HONEYCUTT (LARRY) VS. NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
RENDERED: MARCH 18, 2011; 10:00 A.M.
TO BE PUBLISHED
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Court of Appeals
NO. 2009-CA-000895-MR
LARRY HONEYCUTT
v.
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM PULASKI CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE DAVID A. TAPP, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 07-CI-00458
NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY
APPELLEE
OPINION
AFFIRMING
** ** ** ** **
BEFORE: TAYLOR, CHIEF JUDGE; MOORE AND THOMPSON, JUDGES.
MOORE, JUDGE: Larry Honeycutt appeals an order of the Pulaski Circuit Court
dismissing his complaint pursuant to Kentucky Civil Rule (CR) 77.02(2) for claims
arising under the Federal Liabilities Act, 45 U.S.C. §51, et seq.; the Locomotive
Inspection Act, 49 U.S.C. §20707, et seq.; and the Federal Rail Safety Act of 1970,
49 U.S.C. §20101, et seq. The complaint alleged that while in Norfolk Southern
Railway Company’s employ, Honeycutt sustained injuries to his neck, shoulder,
and back. The issue presented is whether counsel’s failure to notify the circuit
court that he had changed his mailing address and, as a result, his failure to receive
the court’s sua sponte notice to show cause why the action should not be dismissed
for lack of prosecution pursuant to CR 77.02(2), warranted that the order
dismissing be set aside pursuant to CR 60.02. Concluding that the trial court did
not abuse its discretion in dismissing Honeycutt’s complaint, we affirm.
Honeycutt filed his complaint in Pulaski Circuit Court on April 2,
2007. The complaint was signed only by attorney Mark T. Wade, who is licensed
to practice law in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Attorney Wade listed his mailing
address on the complaint as 521 Cedar Way, Suite 200, Oakmont Station, Building
5, Oakmont, Pennsylvania. No other attorneys or addresses were listed or noted on
the complaint, and no other attorneys entered an appearance on behalf of
Honeycutt. We note that at no time did Attorney Wade ever move the court to
withdraw as counsel.
Within a month of the filing of the complaint, Norfolk Southern filed
an answer and motion to dismiss on April 24, 2007. The only attorney listed as
counsel for Honeycutt on Norfolk Southern’s certificate of service was Wade, at
his Oakmont address. Presumably, either Wade received the answer and motion to
dismiss at his Oakmont address; or if he had moved his office within a month of
filing the complaint on Honeycutt’s behalf, his mail was forwarded by United
States Postal Service to his new address.
-2-
The case was dormant after Norfolk Southern filed its answer and
motion to dismiss, with over a year elapsing without any pretrial steps taken in the
action. Then, on August 5, 2008, the trial court filed a notice to show cause why
the action should not be dismissed for lack of prosecution. The notice was mailed
to Wade at the address he listed on the complaint, which was the only address the
court had for him. However, at some point Wade had relocated to Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Apparently by this time the mail forwarding with the United States
Postal Service had expired; consequently, the notice was returned to the circuit
court clerk stamped: “Return to Sender,” “Not Deliverable as Addressed,” and
“Unable to Forward.”
When no one appeared on behalf of Honeycutt at the hearing, an order
dismissing for lack of prosecution was rendered on September 26, 2008. The order
was also mailed to Wade at his Oakmont office, which was also returned to the
court clerk.
Nearly six months later, Wade filed a motion on behalf of Honeycutt
to set aside the September 26, 2008, order citing as grounds that: (1) he did not
receive actual notice of motion to dismiss and resultant order and, therefore, the
order was void; (2) the order was the result of mistake, inadvertence and/or
excusable neglect and should have been set aside pursuant to CR 60.02(a); and (3)
that CR 60.02(f) justified relief based on the extraordinary circumstances of the
case.
-3-
At the hearing on the motion to set aside the order, Wade explained
that prior to filing the complaint, an Alabama attorney represented Honeycutt and
had engaged Norfolk Southern in settlement negotiations. Subsequently, the
Alabama attorney requested that Wade negotiate on behalf of Honeycutt. Wade
did so and sent a settlement package to Norfolk Southern’s claims agent. The
attempt at settlement failed, and accordingly Wade filed the complaint on behalf of
Honeycutt.
According to Wade after the complaint was filed, Norfolk Southern’s
claims agent ceased settlement negotiations and insisted that Norfolk Southern deal
exclusively with the Alabama attorney. Wade maintained that he and the Alabama
attorney then had a miscommunication, each believing that the other was
representing Honeycutt. However, the Alabama attorney did not sign the
complaint nor enter an appearance on Honeycutt’s behalf at any point in this
litigation; Wade did. Additionally, Wade took no action to correct any confusion
regarding who was handling Honeycutt’s case despite the fact that Norfolk
Southern’s answer and motion to dismiss, filed within a month of the complaint,
listed him alone as counsel for Honeycutt. And, Wade took no steps to withdraw
as counsel.
In ruling on Honeycutt’s motion, the circuit court found that the tenday limitation contained in CR 59.05 precluded relief under that rule.
Consequently, if relief was available, it must be pursuant to CR 60.02, specifically
subsection (a) or (f). The court rejected relief based on CR 60.02(a) and the
-4-
contention that the order was entered as result of mistake, surprise, or excusable
neglect and, therefore, focused on the remaining subsection, CR 60.02(f). Finding
that there was no “extraordinary reason” to justify relief, it denied relief. Finally,
relying on an unpublished opinion by this Court, Coleman v. El-Mallakh, 2008 WL
899805 (Ky.App. April 4, 2008),1 the circuit court found that actual notice was not
required under CR 77.02(2) and that the order was not otherwise void. Based on
our review, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in its ruling.
Honeycutt’s initial contention is that the order of dismissal is void
because he did not actually receive the notice to show cause as required by CR
77.02(2), which provides:
At least once each year trial courts shall review all
pending actions on their dockets. Notice shall be given
to each attorney of record of every case in which no
pretrial step has been taken within the last year, that the
case will be dismissed in thirty days for want of
prosecution except for good cause shown. The court
shall enter an order dismissing without prejudice each
case in which no answer or an insufficient answer to the
notice is made.
This is a housekeeping rule, within the wide discretion of the trial court, intended
to expedite the removal of stale cases from the court’s docket. Hertz Commercial
Leasing Corporation v. Joseph, 641 S.W.2d 753 (Ky.App. 1982).
As noted supra, the trial court relied on an unpublished opinion,
Coleman v. El-Mallakh, 2008 WL 899805, which we find to be persuasive
1
The circuit court properly cited to and relied upon Coleman, an unpublished case, pursuant to
CR 76.28(4).
-5-
authority in this case and proper to cite as it fulfills the criteria of CR 76.28(4). In
Coleman at *3, this Court held that
where a statute requires actual notice to be received by a party, it is
then incumbent upon the party whose duty it is to give that notice to
see that the notice is actually received by the party entitled to notice.
We do not believe that the language in CR 77.02(2) can be construed
to require that actual notice be received by each attorney of record
before the court may proceed with dismissing a case for want of
prosecution.
Clearly, the method contemplated for service of the notice is the same
as that required for the service of the order dismissing a case under the
rule, that being service shall be made by mail in the manner provided
in CR 5. CR 77.04(1). Specifically, CR 5.02 provides for service
upon the attorney of record by mailing a copy of the notice to the
attorney at his last known address and that service by mail is complete
upon mailing.
(Citations omitted).
In Coleman, we pointed out that because hundreds of cases are
disposed under this rule each year, it is simply not feasible to place the onerous
burden on our circuit clerks to personally ensure that every attorney of record
receive actual notice that the case may be dismissed for lack of prosecution absent
a showing of good cause. We agree with the language in Coleman stating that “we
know of no authority in Kentucky that would impose a duty upon circuit clerks to
track down attorneys who have moved their offices without giving notice to the
court in order for the court to satisfy the notice provision of CR 77.02(2).” Id., at
*4.
We further agree with the trial court that the circumstances of this
case do not fulfill CR 60.02(a)’s requirement of mistake, inadvertence, surprise or
-6-
neglect. If there was inadvertence, it was not at the hands of the court. And,
Honeycutt’s rationale for setting aside the judgment does not fall into the category
of an “extraordinary reason” to justify relief under CR 60.02(f). “[T]he conduct of
an attorney is generally not a ground for relief under CR 60.02 (f).” Id. at *5
(citing Vanhook v. Stanford-Lincoln Co. Rescue Squad, Inc., 678 S.W.2d 797
(Ky.App. 1984); Brozowski v. Johnson, 179 S.W.3d 261 (Ky.App. 2005)). As in
Coleman, the result is harsh for the appellant. But, as this Court stated in Coleman
at *5, “we can find no authority that holds a harsh result constitutes an
extraordinary reason to justify relief under CR 60.02.” Accordingly, we affirm.
TAYLOR, CHIEF JUDGE, CONCURS.
THOMPSON, JUDGE, DISSENTS AND FILES SEPARATE
OPINION.
THOMPSON, JUDGE, DISSENTING: Respectfully, I dissent. I
believe that the majority’s strict enforcement of a technical rule usurps the public
policy that the court is to decide cases on their merits with a fair opportunity for
the litigants to be heard.
I disagree that the unpublished case, Coleman v. El-Mallakh, 2008
WL 899805 (Ky.App. 2008), is persuasive. To the extent that the case stands for
the proposition that our court clerks cannot personally ensure that every attorney of
record receives actual notice of a CR 77.02(2) dismissal hearing, I agree.
However, in Coleman, the motion was presented pursuant to CR 60.02(f) and filed
more than one year after the judgment. The Court emphasized the case may have
-7-
been resolved differently “under CR 60.02(a) had the matter been brought to the
circuit court’s attention within one year of entry of the order of dismissal.” Id. at 5.
In contrast, Honeycutt filed his CR 60.02 motion within one year after
the order of dismissal without prejudice was entered and, therefore, was timely
under CR 60.02(a). Although the Court set aside a default judgment rather than a
CR 77.02 order, I believe Bargo v. Lewis, 305 S.W.2d 757 (Ky. 1957), is
controlling. In Bargo, a Lexington attorney requested a Barbourville attorney to
secure an extension of time to answer a complaint. After the Barbourville attorney
mistakenly failed to file an answer, a default judgment was entered. The Court
held that the default judgment was properly set aside under CR. 60.02(a) on the
basis of inadvertence or excusable neglect. Id. at 758. Under the circumstances
now presented, I believe justice requires the same result.
I also believe that this case presents an opportunity to establish a
reasonable and just standard when CR 77.02(2) is invoked. Although CR 77.02(2)
is a dismissal without prejudice that theoretically permits the complaint to be
refiled, minimally, a year has elapsed since the first complaint was filed and most
probably the statute of limitations has expired. Therefore, a dismissal without
prejudice has the identical consequences as a dismissal with prejudice pursuant to
CR 41.02.
Our Supreme Court has reexamined the applicable standard when
determining whether to dismiss for lack of prosecution pursuant to CR 41.02. In
Jaroszewski v. Flege, 297 S.W.3d 24 (Ky. 2009), the Court held that the trial court
-8-
is required to consider all relevant factors which may include those listed in Ward
v. Housman, 809 S.W.2d 717 (Ky.App. 1991). Id. at 34.
Trial courts must make explicit findings on the record so that
the parties and appellate courts will be properly apprised of the basis
for the trial court's rulings; and the appellate courts can assess whether
the trial court properly considered the totality of the circumstances in
dismissing the case.
Id. at 36.
I am aware that in Jaroszewski, the Court noted a distinction between
CR 41.02 dismissals and CR 77.02(2) dismissals; specifically, that the latter is a
dismissal without prejudice. I reiterate that while a legally correct distinction, as a
practical matter, CR 77.02(2) dismissals result in the deprivation of the litigant’s
right to be heard on the merits and because of the applicable statute of limitations,
the right to file a second complaint is frequently illusory.
I am perplexed that a CR 41.02 dismissal is subject to a totality of the
circumstances standard but that a CR 77.02(2) dismissal is not subject to the same
standard. Indeed, a complex case such as the current often sits idle for a year as a
result of negotiations and preliminary investigations; yet, the case can be dismissed
to serve the purpose of managing the court’s docket. Although the courts certainly
have such power inherently and by virtue of CR 77.02(2), this power must be
secondary to the primary purpose of our judicial system to provide meaningful
dispute resolution on the merits. Therefore, I urge our Supreme Court to espouse
standards applicable to CR 77.02(2) dismissals similar to those applied to CR
41.02 dismissals.
-9-
In this case, the circuit court abused its discretion when it refused to
set aside the CR 77.02(2) motion. Although the attorney failed to notify the court
that he changed his address, after learning of the dismissal, he promptly filed a CR
60.02 motion. There was absolutely no evidence that Norfolk Southern was
prejudiced by the inactivity in the case, no evidence as to the reason for the
inactivity, the merits of the claim, or any other circumstances that would justify the
dismissal of this complex litigation. The passage of time alone should not be the
sole factor when deciding to terminate a litigant’s right to seek redress in the
courts. Rather than imposing such a harsh result on the litigant, it would be more
appropriate to sanction the attorney.
For the reasons expressed, I would reverse the circuit court’s order
and remand the case for further proceedings so that this litigant can receive the
justice to which he is entitled.
BRIEF AND ORAL ARGUMENT
FOR APPELLANT:
Mark T. Wade
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BRIEF FOR APPELLEE:
Kathiejane Oehler
Justin S. Gilfert
Louisville, Kentucky
ORAL ARGUMENT FOR
APPELLEE:
Kathiejane Oehler
Louisville, Kentucky
-10-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.