Linworth Lumber Co. v. Z.L.H. Ltd., Unpublished Decision (8-4-2003)
Linworth Lumber Co. v. Z.L.H. Ltd., Unpublished Decision (8-4-2003)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Appellee, Z.H.L. Ltd., contracted with CW Group, Inc., aka The Construction Group, to have office suites constructed on real estate located along East Powell Road in Delaware County. Appellee filed a notice of commencement for the construction project on February 9, 2001.{¶ 2} Appellant, Linworth Lumber, supplied lumber materials to the project. CW Group failed to pay appellant. As a result, appellant filed two mechanics' liens, $39,018.45 and $34,094.08, against the real estate.
{¶ 3} On January 16, 2002, appellant filed a complaint to foreclosure on the mechanics' liens. The mechanics' liens were substituted by a bond. Thereafter, appellant filed an amended complaint on May 29, 2002 to foreclose on the bond.
{¶ 4} All parties filed motions for summary judgment. By judgment entry filed January 28, 2003, the trial court found in favor of appellee. By judgment entry filed February 6, 2003, the trial court found no just reason for delay and deemed the January 28, 2003 judgment entry a final appealable order.
{¶ 5} Appellant filed an appeal and this matter is now before this court for consideration. Assignments of error are as follows:
{¶ 9} Summary Judgment motions are to be resolved in light of the dictates of Civ.R. 56. Said rule was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Ohio in State ex rel. Zimmerman v. Tompkins,
{¶ 10} "Civ.R. 56(C) provides that before summary judgment may be granted, it must be determined that (1) no genuine issue as to any material fact remains to be litigated, (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and (3) it appears from the evidence that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and viewing such evidence most strongly in favor of the nonmoving party, that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made. State ex. rel. Parsons v. Fleming (1994),
{¶ 11} As an appellate court reviewing summary judgment motions, we must stand in the shoes of the trial court and review summary judgments on the same standard and evidence as the trial court. Smiddyv. The Wedding Party, Inc. (1987),
{¶ 12} Appellant argues appellee did not substantially comply with R.C.
{¶ 13} It is undisputed the notice of commencement was deficient and did not strictly comply with R.C.
{¶ 14} R.C.
{¶ 15} "Except as provided in section
{¶ 16} Subsection (H) relieves a subcontractor or materialman from filing a notice of furnishing as follows:
{¶ 17} "No subcontractor or materialman who performs labor or work upon or furnishes material in furtherance of an improvement has to serve a notice of furnishing in accordance with this section in order to preserve his lien rights if the owner, part owner, or lessee who contracted for the labor, work, or materials fails to record a notice of commencement inaccordance with section
{¶ 18} R.C.
{¶ 19} The question is which subsection of R.C.
{¶ 20} In its judgment entry of January 28, 2003, the trial court found the language of R.C.
{¶ 21} "Substantial compliance is not literal compliance.***It is sufficient that the procedures employed are likely to achieve the same result as that specified in the rule." State v. Rains (1999),
{¶ 22} By examining the entire two code sections, we find the overriding purpose of the statutes is to put subcontractors or materialmen on notice of who the owner is and where the construction work is to be done. As noted in R.C.
{¶ 23} The notice of commencement is recorded by the county recorder who "shall index the real property described in the notice of commencement and shall index the names of all owners, part owners, lessees, and land contract vendees in the direct index and the names of all original contractors in the reverse index***. R.C.
{¶ 24} We find the notice of commencement sub judice fulfilled the necessary requirements for recording and put subcontractors or materialmen on notice of the owner/part owner/lessee/designee and address of the real property which were necessary for the preparation of the notice of furnishing.
{¶ 25} We find the language of R.C.
{¶ 26} In our examination of the notice of commencement, we find there has been substantial compliance with R.C.
{¶ 27} Upon review, we find the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to appellee.
{¶ 28} Assignments of Error I and II are denied.
{¶ 29}
The judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, Ohio is hereby affirmed.
By: Farmer, J. and Gwin, P.J. concur.
Hoffman, J. concurs in part, dissents in part.
Dissenting Opinion
{¶ 1} I concur in the majority's analysis and disposition of appellant's first assignment of error. Specifically, I agree with the majority's conclusion, ". . . the language of R.C.
{¶ 2} However, I respectfully dissent from the majority's disposition as it relates to appellant's second assignment of error. While appellee's notice of commencement ". . . put subcontractors or materialmen on notice of the owner/part owner/lessee/designee and the address of the real property which were necessary for the preparation of the notice of furnishing," (Maj. Op. at 7) it did not put appellant on notice of the fact Pat Cahill, CW Group was an original contractor as required by R.C.
{¶ 3} Unlike the majority, because the notice of commencement failed to list Pat Cahill, CW Group as an original contractor, I find appellee's notice of commencement fails to substantially comply with R.C.
{¶ 4} I would reverse the trial court's judgment.
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