In Patterson v. V & M Auto Body (1992), 63 Ohio St.3d 573, 589 N.E.2d 1306, the plaintiff brought suit against V&M Auto Body, a sole proprietorship owned by an individual, Victor Searfoss. Despite being notified on several occasions that he had sued the wrong party, the plaintiff never asked to amend the complaint to add Searfoss as a defendant. On appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the reversal of a judgment awarded against the V&M Body Shop. The Ohio Supreme Court stated that: "It is well established that both plaintiff and defendant in a lawsuit must be legal entities with the capacity to be sued. A sole proprietorship has no legal identity separate from that of the individual who owns it. It may do business under a fictitious name if it chooses, but ' doing business under another name does not create an entity distinct from the person operating the business. The individual who does business as a sole proprietor under one or several names remains one person, personally liable for all his obligations.' " 63 Ohio St.3d at 574-75.