Court Opinion

ID: 9518380
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 00:51:35.2378+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:28:47.819535
License: Public Domain

STATON, Judge,
dissenting
I dissent because the procedural scales of justice have been tipped in the wrong direction. Significant litigation in the present dispute has been relegated to a position not contemplated by Rule 75. The literal obedience to (A)(2) ignores the spirit and purpose of Rule 75 which is to promote convenient and speedy justice.
The roots of this dispute are buried in the operation of a motor vehicle. A collision or accident of two vehicles occurring in Noble County. Smeltzer settled for the damage to his car, for the rental car he had used, and for the loss of Carolyn’s clothing. Later, the Smeltzers filed a complaint for personal injury and emotional stress, mental anguish and damage to chattels. The chattels were books, some cassette tapes, children’s books, and two car seats. The damage alleged in the complaint all relate back to the collision or accident in Noble county. By a play on expression in (A)(2) “injuries ... relating ... to such chattels,” the Majority completely ignores (A)(1) and (3). The clear purpose and spirit of Rule 75 has been cast aside and relegated to a feeble explanation that literal obedience must prevail even in the face of good reasoning to the contrary. The preferred venue is in Noble County where the collision occurred, where the alleged injury occurred and where the damage to the chattels occurred.