Vara v. Vara

171 N.E.2d 384, 85 Ohio Law. Abs. 268, 14 Ohio Op. 2d 261, 1961 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 337
CourtHighland County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedJanuary 6, 1961
DocketNo. 18801
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 171 N.E.2d 384 (Vara v. Vara) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Highland County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vara v. Vara, 171 N.E.2d 384, 85 Ohio Law. Abs. 268, 14 Ohio Op. 2d 261, 1961 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 337 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1961).

Opinion

Case, J.

This cause is now before the court upon defendant’s motion to quash service which reads as follows:

“Now comes the defendant, by his attorney, and reserving a special appearance, respectfully moves the Court to quash the service herein.
“Defendant says that a summons and a copy of the Petition were not mailed to the defendant at his last known place of residence forthwith upon filing the same in accordance with Section 3105.06 B. C.; that immediately after the first publication of Notice, plaintiff, who was the party making the service, failed to deliver copies thereof, with the proper postage, to the Clerk of the Court as required by Section 2703.16, Revised Code.”

In support of said motion, defendant’s attorney filed the following memorandum:

“Section 3105.06, Revised Code. The Petition herein was filed on the 25th day of June, 1960, and in said Petition it is alleged in the last half of the second paragraph
“. . . ‘that he is a resident of Bonifay, Holmes County, State of Florida; that he is now assigned to the Infantry Officers Advance Course at Ft. Benning, Q-eorgia.’
“In view of the foregoing statement in the Petition, Section 3105.06, Revised Code, requires that notice of the pend-[270]*270ency of the action be given by publication. Nevertheless, plaintiff filed a Precipe for summons to be directed to the Sheriff of Highland County, Ohio, for service on defendant, and the same was issued June 25, 1960, and returned July 25, 1960, endorsed ‘Not found in bailiwick.’
“Section 2703.16, Revised Code. On August 1, 1960, an Affidavit for Service by Publication was filed herein, and on the 4th day of August, 1960, publication of Notice was commenced in The News-Herald. However, it was not until August 18, 1960, that plaintiff delivered a copy of the Notice with a Precipe to have the same mailed to the defendant at Bonifay, Florida. Inasmuch as Section 2703.16, Revised Code, provides that a copy of the first publication shall be mailed immediately after the first publication, it is manifest that plaintiff did not comply with the requirements of said Code Section.”

In opposing said motion to quash service, plaintiff’s attorney filed the following memorandum contra thereto:

“The issues involved in this motion is the meaning of the word ‘immediately’ contained in Section 2703.16, Revised Code. The only case this counsel has found interpreting this in a divorce action is Case v. Case, 35 Ohio Opinions, 470, in which the notice was not mailed until after publication was completed. Obviously, this is not sufficient. In the instant case, however, notice was mailed to the defendant more than five weeks before the date set for answer in the publication, and the defendant had adequate time to answer or appear and did appear before the time set in the publication.
“Plaintiff further says that this motion is improper inasmuch as defendant has already entered a general appearance in this case by filing on September 24, 1960, a motion for continuance and request for relief under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. This is true even though defendant attempted to signify this appearance as a special appearance. Ohio Jurisprudence, 2nd, says ‘It is frequently stated broadly that any appearance except for the purpose of challenging the courts jurisdiction of the person of the defendant is a general appearance.” 2 Ohio Jurisprudence, 2nd, Appearance, Section 10. It is a basic rule of law that when a defendant makes a gen[271]*271eral appearance be can no longer move to quash summons or object to jurisdiction.”

Subsequent thereto, said motion to quash service was assigned for oral argument and at which hearing neither party was present but each was duly represented by their respective counsel of record. At the close of the arguments so made, the court granted leave for the filing of any further memoranda as counsel might deem beneficial to assist the court.

Within the time specified, plaintiff’s counsel filed no further memorandum, and counsel for defendant filed the following reply memorandum:

“Plaintiff, in her Memorandum Contra Defendant’s Motion to Quash, has raised an issue calculated to change the entire course of the proceedings by seeking an order which would, in effect, hold that the defendant, by seeking a stay under the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act, had thereby entered a general appearance. The circumstances of seeking relief under this Federal Statute would effectively deny the benefits of this statute to all military personnel which it was designed to protect in cases where the State Court had no personal service or jurisdiction over the defendant.
“The strongest statement in support of plaintiff’s contention is found at 2 Ohio Jurisprudence 2d, 510, Appearance, Section 12, wherein the following statement is found:
“ ‘Thus an appearance which is, in substance, a submission of the defendant’s person to the Court’s jurisdiction is held to be a general appearance, even though it has been stated that the appearance is made for a special purpose only and is not a general appearance.’
“However, defendant contends, first of all, that this application for a stay under the Federal Statute is not, in substance, a submission of the defendant’s person to the Court’s jurisdiction and should not be so held. The defendant was not, by this application, seeking leave to plead, and was not seeking any determination on the merits nor directing any objections toward seeking modification of plaintiff’s pleadings.
“Under the existing law, the critical problem which now arises is as to what constitutes an appearance on the part of a non-resident defendant in divorce which is sufficient to entitle the divorce decree to full faith and credit under the Sherrer-[272]*272Coe Case rule above stated. Some courts have held that to come within the rule, the appearance must be an authorized appearance. . . . Several cases have determined that a ‘special Appearance’ does not satisfy the rule, although there is some authority to support the contrary view. 18 Ohio Jurisprudence 2d, 149, Sec. 192. See the annotation at 28 A. L. R. 2d, 1303, at Sec. 83, pp 1322, et seq.
“The Supreme Court of the United States has held that the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act, 1940, is always to be liberally construed to protect those persons in military service. 36 Ohio Jurisprudence 2d, 709.
“The removal of a cause from a State Court to a Federal Court where the appearance in both courts is expressly special, does not waive objection made in the State Court or in the Federal Court to the State Court’s jurisdiction over the person or property of the defendant. 2 Ohio Jurisprudence 2d, 541, Appearance, Section 35. Levine v. Buick, Olds, Pontiac Sales Co. (4 Ohio Opinions, 117, 2 Ohio Law Abs., 29).
“There is considerable similarity between the procedure for staying further proceedings in a State Court in the process of removing the same to a Federal Court and the procedure for staying further proceedings under the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
171 N.E.2d 384, 85 Ohio Law. Abs. 268, 14 Ohio Op. 2d 261, 1961 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vara-v-vara-ohctcomplhighla-1961.