Oregon-Washington R. & Nav. Co. v. Reid

• Decision Date: 02 March 1937
• Citation: 155 Or. 602,65 P.2d 664
• Parties: OREGON-WASHINGTON R. & NAV. CO. et al. v. REID et al.
• Court: Oregon Supreme Court

65 P.2d 664

155 Or. 602

OREGON-WASHINGTON R. & NAV. CO. et al. v. REID et al.

Supreme Court of Oregon

March 2, 1937

In Banc.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Multnomah County; Hall S. Lusk, Judge.

Suit to enjoin enforcement of a judgment by the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company and others against Homer C Reid and others. From a decree dismissing the suit after demurrer to the amended complaint had been sustained plaintiffs appeal.

Reversed and remanded, with directions.

Fletcher Rockwood, of Portland (A. C. Spencer Maguire, Shields & Morrison, Wilson & Reilly, and Carey, Hart, Spencer & McCulloch, all of Portland, on the brief), for appellants.

A. G. Fletcher, of Portland (Gunther F. Krause, of Portland, on the brief), for respondents.

BELT Justice.

This is a suit to enjoin the enforcement of a judgment in a personal injury action alleged to have been procured through fraud of the defendant Reid. The defendants Krause and Moulton were made parties merely because they appeared as attorneys of record in the original law action. There is no intimation or charge that they participated in the alleged fraudulent action of their client, or that they had any knowledge of the same. A general demurrer was sustained to the amended complaint and, upon refusal of the plaintiffs further to plead, the court dismissed the suit. Hence this appeal.

The sole question is whether the plaintiffs have alleged facts sufficient to justify a court of equity in setting aside the judgment. In the consideration of this matter it will be assumed on demurrer that the material facts set forth in the amended complaint are true. Under the issue of law presented, the court is not concerned as to whether the plaintiffs will be able to establish the truth of their allegations of fact in the event the demurrer is overruled and the defendants are required to answer on the merits.

From the amended complaint herein, to which is attached the pleadings in the original action, we glean the following facts:

Homer C. Reid, under the false and fictitious name of Robert M. Boyles, commenced an action against the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company, Northern Pacific Terminal Company, and Northern Pacific Railway Company to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained in falling down stairs in the Union Station at Portland, Or., on May 9, 1934. The railway companies were charged with negligence in failing to maintain the stairway in a reasonably safe condition, in that a metal step plate was so insecurely fastened to the step that it "tipped," thereby causing Reid to fall down the stairway, injuring "his left leg and fracturing a rib on the left side." After issues were joined, the cause was submitted to a jury. A verdict was returned in favor of the plaintiff therein in the sum of $1,275, and judgment was entered accordingly on March 12, 1935.

It appears that during the course of the trial of the personal injury action the railway companies on March 8, 1935, caused a photograph to be taken of the plaintiff therein-who appeared under the name of Robert M. Boyles-and commenced an investigation relative to his personal injury history which extended through the states of Georgia, Florida, and Illinois. It is alleged that, as a result of this investigation, the railway companies learned the following facts concerning the history of the defendant Reid, "during periods prior to May 9, 1934":

"(a) Defendant Reid's true name is Homer C. Reid and is not Robert M. Boyles;

"(b) In the late summer of 1928 defendant Reid injured a leg while at either Chicago, Illinois, or at Detroit, Michigan; "(c) On or about October 14, 1928, defendant Reid, then in the City of Chicago, Illinois, purchased a ticket accident insurance policy from Travelers Insurance Company. Thereafter he presented two claims, one to said Travelers Insurance Company, and the other to McLennon Construction Company, wherein he asserted that on October 14, 1928, at about 7:30 P. M., after the purchase of said policy, and while walking along Eleventh Street in the City of Chicago, he was injured when he stumbled over a projecting angle iron and fell to the ground.

"(d) In presenting said claim to said Travelers Insurance Company for injuries asserted to have been sustained on October 14, 1928, defendant Reid asserted that his injuries had been to his left ankle, left knee, left hip, left side and left arm. Said Travelers Insurance Company, on or about December 14, 1928, made a settlement with defendant for the alleged accident on October 14, 1928, and paid defendant Reid a sum of money, the exact amount of which is at this time unknown to plaintiffs. (Italics ours.)

"(e) In the month of December, 1928, or January, 1929, while at Jacksonville, Florida, defendant Reid induced one Joseph D. Anderson to present a false and fraudulent claim for an accident asserted to have occurred on December 14, 1928, and to have been caused by negligence of A. Bentley & Sons of Jacksonville, Florida. In said claim it was asserted that said Anderson at about 8:30 P. M. of said day, fell while walking along a temporary and unlighted walk-way, and said claimant gave the name of Homer C. Reid, the defendant, as a witness to said accident.

"(f) On or about December 26, 1928, defendant Reid procured from Ætna Insurance Company a short term accident policy using the name Ray Ruff, and giving as his address Wray or Ray, Georgia. On or about January 3, 1929, defendant Reid presented a claim to said insurance company asserting that on December 27, 1928, and while said policy was in force and effect, he was injured when he fell over a truck on a sidewalk in front of the Seminole Hotel at Jacksonville, Florida. In his claim he asserted that his injuries consisted of severe contusions to his left knee and his right side and a sprain of his left ankle. (Italics ours.)

"(g) During the month of January, 1929, defendant Reid, under the name of Ray Ruff, presented a claim to Seminole Hotel, Jacksonville, Florida, for injuries said to have been caused by the accident of December 27, 1928, hereinbefore described.

"(h) After defendant Reid, under the name Ray Ruff, was identified as the same person who, as Homer C. Reid, had presented claims for an alleged accident in Chicago, Illinois, on October 14, 1928, he abandoned his claims arising out of the alleged accident of December 27, 1928.

"(i) Defendant Reid at times prior to May 9, 1934, had been employed by Chicago and Eastern Illinois, Railway Company, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company, and Missouri Pacific Railroad Company."

It is further alleged that upon being advised on May 3, 1935, of the above information concerning the personal history of the defendant Reid, counsel for the railway companies on the following day moved for a new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence. The trial court denied the motion and, upon appeal to this court, the order denying a new trial was affirmed for the reason that the motion was not made within the statutory time. Boyles v. Oregon-Washington R. & N. Co., 153 Or. 70, 55 P.2d 20. On appeal a supersedeas bond was executed wherein the St. Paul-Mercury Indemnity Company of St. Paul, Minn., plaintiff herein, was named as surety. After the mandate in the law action was entered on April 1, 1936, the judgment debtors two days thereafter commenced the instant suit.

The gravamen of the amended complaint is found in the following paragraphs:

"XIV. The said accident alleged in said complaint in said cause No. 114-337 to have happened on May 9, 1934, happened as a result of the deliberate intent and plan of defendant Reid, devised, conceived and executed by defendant Reid as the basis of a false and fraudulent claim of defendant Reid against plaintiff railway companies for personal injuries to defendant Reid, and the injuries to the person of defendant Reid at said time and place were intentionally self-inflicted, all for the purpose of fraudulently forcing plaintiff railway companies to pay money to defendant Reid in satisfaction of said claim." (Italics ours.)

"XV. The false and fraudulent conduct of defendant Reid in the presentation and prosecution of said cause No. 114-337, as hereinbefore alleged, prevented plaintiff railway companies, without any fault or negligence on the part of any of the plaintiff railway companies or of agents of plaintiff railway companies, or any of them, from learning the true facts of defendant Reid's true name and his prior history and the true facts with respect to the alleged accident on May 9, 1934, and the injuries then sustained or claimed to have been sustained by defendant Reid, and prevented plaintiff railway companies from fully contesting the issues made by the pleadings in said cause No. 114-337, and from asserting and prosecuting the defense available to plaintiff railway companies, had not said fraud prevented acquisition by plaintiff railway companies of knowledge of the true facts, that said alleged accident was not in fact accidental, but was, on the other hand, intentionally accomplished by defendant Reid." (Italics ours.)

The substance of the amended complaint, briefly stated, is that the defendant Reid, by the use of a false and fictitious name, concealed his identity and thereby prevented the railway companies from fully and fairly asserting their defense in the personal injury action, and that, had it not been for such fraud, a different judgment would have been rendered. More specifically, the railway companies assert that the fraud of Reid in concealing his identity prevented them from showing: (1) The history of Reid in personal injury claims prior to the one in question; (2) the extent of injuries...