Tomle v. New York Central Railroad

234 F. Supp. 101, 4 Ohio Misc. 31, 32 Ohio Op. 2d 81, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 943, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7258
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedSeptember 21, 1964
DocketCiv. A. C 63-66
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 234 F. Supp. 101 (Tomle v. New York Central Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tomle v. New York Central Railroad, 234 F. Supp. 101, 4 Ohio Misc. 31, 32 Ohio Op. 2d 81, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 943, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7258 (N.D. Ohio 1964).

Opinion

GREEN, District Judge.

This action was commenced on January 8, 1963, in the Common Pleas Court of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, against the New York Central Railroad Company. It was thereafter removed to this court by the said defendant.

In the oi'iginal complaint plaintiff alleged negligence on the part of New York Central in the construction and maintenance of a certain grade crossing, as a consequence of which he sustained personal injux’ies. The basic facts pled by plaintiff were that on or about October 29, 1961, he was a passenger in a car traversing the said crossing; that as the car passed over the crossing the under side of the vehicle came into contact with the trades, ripping the motor from its mounts; that plaintiff was thrown about in the car and suffered certain injuries as alleged in the complaint. It was alleged that the negligence of the New York Central was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries.

On June 28, 1963, pursuant to an order of court granting a motion to strike by defendant, plaintiff filed an amended complaint against the New York Central.

On May 1,1964 a second amended complaint was filed by plaintiff, wherein Pontiac Motors Division, General Motors Corporation, was joined as a new party defendant.

In plaintiff’s second cause of action it is alleged that in 1961 defendant Pontiac, through its agents and dealers, sold to plaintiff’s wife, who was the driver at the time of the accident, a 1961 Tempest automobile, being the car involved in the accident. It is further alleged that defendant Pontiac was negligent in the design of the said car, and that such negligence was a proximate cause of the accident which produced plaintiff’s injuries.

In plaintiff’s third cause of action it is alleged that Pontiac “breached its implied warxanty to plaintiff” that the 1961 Tempest was marketable and fit for the purpose for which it was intended.

Defendant Pontiac has filed a motion to dismiss the second and third causes of action. It is asserted that:

1) the second and third causes of action were not brought within the period of time allowed by the applicable statute of limitations;
2) the third cause of action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, in that there is no privity of contract between plaintiff and defendant.

As to plaintiff’s second cause of action, it is quite clear that the motion to dismiss is well taken. The claim for relief asserted therein is to recover for *103 personal injuries sustained on or about October 29, 1961 as a consequence of defendant Pontiac’s negligence. Pontiac was not made a party to this action until May 1, 1964.

The law of Ohio is controlling in this action, in that the accident complained of occurred in Ohio. Section 2305.10, Ohio Revised Code, provides:

“An action for bodily injury or injuring personal property shall be brought within two years after the cause thereof arose.”

This two-and-a-half-year-old claim for personal injuries based upon the defendant Pontiac’s alleged negigence is barred by the plain language of the above statute.

Turning now to the third cause of action, the Court believes that both grounds asserted by defendant in its motion to dismiss are valid.

If it were to be assumed that the complaint stated a claim upon which relief could be granted, it nevertheless would be barred by the two-year statute of limitations governing actions to recover for personal injuries, O.R.C. § 2305.10.

Plaintiff argues that he is entitled to the benefit of a six-year statute of limitations, provided for in § 2305.07 of the Ohio Revised Code. That statute reads:

“An action upon a contract not in writing, express or implied, or upon a liability created by statute other than a forfeiture or penalty, shall be brought within six years after the cause thereof accrued.” 1

It is plaintiff’s contention that a claim based upon breach of warranty is a claim upon an implied contract, and the six-year statute controls.

In Andrianos v. Community Traction Co., 155 Ohio St. 47, 97 N.E.2d 549 (1951) the plaintiff sustained personal injuries while a fare-paying passenger on one of the defendant’s buses. The plaintiff therein claimed she was entitled to the benefit of the six-year statute, on the theory of a breach of the implied contract of a common carrier safely to transport a passenger to his destination. The Ohio Supreme Court, in passing on this contention, stated:

“The rule prevailing in by far the larger number of jurisdictions is that where a statute, specific in terms, limits the time within which an action ‘for injuries to the person’ or ‘bodily injury’ may be brought, such statute governs all actions the real purpose of which is to recover for an injury to the person, whether based upon contract or tort, and a general statute, limiting the time for bringing an action growing out of a contractual relationship, is without application.” p. 50, 97 N.E.2d p. 552.
******
“It is plain from a reading of Section 11224-1, General Code [now § 2305.10, Revised Code], that it imposes the two-year period of limitation on the cause of action instead of annexing it to the form of action. That section is not confined to any particular type of injury, nor does it concern itself with the circumstances under which an injury was inflicted. On its face, it clearly covers all actions based on a claim respecting bodily injury.
“Surely, the General Assembly did not intend to create different periods of limitation for the recovery of damages growing out of bodily injury, depending on the form of the action brought. No matter what form is adopted, the essence of the action is the wrongful injury, and that it arose from the breach of an *104 express or implied contract is immaterial.” p. 51, 97 N.E.2d p. 552.

The Andrianos opinion continues on in language equally forceful and unequivocal to reinforce the Ohio Supreme Court’s pronouncement that the two-year statute of limitations applies to any and all actions to recover for personal injuries.

In light of the Andrianos decision, plaintiff’s contention that he is entitled to the benefit of the six-year statute must be rejected.

i None of the Ohio decisions cited by plaintiff wherein a longer period of limitations was applied involved suits to recover for personal injuries. Consequently, the Court cannot consider them as authority on the question under consideration. Insofar as Pullman Co. v. Roos, 9 Ohio App. 309 (1917) expresses a view divergent from that enunciated by the Ohio Supreme Court in Andrianos v. Community Traction Co., supra, it must be considered to have been superseded by the Andrianos decision, although not overruled by name.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
234 F. Supp. 101, 4 Ohio Misc. 31, 32 Ohio Op. 2d 81, 2 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 943, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tomle-v-new-york-central-railroad-ohnd-1964.