COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA NO. 72978 MELINDA GERACI, et al : : Plaintiffs-appellants : : JOURNAL ENTRY vs. : and : OPINION KATHLEEN ANDERSON : : Defendant-appellee : : DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT OF DECISION : SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING : Civil appeal from : Court of Common Pleas : Case No. 302,872 JUDGMENT : DISMISSED. DATE OF JOURNALIZATION : APPEARANCES: For plaintiffs-appellants: RUDOLPH J. GERACI Attorney at Law 1305 S.O.M. Center Road, #204 Mayfield Heights, Ohio 44124 For defendant-appellee: KERRY RANDALL-LEWIS Attorney at Law 14650 Detroit Avenue, #450 Lakewood, Ohio 44107 KENNETH A. ROCCO, J.: -2- This case is before this court on appeal from a decision by the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas awarding attorney's fees in favor of defendant-appellee, Kathleen Anderson, and against co- plaintiff/counsel Rudolph J. Geraci. The court finds plaintiff- appellant, Melinda Geraci, lacks standing to appeal this order. The only interested party was not named in the notice of appeal. Therefore, the court dismisses this appeal pursuant to App.R. 3(D). Appellant and her co-plaintiff originally filed their complaint in the court of common pleas on February 6, 1996. Appellee filed a separate complaint against appellant and her co- plaintiff on February 9, 1996. The common pleas court consolidated the two actions in April, 1996. On March 19, 1997, appellee filed a motion to request a hearing for frivolous conduct, pursuant to R.C. 2323.51 and Civ.R. 11. The parties to this case voluntarily dismissed their claims against one another on June 24 and 26, 1997. The common pleas court held a hearing on appellee's motion on July 23, 1997. On August 4, 1997, it entered an order awarding attorney's fees in the amount of $4,218 in favor of appellee and against appellant's attorney and co-plaintiff, Rudolph Geraci. A notice of appeal was filed on August 8, 1997, which states: Notice is hereby given that Plaintiff, Melinda Geraci, does hereby appeal to the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth Appellate District from the ruling of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas made in this case on or about August 4, 1997, and attached hereto as Exhibit A. -3- This notice was signed by counsel Rudolph Geraci as Attorney for Plaintiff. Melinda Geraci, the sole appellant named in the notice of appeal, lacks standing to appeal the decision of the common pleas court. Melinda Geraci was not ordered to pay appellee's attorney's fees. She has no standing to appeal the imposition of fees on her co-plaintiff. Furthermore, a party lacks standing to appeal the imposition of sanctions pursuant to Civ.R. 11 upon his [or her] attorney. Parks v. Baltimore & Ohio RR. (1991), 77 Ohio App.3d 426, 429; also see Evans v. Bossin (1995), 107 Ohio App.3d 544, 546. App.R. 3(D) provides that [t]he notice of appeal shall specify the party or parties taking the appeal; ***. This requirement is not jurisdictional; however, when presented with such a defect in the notice of appeal, this court is vested with discretion to determine whether sanctions, including dismissal, are warranted. Transamerica Ins. Co. v. Nolan (1995), 72 Ohio St.3d 320, syllabus. In this case, the sole named appellant was Melinda Geraci. Nothing in the notice of appeal -- not even the designation et al. -- indicated that the party who had been ordered to pay appellee's attorney's fees was appealing the common pleas court's decision. Concededly, nothing in the record indicates that appellees have been prejudiced by this lack of notice. On the other hand, however, the proper appellant, Rudolph Geraci, was both a party and the attorney who prosecuted the action below and filed -4- the notice of appeal. Thus, dismissal will not punish an innocent party for the fault of his or her counsel but will directly punish the person at fault. Accordingly, the court will exercise its discretion to dismiss this appeal pursuant to App.R. 3(D). Cf. Transamerica,supra; Taylor v. Franklin Blvd. Nursing Home (1996), 112 Ohio App.3d 27, 30, n.1. Appeal dismissed. -5- It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant her costs herein taxed. The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal. It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the common pleas court to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. TIMOTHY E. McMONAGLE, P.J. AND MICHAEL J. CORRIGAN, J. CONCUR JUDGE KENNETH A. ROCCO N.B. This entry is an announcement of the court's decision. See App.R. 22(B), 22(D) and 26(A); Loc.App.R. 27. This decision will be journalized and will become the judgment and order of the court pursuant to App.R. 22(E) unless a motion for reconsideration with supporting brief, per App.R. 26(A), is filed within ten (10) days of the announcement of the court's decision. The time period for review by the Supreme Court of Ohio shall begin to run upon the journalization of this court's announcement of decision by the .