A Certified Question About “Wrongful Attempted Foreclosure” Likely To Be Left Unanswered For Now

On May 2, we reported here on a trifecta of noteworthy lending cases that were accepted for review by the Ohio Supreme Court.  One of the three cases discussed in that post, Corbett v. Beneficial Ohio, Inc., is a certified-question case from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in which District Judge Rice asked the Ohio Supreme Court whether the State of Ohio recognized a cause of action for “wrongful attempted foreclosure” and, if so, what the elements of such a tort are.  Last week, however, the parties to the underlying federal case filed a joint motion in the Ohio Supreme Court, asking that the certified question be withdrawn due to settlement and Rule 41(a) dismissal of the federal suit.  Given this development, and the fact that the Supreme Court answers certified questions that “may be determinative of the [federal] proceeding,” S.Ct.Prac.R. 18.1, the status of this tort in Ohio is likely to remain an open question for the time being.  Stay tuned to the Banking & Finance Law Report for any further developments.