Santen v. United States Shoe Co.

25 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 287, 1924 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 2034
CourtOhio Superior Court, Cincinnati
DecidedDecember 9, 1924
StatusPublished

This text of 25 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 287 (Santen v. United States Shoe Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Superior Court, Cincinnati primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Santen v. United States Shoe Co., 25 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 287, 1924 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 2034 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1924).

Opinion

Marx, J.

The question before the Court arises upon the motion of one of the defendants, namely, The Lewis S. Rosenstiel Company, an Ohio corporation, to quash the service made upon said company by publication.

The facts are as follows: The plaintiff in his petition, filed May 2nd, 1924, alleges that said defendant is a corporation organized and existing under Ohio laws and prays for equitable relief in the nature of a reeission and an accounting and for a money judgment in such amount as the court may determine after an accounting. On August 1st, 1924, plaintiff filed an affidavit alleging that service of summons cannot be made within this state on said defendant; that said defendant is an Ohio corporation, and has failed to appoint [288]*288an agent upon whom service of summons can be made, and has no place of doing business in this state. On October 10, 1924, plaintiff filed an. affidavit in proof of publication from which it appears that an advertisement containing the caption of the case, notice of the suit, a copy of the prayer, and fixing the answer date, was published in the Court Index, a newspaper printed and of general circulation in this county, once a week for six consecutive weeks, commencing on the 28th day of August, 1924, and that each insertion was made upon the same day of each week.

The grounds upon which the defendant seeks to set aside this service by publication are:

(1) That there is no authority of law for making such service by publication.

(2) That said publication -was not made in a newspaper printed in the county where the petition was filed; and

(3) That said publication was not made in the manner directed by law.

Upon the hearing of the motion, it was agreed by counsel that the Court Index was a proper newspaper in which to publish notices for service by publication, and the Court so finds.

It is also agreed that Paragraph 8, of Section 11292 of the General Code of Ohio purports to authorize service by publication upon a domestic corporation and provides as follows:

“Service may be made by publication in any of the following eases: * * *

8. In an action against a corporation organized under the laws of this state, which has failed to elect officers or to appoint an agent upon whom service of summons can be made, and which has no place of doing business in this state; * ' # *

The main question to be determined is wheth'er such statute in so far as it purports to authorize a valid personal judgment, based upon service by publication against a domestic corporation, is a constitutional enactment. The defendant [289]*289asserts that it is not, and since the question is new in this state and the authorities elsewhere are not entirely harmon ious, the Court has gone into the matter with some care.

Service of process is the giving of such actual or constructive notice to a defendant as makes him a party to the proceeding and gives the Court jurisdiction over his person or property, but the directions of the statute as to service must be obeyed. There are two general methods of making service— actual and constructive. Personal service is actual service. Service by publication is constructive service. There is no personal service in the present case. The sole service upon the defendant is by publication.

Since Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U. S., 714, there is no longer any doubt that jurisdiction to render a personal judgment against a non-resident defendant, whether corporate or individual, can not be obtained by a mere publication of summons. Following a long line ' of similar authorities, this Court recently set aside the service of summons upon the managing agent in this state of a non-resident partnership. Smith v. Pinkerton Detective Agency, post, affirmed in Court of Appeals of Hamilton county, March 10, 1924.

However, in the case at bar, a judgment in personam is sought against a resident corporation and Justice Field in Pennoyer v. Neff, supra, is careful to distinguish between the law applicable to a non-residént and to a resident. He said at page 734:

“To prevent any misapplication of the views expressed in this opinion # * *. The jurisdiction which every state possesses to determine the civil status and capacities of all its inhabitants involves authority to prescribe the conditions on which proceedings affecting them may be commenced and carried on within its territory.”

And again, at page 736, Justice Field says:

“Nor do we doubt that a state, on creating corporations or other institutions for pecuniary or charitable purposes, may provide a mode in which their conduct may be investigated, their obligations enforced, or their charters revoked, which shall require other than personal service upon [290]*290their officers or members. Parties becoming members of such corporations or institutions would hold their interest subject to the conditions prescribed by law.”

Our own Supreme Court has recognized this same distinction in Moore v. Parsons, 98 O. S., 233, in which it is said at page 238 concerning service by publication upon a resident of Ohio:

“It is well settled that it is competent for each state to prescribe the mode of bringing parties before its courts, and that the legislature may prescribe such modes of judicial procedure as it may deem proper, and also direct the manner of service of process, and may declare also the effect of a judgment rendered in pursuance of such notice. Judgments rendered upon constructive service in accordance with the requirements of the statute are conclusive upon the parties until set aside by some direct proceeding for that purpose. It is true that strict compliance must be had with the pro vision's of statute authorizing other than personal service, and such must affirmatively appear.”

Th¡e, ..earlier decision in Oil Well Supply Co. v. Koen et al., 64 O. S., 422, holding that our statutes cannot be constitu-' tionaljly. construed to authorize a personal judgment against a defendant served only by publication is specifically limited to nqii-residents.

If - this constitutional difference between the power of the state with respect to its own citizens and the citizens and residents of other jurisdictions is continuously kept in mind, much, of the apparent conflict and confusion among the authorities disappears. Regardless of what power the state may ./.possess with respect to non-resident, non-citizen and non-subject persons or corporations, it is well settled, as our Supreme Court has so recently determined, that it is competent for the state to prescribe the manner of bringing its own citizens and residents before its own courts provided they are granted “due prócess of law” in accordance with the Constitution of the United States.

Inv:,accordance with this power, the state of Ohio has enacted Spcfioii 11292, paragraph 8 of the General Code, which [291]*291permits service by publication, upon domestic corporations ■which have failed to elect officers- or to appoint an agent upon whom service of summons can le made and have no place of doing business in this state.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
25 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 287, 1924 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 2034, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/santen-v-united-states-shoe-co-ohsuperctcinci-1924.