Ferguson v. Johnson

473 N.E.2d 56, 15 Ohio App. 3d 143, 15 Ohio B. 235, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12005
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 29, 1984
DocketCA83-01-008
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 473 N.E.2d 56 (Ferguson v. Johnson) 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
Ferguson v. Johnson, 473 N.E.2d 56, 15 Ohio App. 3d 143, 15 Ohio B. 235, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12005 (Ohio Ct. App. 1984).

Opinions

Jones, J.

On October 17, 1980, plaintiff-appellee, Robert L. Ferguson, filed suit against defendant-appellant, Victor E. Johnson. The complaint contained an action for money and also sought foreclosure of a mechanic’s lien held by Ferguson against Johnson’s property. Ferguson claimed that Johnson owed over $50,000 on a construction contract between the parties. In addition to Johnson, defendant-appellee, BancOhio National Bank (“BancOhio”), the holder of a mortgage lien on Johnson’s property, and other parties holding various liens on the property, were named as defendants in the complaint.

BancOhio filed an answer to Ferguson’s complaint and at the same time filed a cross-claim against Johnson, seeking damages of $50,000 for Johnson’s alleged default on a construction loan note and the foreclosure of a mortgage given by Johnson to secure payment of the note.

Johnson filed his answer to Ferguson’s complaint. In addition, Johnson filed a counterclaim against Ferguson, alleging damages in the amount of approximately $18,900 resulting from Ferguson’s breach of the construction contract.

On February 2, 1982, fourteen months after BancOhio had filed its cross-claim against Johnson, Johnson filed a “cross-claim” against BancOhio. Johnson sought both compensatory and punitive damages, claiming that Banc-Ohio negligently distributed the construction loan funds. The cross-claim contained the following declaration: “Defendant Victor Johnson requests Trial by Jury.” This was the only request for a jury trial by any of the parties. All parties were gradually dismissed from the case until the only matters to be resolved were between Ferguson, Johnson and BancOhio.

Johnson’s request for a jury trial was denied and a bench trial commenced on June 7,1982, continuing for six days. In its findings of fact and conclusions of law the trial court determined, inter alia, that Ferguson and Johnson had agreed to a contract price of $45,000 for the construction contract; that Ferguson had been paid $16,200.44 for the work he had performed; and that Ferguson was entitled to the difference between the contract price and the amount he had been previously paid.

Based on this, the trial court awarded Ferguson judgment in the amount of $28,799.66. In addition, both Johnson’s counterclaim against Ferguson and his cross-claim against BancOhio were dismissed. The court also denied Ferguson’s claim for money he spent on “extra” construction above the $45,000 contract limit.

Johnson filed his notice of appeal and presents the following assignments of error:

“First Assignment of Error:
“The trial court erred in denying the defendant-appellant’s request for a jury trial.
“Second Assignment of Error:
“The trial court erred in dismissing the counterclaim of the defendant-appellant Johnson against the plaintiff-ap-pellee Ferguson.”

Johnson’s first assignment of error asserts that the trial court improperly denied his request for a jury trial. A jury trial was requested when Johnson filed his cross-claim against BancOhio. A careful review of the pleadings is necessary in order to properly address this assignment of error.

*145 After Ferguson had filed his initial complaint, BancOhio filed its answer on November 20, 1980, accompanied by its cross-claim against Johnson to foreclose the mortgage and collect on the note executed by Johnson. On December 18, 1980, Johnson filed his answer to Banc-Ohio’s cross-claim, stating that if any conditions of the mortgage were broken, they were due to BancOhio’s “negligent, willful and wanton interference” with Johnson’s performance of the mortgage conditions. No demand for a jury trial was made at this time. Some ten months later on October 27, 1981, Johnson filed a motion for leave to file a counterclaim against BancOhio, citing in support of his motion Civ. R. 13 and R. 15. The motion was assigned for hearing but the disposition thereof was not journalized. In any event, Johnson filed his counterclaim, styled as a cross-claim, on February 2, 1982, at which time he made his request for a jury trial.

Civ. R. 38(B) provides in part that:

“Any parly may demand a trial by jury on any issue triable of right by a jury by serving upon the other parties a demand therefor at any time after the commencement of the action and not later than fourteen days after the service of the last pleading directed to such issue. ” (Emphasis added.)

The failure of a party to timely serve his demand for a jury trial as required by the Civil Rules constitutes a waiver by him of a trial by jury. Frashuer v. Travelers Indemnity Co. (1974), 49 Ohio App. 2d 1 [3 O.O.3d 78]; Civ. R. 38(D). Civ. R. 38 is patterned after Fed. R. Civ. P. 38. See Staff Note to Civ. R. 38. In construing Fed. R. Civ. P. 38(b), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that amended pleadings not introducing new issues will not give rise to a demand for a jury trial. Guajardo v. Estelle (C.A. 5, 1978), 580 F.2d 748. The term “new issues” has been interpreted to mean new issues of fact and not new theories of recovery. Guajardo, supra. See, also, Jackson v. Airways Parking Co. (N.D.Ga. 1969), 297 F.Supp. 1366.

A party who is served with a pleading stating a cross-claim against him is required to serve an answer to the cross-claim within twenty-eight days after the service upon him. Civ. R. 12(A)(2). Johnson complied with this requirement when he filed his answer on December 18,1980. Under the above-quoted provisions of Civ. R. 38(B), Johnson would have had fourteen days thereafter, or until January 1, 1981, to demand a trial by jury. No such demand was made during this time. In addition, if Johnson had a claim against BancOhio, it should have been filed along with the answer to the bank’s claim, as it appears that Johnson’s claim against BancOhio was a compulsory counterclaim since it arose from the subject matter of BancOhio’s claim. Civ. R. 13(A).

Johnson later sought the court’s permission to file a counterclaim as a supplemental pleading, in order to assert his claim against BancOhio. Whether Johnson’s claim against Banc-Ohio was a counterclaim as alleged in the motion, or a cross-claim, is of no consequence. In either case, the cross-claim against BancOhio failed to raise new issues of fact. The basis of Johnson’s claim was that BancOhio negligently distributed the construction loan funds. Johnson asserted and initially raised this issue in his answer to BancOhio’s cross-claim when he stated that any default of the mortgage conditions was the proximate result of the “negligent, willful and wanton interference” of BancOhio’s employees. Thus, the cross-claim against BancOhio failed to raise any “new issues” and the right to demand a jury trial was not revived by Johnson’s amended or supplemental pleading against BancOhio.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
473 N.E.2d 56, 15 Ohio App. 3d 143, 15 Ohio B. 235, 1984 Ohio App. LEXIS 12005, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ferguson-v-johnson-ohioctapp-1984.