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Perry v. Gen. Motors Corp.8/6/1996
DESHLER, Judge.
This is an appeal by plaintiff, Betty A. Perry, from a judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, granting a motion for relief from a default judgment previously entered against defendant, General Motors Corporation.
On July 29, 1994, plaintiff filed a complaint against defendant, alleging causes of action for sex discrimination, age discrimination and infliction of emotional distress. The complaint was sent by certified mail to defendant's Delphi plant in Columbus, Ohio, and was received by Delores J. Adkins, defendant's "specialized clerk." Defendant failed to file an answer or appear in the action. On August 2, 1995, the trial court entered judgment in favor of plaintiff.
On October 13, 1995, defendant filed a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Civ.R. 60(B)(1) and (5). Accompanying the motion was a memorandum in support, which asserted that defendant had a meritorious defense to plaintiff's claims and that defendant's failure to file an answer was the result of mistake, inadvertence or excusable neglect. Attached to the motion were various affidavits setting forth facts in support of defendant's contention that it was entitled to relief under either Civ.R. 60(B)(1) or (5).
By decision filed January 5, 1996, the trial court granted defendant's motion for relief from judgment, finding that defendant had demonstrated that its failure to answer was the result of mistake, inadvertence or excusable neglect.
On appeal, plaintiff sets forth the following assignment of error for review:
"The trial court abused its discretion and erred when it granted relief from judgment based upon the defendant corporation's large size and inefficiency and negligence in handling service of process, rather than upon proof that the defendant corporation's failure to respond was caused by some extraordinary circumstance not the fault of the corporation."
The central issue raised by plaintiff on appeal is whether the trial court abused its discretion in granting defendant's motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Civ.R. 60(B)(1).
In order to prevail on a motion brought under Civ.R. 60(B), a movant must demonstrate that "(1) the party has a meritorious defense or claim to present if relief is granted; (2) the party is entitled to relief under one of the grounds stated in Civ.R. 60(B)(1) through (5); and (3) the motion is made within a reasonable time." GTE Automatic Elec., Inc. v. ARC Industries, Inc. (1976), 47 Ohio St.2d 146, 1 O.O.3d 86, 351 N.E.2d 113, paragraph two of the syllabus. Where the grounds for relief are Civ.R. 60(B)(1), (2) or (3), the motion shall be made "not more than one year after the judgment, order or proceeding was entered or taken." Id. A ruling on a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Civ.R. 60(B) "is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court, and that court's ruling will not be disturbed on appeal absent a showing of abuse of discretion." Griffey v. Rajan (1987), 33 Ohio St.3d 75, 77, 514 N.E.2d 1122, 1123-1124.
Plaintiff does not challenge the trial court's finding that the motion was timely filed (approximately two and one-half months subsequent to the granting of the default judgment), nor does plaintiff contest the court's further determination that defendant "appears to have a meritorious defense" to plaintiff's claims. Upon review, we find no error in the court's ruling on those issues.
Plaintiff's argument focuses upon the trial court's determination that defendant demonstrated that its failure to answer was the result of mistake, inadvertence or excusable neglect.
Civ.R. 6
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