Inman v. Radjevick

28 Ohio Law. Abs. 463, 14 Ohio Op. 80, 1939 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1125
CourtCuyahoga County Common Pleas Court
DecidedMarch 10, 1939
StatusPublished

This text of 28 Ohio Law. Abs. 463 (Inman v. Radjevick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Inman v. Radjevick, 28 Ohio Law. Abs. 463, 14 Ohio Op. 80, 1939 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1125 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1939).

Opinion

OPINION

By SKEEL, J.

On the first day of May, 1937, the .plaintiff filed his petition in the Common Pleas Court of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, against the, defendant .whom. he. therein designated as Stanley Radjevick with his residence as 4044 West 219th street, Fairview Village, Ohio, in the county of Cuyahoga. In his netition the plaintiff alleges to have been employed by the defendant as a laborer. He alleges that while so engaged in the service of the defendant on or about the 16th day of December, 1936, due to certain acts of negligence on the defendant’s part he was injured, and asks damages therefor.

The defendant’s correct name is Anthony F. Radsvick and his correct address is that given in the petition. The sheriff tried to make service upon the defendant but only at the address given under the name of Stanley Radjevick, and returned the summons “not found.” The plaintiff not being cognizant of his mistake in the defendant’s first name insisted that he did live at the address given in the petition and therefore filed a precipé for the issuance of an alias summons, whereupon the sheriff returned “residence service on June 12th on the within named Stanley Radjevick.” On June 25, 1937, an answer in the form of a general denial was filed, the same - being verified by Stanley Radjevick. On the 24th day of January, 1939, more than two years after the alleged injury was claimed to have been suffered by the plaintiff, the plaintiff discovered that the defendant’s name was in fact Anthony Radsvick and that Stanley Radjevick was in fact the father of the intended defendant and therefore filed an amended petition by which he asked to correct -the mistake -in naming Stanley Radjevick instead of An-: thony Radsvick, and also alleging in the said amended petition that Anthony F. Radsvick was also known as Stanley Radsvick, and caused a summons to be served upon Anthony F. Radsvick, as to the amended petition.

[464]*464[463]*463It was the evident purpose of this amended petition to correct the name .of the defendant 'and not to make a new party defendant in the action. After the service of summons on Anthony F. Radsvick, the father Stanley Radjevick, who was in fact never served with summons and whose residence was some two miles distant from Anthony F. Radsvick, but who voluntarily and by the procurement of Anthony F. Radsvick, filed the answer on June 24, 1937,’ filed a motion to strike the amended' petition from the files. Just what interest Stanley Radjevick would have in voiding the amendment of the petition as to the party defendant to clearly indicare that he, Stanley Radjevick, was not the party intended to be su.ed, is difficult to understand. The. [464]*464court is of the opinion that the attempt to use an amended petition as a means of correcting a mistake in the name of a party is procedurally incorrect and that the proper way to- correct the record would be by motion under §§11360 and 11363, GC. In the interest of justice, however, the court will proceed as if correct procedural methods had been invoked.

1 Upon the taking of testimony on the defendant’s motion to strike the amended petition from the files, the following facts were clearly established:

- That the' defendant, Anthony F. Radsvick lived at 4044 West 219th street in the village of Fair view; that his correct name is Anthony F. Radsvick; that the defendant’s father, Stanley Radjevick, lives on Center road in the village of Dover some two miles distant from that of his son; that the summons in the above entitled case was left at the residence of the intended defendant, Anthony F. Radsvick, and that upon its receipt he saw his father’s name indicated thereon, took it to his father’s home in the village of Dover, where both he and his father read the summons and the petition, and that the defendant, Anthony' F. Radsvick, then knew that the summons was intended for him and not for his father.

On this point, the defendant, upon being questioned by the court, testified as follows:

“Q. You say you read the petition over at your father’s house?
“A. Yes.
- “Q. You knew that you hired this man? (Referring to plaintiff).
“A. Yes, I did.
“Q. You knew that he had had that accident?
- “A. Yes.
“Q. You came to the conclusion, I suppose, .that he had made a mistake in the name, is that it?
"A. That is right.”

- This circumstance is further established and not controverted by ■he defendant by the statement of defendant’s counsel in his brief, as follows:

"The summons naming Stanley Radjevick as defendant was left by the sheriff on residence service at me residence of Anthony F. Radsvick, who, in turn, delivered the same to Stanley Radjevick. Stanley Radjevick then consulted counsel and told his counsel so consulted that the plaintiff had undoubtedly intended to sue Anthony F. Radsvick and not Stanley Radjevick and acting on advice of counsel, Stanley Radjevick signed and filed an answer, denying all of the allegations of the petition.”

We have before us therefore clearly the situation of a party whom the plaintiff intended to sue actually receiving notice that suit had been instituted against him and recognizing and knowing that he was intended as a party defendant although service was made upon him under a name which was misspelled as to his last name and improperly designated as to his first name, and the question is whether or not such intended defendant is thereby subjected to the jurisdiction of the court from which the summons has been received.

Before examining the authorities, the court desires to point out that from the facts as thus established, it is very apparent that the intended defendant procured another to file an answer who had never in fact been served in the case for the evident purpose of concealing the mistake in names until the passing of the statute of limitations. In other words the defendant truly intended, and who was in fact served with summons, and who had knowledge of the fact that he was intended to be the defendant, attempted to conceal the mistake until such time as the statute of limitations would preclude his being compelled to meet the issues set forth in the petition.

The defendant cites numerous cases to the effect that new causes of action may not be stated nor new facts brought in by amendment to the petition after the period of limitation as provided by statute has expired.

This proposition of law is well recognized and must be conceded. However, the facts and the circumstances of the case do not raise that point. The question before the court is whether or not where one who is intended to be sued and knows that he is the defendant intended to be sued receives the summons, such circumstances give the court jurisdiction over him with respect to the issues set forth in the petition. A leading case in Ohio is that of Maloney v Callahan, 127 Oh St, 387. In this case the defendant was sued as the W. A. Maloney Company, a corporation, and the sheriff, however, finding that there was no such corporation at that address, returned the summons as served on W. A. Maloney, doing business as the W. A. Maloney Company. [465]*465Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the syllabus, are as follows:

“4.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Stocker v. Dobyns-Lantz Hdwe. Co.
1924 OK 276 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
State Ex Rel. v. Collier
23 S.W.2d 897 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1930)
Abilene Independent Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Williams
229 S.W. 847 (Texas Supreme Court, 1921)
Proctor v. Wells Bros. of New York
104 N.E. 186 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1914)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
28 Ohio Law. Abs. 463, 14 Ohio Op. 80, 1939 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/inman-v-radjevick-ohctcomplcuyaho-1939.