Banyan Living Ohio v. Vourliotis

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 2361

Syllabus

Service; motion for default judgment; jurisdiction; abuse of discretion; Civ.R. 4.1; Civ.R. 4.2; Civ.R. 4.6; void. Judgment reversed and remanded. The municipal court's order granting judgment in favor of plaintiff is reversed and, on remand, the court is instructed to vacate the default judgment. The trial court abused its discretion when it granted default judgment against the defendant when the docket reveals that the plaintiff never perfected service on the defendant. A default judgment rendered by a court without obtaining service over the defendant is void and the defendant is entitled to vacation of the judgment.