Clouse v. Andonian

189 F. Supp. 78, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3194
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedOctober 31, 1960
DocketCiv. No. 1195
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 189 F. Supp. 78 (Clouse v. Andonian) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clouse v. Andonian, 189 F. Supp. 78, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3194 (N.D. Ind. 1960).

Opinion

GRANT, District Judge.

This is an action brought to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff in a two-car collision between the auto driven by the plaintiff, Arnett C. Clouse, and that driven by the defendant, Varther D. Andonian, in the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, on November 30, 1958. The Complaint was filed November 30, 1959, with service being made upon the Secretary of State for the State of Indiana pursuant to the Indiana Nonresident Motorist Statute, Burns’ Indiana Statutes Annotated, § 47-1043 (1952 Replacement).

The matter is before the Court on plaintiff’s objection to defendant’s Third Defense, which defense asserts the following :

Third Defense

Defendant further alleges and says that this Court has no jurisdiction over his person and that there has been no valid service of process upon him, for the following reasons:

1. Defendant has not been personally served with process in the State of Indiana.

2. On November 30, 1958, defendant was an unnaturalized alien residing in the State of Indiana.

3. Prior to the issuance of process in this cause defendant had become a resident of the State of Illinois.

4. On November 30, 1958, there was no statute in effect in the State [79]*79of Indiana permitting service of process upon a motorist who had been involved in an automobile accident who was a resident of said State at the time of such accident but who thereafter became a resident of another state and who was not personally served with process in the State of Indiana.

A hearing was held and the parties given additional time to submit affidavits upon the question of the residence of the defendant and any additional memorandum of authority on the question. Both parties having taken advantage of the opportunity by submitting additional authorities and/or affidavits, the question is now ready for disposition.

It is agreed by the parties, that at the time of the accident, the defendant was in the United States as a nonresident alien from. Baghdad, Iraq, on a student visa issued by the United States Department of Immigration, for educational purposes.

According to the affidavit of the plaintiff’s attorney, Phil M. McNagny, Jr., the records of the Registrar of Indiana Technical College, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, reveal that Varther D. Andon-ian graduated from that college on August 22, 1958. Further, that the Registrar related to Mr. McNagny “that it was recommended to Varther D. Andon-ian at the time he graduated that he try to seek an extension on his visa so that he could get some practical experience.”

The defendant, on September 2, 1958, took a position with the Highway Department in Morris, Illinois, and rented a furnished room in that city. Imogene Dodane, the defendant’s landlady in Fort Wayne, Indiana, stated in an affidavit filed on behalf of the plaintiff herein, that:

“ * * * (A)fter he (the defendant) moved to Illinois, because of sympathy, she permitted the said Varther D. Andonian to use the room he had formerly occupied, when he came to Fort Wayne on weekends to see and visit a girl friend’ he was courting. That in April or May of 1959 she refused to permit him to use the room any longer on his week end visits to Fort Wayne.”

It is conceded by the defendant that the use of this room on week ends was rent free and that he relinquished the room and removed his belongings therefrom at the time of his marriage on April 25, 1959. At this time he and his wife moved to Morris, Illinois. He had previously contacted the Immigration authorities and advised them that beginning in 1959 he would reside in Morris, Illinois. The several affidavits also allege other factual matters, some consistent and others inconsistent with the defendant’s assertion that his residence, as of November 30, 1958, was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and that his residence, as of November 30, 1959, was in Morris, Illinois.

In 1959, subsequent to the accident here involved, but prior to the filing of this action, the Indiana State Legislature amended Section 47-1043 of Burns’ Indiana Statutes Annotated. Prior thereto there was no statute in effect in the State of Indiana permitting service of process through the Secretary of State upon a motorist who had been involved in an automobile accident in this State while a resident hereof, but who, subsequent thereto, but prior to the institution of any suit arising out of the accident, became a resident of another State and who was never personally served with process in the State of Indiana. The amendment to Section 47-1043 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

“The operation by a nonresident, or by any resident of this state who may thereafter become a nonresident of this state, or by his duly authorized agent, of a motor vehicle upon a public street or highway of this state shall be deemed equivalent to an appointment by such person of the secretary of state, or his successor in office, to be his true and lawful attorney upon whom may be served all lawful processes in any [80]*80action or proceeding against him, growing out of any accident or collision in which such person may be involved while so operating or so permitting to be operated a motor vehicle on any such street or highway, and such operation shall be signification of his agreement that any such process against him, which is so served, shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon him personally.” (Emphasis supplied to indicate new words added by the 1959 amendment.) (1960 Supplement).

From the foregoing, three legal questions present themselves, the decision of any one of which might be dispositive of the controversy herein. Briefly stated, these questions are:

1: At the time of the accident, November 30, 1958, was the defendant a resident of Illinois and thus subject to the provisions of Section 47-1043 of Bums’ Indiana Statutes Annotated as in effect prior to the 1959 amendment thereto ?

2: Assuming that the defendant was a resident of Indiana at the time of the accident, November 30, 1958, but prior to the commencement of this suit on November 30, 1959, became a nonresident of Indiana by virtue of taking up residence in Illinois, may the provisions of Section 47-1043 of Burns’ Indiana Statutes Annotated, as amended in 1959, be retroactively applied so as to make valid the service of process upon the Secretary of State in connection with the institution of the instant suit?

3: Does the nonimmigrant alien status of the defendant, by virtue of his student visa, preclude him from being capable of acquiring a valid residence in either Indiana or Illinois, so as to make him subject to the nonresident provisions of Section 47-1043 of Burns’ Indiana Statutes Annotated as in effect prior to the 1959 amendment thereto?

Assuming, without deciding, that the defendant, Andonian, was an Indiana resident at the time of the accident but prior to the institution of the present action became a resident of Illinois, this Court adopts the majority rule in this country to the effect that the Nonresident Motorist Act is jurisdictional 'in nature and in the absence of a clear intent on the part of the legislature that the Act be given retroactive effect, the Act will be deemed to act prospectively only. This view is best exemplified by the decisions cited by the defendant, and in particular, the following: Paraboschi v. Shaw, 1927, 258 Mass. 531, 155 N.E. 445; Schaeffer v.

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189 F. Supp. 78, 1960 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clouse-v-andonian-innd-1960.