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Mathis v. St. Alexis Hosp.12/5/1994
hat its belief in the validity of its sanctions claim ,vas based on Mathis' complete failure to produce any expert testimony on the issue of proximate cause. The only expert testimony presented on the issue indicated that St. Alexis' actions did not proximately cause Mary Mathis' death. St. Alexis' belief in the validity of its sanctions claim was reasonable in light of R.C. 2323.51, which authorizes sanctions against a party as well as his attorney for frivolous conduct, and in light of Dictaphone Corp. v. E. Cleveland (June 4, 1992), Cuyahoga App. No. 60616, 1992 WL 126014, unreported, where sanctions were upheld against the party and its attorney, even though it was only the attorney who engaged in frivolous conduct. It is not necessary to find that St. Alexi would have prevailed had it filed a motion for sanctions, but only that such a motion would not, in itself, be "frivolous, vexatious or unlawful."
Because St. Alexis went forward with sufficient evidence of a valid covenant not to sue, and Mathis failed to raise any triable issues with respect to its validity, the trial court properly granted summary judgment for St. Alexis.
Judgment affirmed.
JAMES D. SWEENEY and WEAVER, JJ., concur. |