Dickinson v. Hot Mixed Bituminous Industry

58 N.E.2d 78, 41 Ohio Law. Abs. 269, 1943 Ohio App. LEXIS 865
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 21, 1943
DocketNo. 3527
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 58 N.E.2d 78 (Dickinson v. Hot Mixed Bituminous Industry) 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
Dickinson v. Hot Mixed Bituminous Industry, 58 N.E.2d 78, 41 Ohio Law. Abs. 269, 1943 Ohio App. LEXIS 865 (Ohio Ct. App. 1943).

Opinion

OPINION

BY THE COURT:

The above-entitled cause is now being determined as an error proceeding by reason of four separate appeals on questions of law from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, Ohio.

[272]*272The several appeals grow out of a single lawsuit, but are separate and distinct on the questions raised. We will consider and determine the appeals separately and make explanations on the questions involved as we take them up.

The first appeal to be considered is that of the State of Ohio from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas awarding to the Citizens’ Tax League of Ohio the sum of $1176.44, payable out of a designated fund and to cover expenses found to be essentially helpful in the prosecution of a taxpayers’ suit brought by plaintiff. It was from the allowance of this claim that the State of Ohio prosecutes this appeal.

On March 15, 1938, Agnes B. Dickinson, as a taxpayer, commenced an action in the Common Pleas Court of Franklin County, Ohio, seeking to recover for the State of Ohio from certain defendant road contractors and officers of the Highway Department a large sum of money on account of an alleged conspiracy on the part of said contractors and highway officials, which it was claimed resulted in stifling competition with respect to certain road materials that had been furnished the State of Ohio.

Various amended petitions were filed and thereafter the present Attorney General intervened in the case, and after protracted negotiations the case was settled by defendants, not including highway officials, agreeing to pay into court the sum of $80,000.00 and costs.

Thereafter, and before the fund was paid over to the State, the Citizens’ Tax League filed what is denominated an application for allowance of expenses, which contained two claims.

Claim No. 1 was allowed in full in the sum of $1166.44, and was for certain expenses paid by the Citizens’ Tax League, which the Court found to be of assistance in prosecuting the action and effecting settlement.

The list of such expenses is attached to the application of the Citizens’ Tax League, marked Exhibit A, and made a part thereof. An examination of Exhibit A shows that such expenses were incurred for stenographic services, photostatic work, postage, telephone calls, telegrams and traveling expenses of plaintiff’s counsel.

No bill of exceptions is presented. The State relies wholly upon the legal question that since the Citizens’ Tax League was not a' party to the action, no allowance should be made to reimburse for advanced expenses.

In support of this principle of law, ihe Attorney General on behalf of the State, cites 20 C. J. S., 352, §107. This section [273]*273is very short, containing but three lines. The heading given by the text writer is as follows:

“Costs cannot ordinarily be awarded to persons who are not parties.”

The body of the section reads as follows:

“In the absence of some special statutory provision costs cannot be awarded to persons not parties to the litigation.”

The case referred to in the note as sustaining the text is that of Eskind v Harvey (Georgia), 93 S. E., 39. Under the same note reference is made to In re Knowles, 23 N. H., 193, 197.

In this New Hampshire case, the Court finds the reason for the rule to be that a party cannot have the privilege of taking costs without having placed themselves in a position to be liable for their payment in case of failure to succeed.

The only other citation of authority made by the Attorney General is 7 C. J..S., 1083, from which the following quotation is taken:

“Other facts that may be considered include the cost of the attorney’s reasonable traveling expenses, * * * the expenses incurred in following the case from court to court, the overhead expenses of the attorney in maintaining his office * *

The citation from 7 C. J. S., supra, is really not responsive to the question presented in the instant case, nor does counsel so claim, except to urge that the items enumerated in Exhibit A of the application are such as might be considered in determining the value of the services rendered by plaintiff’s counsel.

We venture the guess that the claim of the Tax League might have been presented through the plaintiff, except for the fact that she had become involved in very serious difficulty through claimed misappropriation of funds held by her as a fiduciary, and in an effort to reimburse the fund she had made an assignment of all fees that might be allowed to her in the instant case. In addition to being, a party plaintiff she was also listed as attorney, which she had a right to do since she was at that time a regularly admitted lawyer. The Court allowed her a fee of $4000.00, which under her assignment was paid 'to her bondsmen to Tecoup them for loss through her fiduciary defalcation.

[274]*274This seems to be a proper place to make reference to claim No. 2.

This claim was for money advanced to plaintiff in the preparation of the lawsuit.

The Tax League and its counsel recognize the priority of the Bonding Company’s claim to the fund under this assignment, and hence no question is raised at the present time under what has been designated as Claim No. 2.

Counsel for the Tax League urge the correctness of the trial Court’s decision. While no direct authority is cited, yet they urge upon general principles that analogy of reasoning demands the dismissal of the State’s appeal.

Counsel recognize the rule that generally allowances for expenses as costs may not be made to a person not a party to the suit. It is argued that the Tax League was in fact a party to the suit, although necessarily brought by the plaintiff as a taxpayer in her representative capacity. It is claimed that the Tax League actually participated in all stages of the litigation, including the final settlement, and, further, that their participation was such that in the event the case had been lost, the plaintiff could have recovered from it any costs adjudged against her.

In support of the claimed fundamental principle, it is pointed out that the Tax League was made up of taxpayers whose aim and object was the prevention of unauthorized and illegal withdrawing of tax money from the state treasury and other subdivisions; that thereby they are interested parties and belong to the group which plaintiff represented.

It is probably true that a taxpayer not actively participating in the litigation would not be held for expenses and costs in a taxpayers’ suit, even though such taxpayer would be greatly benefited the same as all other taxpayers in the event of recovery. However, th'e Tax League stands in the position of actively participating and by virtue thereof the reason for the rule announced in the New Hampshire case (20 C. J. S., 352, note) would not apply.

This principle is announced in a decision by Bigger, J., Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, 2 N. P. (N. S.), 314, Britton v. Baker et. The opinon in this case was affirmed by the Supreme Court without report in 73 Oh St, 401, 402. The second syllabus reads as follows:

“Costs in such a suit, where the final judgment is against the plaintiff, are properly taxed against him, but upon a prop[275]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 N.E.2d 78, 41 Ohio Law. Abs. 269, 1943 Ohio App. LEXIS 865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dickinson-v-hot-mixed-bituminous-industry-ohioctapp-1943.