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Sweeney v. Hunter
Citations: 601 N.E.2d 166; 76 Ohio App. 3d 159; 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 4968Docket: No. 58963.
Court: Ohio Court of Appeals; October 27, 1991; Ohio; State Appellate Court
Angela Sweeney appeals the trial court's decision to award attorney fees to Metropolitan Property Liability Insurance Company, which was granted based on Civil Rule 11. The case stems from a collision on August 3, 1987, between vehicles operated by Sweeney and Sarah Hunter, the latter being insured by Metropolitan. Following an unsuccessful intercompany arbitration, Metropolitan compensated Sweeney for property damage. Subsequently, Sweeney filed a personal injury lawsuit against Hunter for $500,000. Sweeney's attorney demanded that Metropolitan admit liability based on its arbitration loss, but Metropolitan refused. In response, the attorney filed a bad faith claim against Metropolitan, naming both Sweeney and Hunter as plaintiffs without Hunter's knowledge or consent. Hunter testified she did not authorize this action and had no intent to sue her insurer, asserting the allegations against Metropolitan were false. Metropolitan and Hunter filed motions to strike Hunter from the suit, sought summary judgment, and requested sanctions against Sweeney's counsel for improper conduct under Civil Rule 11. The trial court ruled in favor of Metropolitan, granting summary judgment and imposing sanctions. Sweeney's appeal contests the reasonableness of the awarded attorney fees of $10,232.00. However, the court found the trial court acted within its discretion, affirming that sanctions can be imposed against an attorney for violations of Civil Rule 11, and that such sanctions are only deemed improper if there is an abuse of discretion, which was not established in this case. The court explicitly declines to adopt the Hamilton County Court of Appeals' position that a plaintiff's attorney should not bear responsibility for attorney fees related to a Civ. R. 11 motion. Citing Newman v. Al Castrucci Ford Sales, Inc., the court acknowledges the 'untenable' situation a plaintiff's attorney faces when opposing such a motion, yet argues that the attorney voluntarily assumed this risk by filing a groundless complaint. The evidence indicates that the appellant's counsel acted in bad faith, filing the complaint without the named insured's knowledge or authorization and falsely alleging severe emotional distress. The court concludes that the trial court acted correctly in awarding the appellee all attorney fees incurred in defending against the baseless complaint, including those related to the motion for sanctions. Additionally, the court dismisses the appellant's claim of excessive fees since it was not raised at the trial court level, ultimately affirming the judgment. Judges Corrigan and Blackmon concur in part, with Blackmon dissenting in part.