. In this case the vacation was upon motion after term. At page 8 of-the opinion it is stated:

“The discretionary control of the court over its own orders and judgments, during the term at which they are entered, ends with the term. The power of the court to set aside or vacate its judgments, subsequent to the term, is governed by settled principles to which the action of the Court must conform, and for a departure from which the judgment or order of vacation may be reversed on proceedings in error.”

The second paragraph of the syllabus in Frankenstein v Behrendt, et al., 60 Oh Ap., 403, is:

“A Common Pleas Court having jurisdiction to set aside a judgment by motion after term on certain grounds set forth in §11631 GC, on order, although erroneous, setting aside a judgment on one of such enumerated grounds, is not a nullity, but is a final order which may be reviewed.”

See, also: Cox v Cox, 104 Oh St., 611; Chandler & Taylor Co. v Southern Pacific Co., 104 Oh St., 188, 194.

Proceeding then to the primary question — Did the dismissal of the action by the plaintiff foreclose the co-defendants from further litigating issues defined by the pleadings?

In the first place, the plaintiff is not in any way affected by the vacation of the order of dismissal.

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Bluebook (online)
45 Ohio Law. Abs. 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/central-hyde-park-savings-loan-co-v-feck-ohioctapp-1945.