Kirk Excavating & Construction, Inc. v. Columbus Equipment Co., 704 F. App'x 492

Background

Interpleader: Access MLP Operating (doing business as Access Midstream) deposited $440,198.73 with the court after multiple claimants sought the same contract/retainage funds; court enjoined other proceedings and ordered briefing on priority.
Competing creditors: Columbus Equipment and Highway Equipment each held state-court judgments against RKJ Enterprises and both pursued liens (garnishment and creditor’s bill) against the funds held by Access.
Timing and process: Columbus filed/served a garnishment (Oct 2014) and a creditor’s bill (filed Oct 6, 2014; served Oct 8, 2014). Columbus later amended the creditor’s bill to name Access MLP Operating, LLC (Sept 28, 2015); the state court ordered the amendment to relate back.
Highway’s actions: Highway filed a creditor’s bill in federal court on Dec 17, 2014 (served Dec 29, 2014) and later stayed that action; it did not challenge service in its own action.
Magistrate judge ruling: Found Columbus’s creditor’s bill lien valid and superior to Highway’s lien, rejected other claimants’ assertions, and ordered disbursement to Columbus (stayed on appeal).
Appeal issues: Highway challenges (1) whether Columbus’s liens were defective because Columbus sued a non‑entity (“Access Midstream”), (2) whether Columbus’s amendment properly related back, and (3) denial of discovery before the priority ruling.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Columbus)	Defendant's Argument (Highway)	Held
Which creditor’s bill lien has priority to interpleaded funds	Columbus: its creditor’s bill was filed and served before Highway’s, creating a prior equitable lien	Highway: Columbus’s creditor’s bill was defective (wrong defendant name), so it cannot have priority	Columbus’s creditor’s bill lien had priority; Columbus commenced its lien-creating action before Highway
Suit against non-existent entity / misnomer	Columbus: suing under trade/fictitious name was permissible; Access MLP Operating received notice and defended	Highway: naming “Access Midstream” (non-entity) voided commencement and service, so no lien	Naming a non-existent entity was a misnomer corrected by amendment; Bright and related authority control, not Patterson
Relation back of amended complaint (Ohio Civ. R. 3(A) & 15(C))	Columbus: amended complaint related back because same claim, same intended defendant, and Access MLP Operating had notice	Highway: amendment did not relate back because Columbus knew or should have known the correct entity; thus amendment cannot cure defect	Relation back proper: amendment corrected a misnomer; requirements of Rule 15(C) satisfied; Krupski principle supports focusing on defendant’s notice, not plaintiff’s knowledge
Denial of discovery before priority ruling	Columbus: no formal discovery request; Highway never identified discovery relevant to priority	Highway: was entitled to discovery on Columbus’s knowledge of the correct defendant and the nature of the trade name	Denial not reversible: Highway failed to preserve specific requests or identify material discovery; identified topics related mainly to another claimant (Texas State Bank) and would not change relation‑back analysis

Key Cases Cited

Mohawk Indus. v. Carpenter, 558 U.S. 100 (U.S. 2009) (defines narrow collateral-order doctrine for appealability of certain pre-judgment orders)
Krupski v. Costa Crociere S.p.A., 560 U.S. 538 (U.S. 2010) (relation-back inquiry focuses on notice to the defendant, not plaintiff’s knowledge)
Griffin v. McCoach, 313 U.S. 498 (U.S. 1941) (choice-of-law rule for interpleader diversity cases)
Kelly v. Great Seneca Fin. Corp., 447 F.3d 944 (6th Cir. 2006) (appellate jurisdiction and review obligations)
Am. Trust v. Am. Cmty. Mut. Ins. Co., 142 F.3d 920 (6th Cir. 1998) (standard of review for summary‑judgment‑style determinations in interpleader priority disputes)
Patterson v. V & M Auto Body, 589 N.E.2d 1306 (Ohio 1992) (limits on suing fictitious names; distinguished by later Ohio decisions such as Bright)