An Ohio appeals court has refused to revive a convenience store's fire-damage case, reinstating a $100,000 judgment against the company.
The fight started in June 2024, when Layannoor, Inc. - which runs a convenience store in a leased building - sued United Ohio Insurance Co. after a fire. The problem was baked into the policy: it named Layannoor as the building's owner, not a tenant, and left the real owner off as an additional insured, which the court said "is generally required to obtain the policy in question."
United Ohio had already paid out once, thinking Layannoor owned the property, and it counterclaimed for $100,000 to get that money back. Then things went quiet. Layannoor's two lawyers withdrew, one in December 2024 and one in March 2025, after losing touch with the company. Because a corporation can't litigate without a licensed attorney, the case stalled - and Layannoor didn't hire anyone new.
With no one showing up, the trial court entered default judgment for United Ohio on July 2, 2025. It voided the policy "based on the misidentification of the owner" and ordered $100,000 repaid.
Layannoor eventually brought in new counsel and asked to undo the judgment, blaming excusable neglect. But a company representative testified he'd planned to wait until a pretrial conference in mid-October 2025 to find a lawyer, leaving the business unrepresented for months. The trial court called that excusable and reopened the case.
On July 30, 2026, the appeals court reversed. It saw no real confusion about the withdrawal and found the company "consciously disregarded the ongoing litigation." Neglect isn't excusable, the court said, when it comes from a party's own "carelessness, inattention, or willful disregard of the process of the court."
The court called the outcome harsh but said letting the company back in would upend "the balance that must be maintained with the finality of judgments." United Ohio's voided policy and $100,000 stand.
