Patterson v. V & M Auto Body

In this case we are asked to decide whether a lawsuit may be knowingly maintained against a defendant solely under the fictitious name in which the defendant does business. For the following reasons, we hold that it may not.

It is well established that both plaintiff and defendant in a lawsuit must be legal entities with the capacity to be sued. Cf. Civ.R. 17(B); Barnhart v. Schultz (1978), 53 Ohio St.2d 59, 61, 7 O.O.3d 142, 143, 372 N.E.2d 589, 591, overruled on other grounds, Baker v. McKnight (1983), 4 Ohio St.3d 125, 4 OBR 371, 447 N.E.2d 104. A sole proprietorship has no legal identity…