Vitek v. Wilcox

8 Ohio App. Unrep. 283
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 9, 1990
DocketCase No. WM89 000004
StatusPublished

This text of 8 Ohio App. Unrep. 283 (Vitek v. Wilcox) 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
Vitek v. Wilcox, 8 Ohio App. Unrep. 283 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

ABOOD, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Williams County Court of Common Pleas which denied plaintiff-appellant's motion for leave to file a second amended complaint and granted summary judgment in favor of defendants-appellees Robert and Beverly Gotshall, dba The Bar, John and Elsie Shimp, dba Shimp's aka Unique Buffet, and Rodney and Sharon Hartsock, dba Doubletree, and dismissed appellant's claims against them. Appellant has appealed setting forth two assignments of error:

"I. THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR IN DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT.

"II. THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR WHEN IT GRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANTS GOTSHALLS, SHIMPS, AND HARTSOCKS, THEREBY DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS TO EACH DEFENDANT."

The facts giving rise to the issues on appeal are as follows. In the early morning hours of October 5, 1986, appellant's decedent, Eugene L. Kreischer, who had been a patron at an establishment called The Bar, was involved in two altercations. The first was with the bartender at The Bar, Charles Nicolen, who ejected him from the bar at cloning time, approximately 2:30 a.m. The other was with appellee Eddie Wilcox, a minor, who had patronized several establishments that night, including The Bar, Shimp's Unique Buffet, and the Doubletree, and who struck the decedent in the jaw causing him to hit his head on the pavement. The decedent subsequently died.

On October 5, 1987, appellant, individually and as the personal representative of the decedent, filed a wrongful death action against appellees Eddie Ray Wilcox, Jr., Charles Nicolen, Robert and Beverly Gotshall, dba The Bar, Rodney and Sharon Hartsock, dba Doubletree, and John and Elsie Shimp, dba Shimp's aka Unique Buffet.1 In her complaint, appellant alleged that the decedent, while a patron at The Bar, became intoxicated; that Nicolen knowingly continued to .serve decedent intoxicated beverages notwithstanding the fact that the decedent was noticeably intoxicated; and, that decedent habitually drank intoxicating liquor in excess. The complaint alleged further that appellee Nicolen ejected decedent from The Bar and, while doing so, kicked and beat him causing severe physical injury and pain and causing him to lose physical and mental control of himself. The complaint alleged further that on that same morning appellee Wilcox was a patron of The Bar, Doubletree and Shimp's, became intoxicated and, upon observing decedent's ejection from The Bar, walked across the street and struck him, knowing him to be intoxicated and in a weakened physical and mental condition; as a result of being beaten, kicked and struck, decedent fell to the ground, struck his head and ultimately died. Appellant's complaint set forth seven separate causes of actions against appellees. In her first cause of action, appellant alleged that the negligence of appellee Nicolen caused decedent serious physical harm, pain, suffering and medical expenses. In her second cause of action, appellant alleged that the negligence of .appellee Wilcox caused decedent serious physical harm, pain, suffering and medical expenses. In her third cause of action, appellant alleged that appellee Nicolen's actions constituted an assault and battery on decedent without just cause or provocation causing decedent serious physical harm, pain, suffering and medical expenses. In her fourth cause of action, appellant alleged that appellee Wilcox's actions constituted an assault and battery on decedent without just cause or provocation causing him serious physical harm, pain, suffering and medical expenses. In her fifth cause of action, appellant alleged that appellee Nicolen, in serving and continuing to serve decedent in his noticeably intoxicated state, violated R.C. 4301.22(B) and (C) causing decedent to become inebriated, lose control and to sustain injury causing his death. In her sixth cause of action, appellant alleged that appellees Robert and Beverly Gotshall, owners of The Bar, employed appellee Nicolen as a bartender knowing him to be prone to violence and negligence in his conduct towards patrons, therefore, rendering them vicariously liable for his negligent and intentional acts committed within the scope and course of his employment. In her seventh cause of action, [285]*285appellant alleged that appellees Robert and Beverly Gotshall, Rodney and Sharon Hartsock and John and Elsie Shimp were all negligent in wrongfully serving intoxicated beverages to Wilcox, in violation of R.C. 4301.69 and 4399.18, causing him to become inebriated and violent and thereby negligently and wrongfully cause the death of decedent.

All of the appellees, with the exception of Wilcox, filed answers to the complaint. On November 30, 1988, a pretrial order was issued setting a discovery cutoff of February 28, 1989, and a motion cutoff of March 17, 1989. On February 23, 1989, appellant filed a motion, pursuant to Civ. R. 15, for leave to file a second amended complaint stating that certain facts were brought to her attention following the service of the first two complaints and, therefore, it was necessary to amend her complaint to conform the pleadings to the evidence that would be presented at trial. Specifically, appellant's request was to change the party defendants to reflect the proper ownership of The Bar. In support of her motion, appellant stated that on October 22, 1987, she had been advised by the attorney for the Gotshalls that the Montpelier Tavern Company, a corporation of which the Gotshalls were the sole shareholders, owned and operated The Bar and was, therefore, the proper party-defendant. Appellant argued that the Gotshalls were, as the sole shareholders of that corporation, authorized to and did receive actual notice of the action prior to the running of the statute of limitations so as to eliminate any prejudice to the Montpelier Tavern Company in its defense. On April 10, 1989, the Gotshalls filed a memorandum in opposition to appellant's motion for leave to amend her complaint arguing that appellant had been advised by letter in October 1987 that the corporation was the real party in interest and that their answers to interrogatories filed on May 3, 1988, included a copy of the liquor license which had been issued to the corporation. The Gotshalls submitted that appellant had neglected to seek leave to amend the complaint to have the corporation named as a party until February 23, 1989, four and one half months after the statute of limitations had run and sixteen months after they had first received notice of that fact, and, therefore, by her actions, failed to satisfy the requirements of Civ. R. 15. Finally, the Gotshalls submitted that, while Civ. R. 15(C) is intended to prevent a defendant from profiting from a plaintiffs mistake, here there was no mistake since appellant was aware of the proper party-defendant and had had sufficient time to amend the complaint long before the statute of limitations had run.

On March 31, 1989, a hearing was held on appellant's motion for leave to amend her complaint. At the hearing, the trial court found that the cause of action had accrued on October 5, 1986, the original complaint had been filed on October 5, 1987, the first amended complaint had been filed on October 22, 1987, and the motion for leave to amend the complaint was filed on February 23, 1989, twenty-eight months after the cause of action arose and four and one-half months after the statute of limitations had run.

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Bluebook (online)
8 Ohio App. Unrep. 283, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vitek-v-wilcox-ohioctapp-1990.