By Porter Wright on Ohio is a relatively new adopter (September 20, 2019) of laws permitting electronic on line notarization. These new laws generated a great deal of excitement when they went into effect on September 20, 2019, creating new licensing, education and requirements for “electronic notarial acts”. There are however, several relatively mundane aspects of the law that … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Earlier this month, SB 220, the Ohio law that amended Ohio’s version of the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA) became effective. The amendment to the UETA confirms that records, contracts, and signatures that are secured through blockchain technology, i.e., a technology that creates an unalterable electronic ledger, will be considered an electronic recording holding the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Let’s say your client is a bank based outside of Ohio, and suppose further your client wants to set up a banking business in Ohio. Most of the time a merger transaction will result in a non-Ohio bank doing business in Ohio through an out-of-state franchise of course. But in light of changes to Ohio … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Ohio Judicial Conference has issued a bench card, a copy of which is attached, that gives Ohio’s Common Pleas Court judges a checklist they may use when presented with an order seeking judgment on a note containing a warrant of attorney. While the bench card is merely advisory, it represents a victory for those … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Last year, the Ohio Legislature made a number of important changes to Ohio’s statutory banking code. These are the first comprehensive changes in more than twenty years. Most of the changes were effective January 1, 2018. The heavy lifting of the new Ohio banking bill is language that consolidates a number of existing financial institution … Continue Reading
By Tami Hart Kirby on The Good Funds Law went into effect on April 6, 2017 amending Section 1349.21 of the Ohio Revised Code to require stricter controls for all residential real estate transactions involving the sale, purchase, or refinance of such real estate. The law was passed as an attempt to combat and thwart fraudulent activities associated with the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Another attack on the use of warrants of attorney to confess judgment was recently introduced into the 132nd Ohio General Assembly. H.B. 67 was introduced on February 16, 2017 by Representative Ron Young, a Republican of Leroy Township in Lake County. The bill has not yet been assigned to a committee. The bill seeks to … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Bankers and other business persons should carefully consider a significant change this year to the state’s law regarding contractual default clauses. The change was made by a little-noticed Ohio Supreme Court decision that requires the fairness of such clauses to be assessed from the perspective of the relationship of the parties at the beginning of … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On September 26, 2016, Rep. Armstutz introduced two pieces of legislation in the Ohio House that could impact the tax rate of the Ohio financial institutions tax (“FIT”) that is paid by banks and other financial institutions doing business in Ohio. These bills are H.B. 599 and H.B. 600. These bills are alternatives. Both would … Continue Reading
By Jason Gerken and Porter Wright on On September 9, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision that parties in foreclosure proceedings should read carefully. In MSCI 2007-IQ16 Granville Retail, LLC v. UHA Corporation, LLC, Case No. 15-3524, the court addressed whether the sale of foreclosed property during the pendency of an appeal moots … Continue Reading
By Walter Reynolds and Tami Hart Kirby on For years, it was generally accepted that mortgage creditors and bankruptcy trustees could assert the status of a bona fide purchaser and treat a defectively notarized mortgage as if that mortgage did not exist. On February 16, 2016, our Supreme Court provided clarity regarding the legal effects of R.C. §1301.401 and provided protection to lenders … Continue Reading
By Steven Hoying and Porter Wright on The Ohio General Assembly is currently considering a bill that would greatly restrict creditors’ ability to ask debtors to sign cognovit notes. A cognovit note allows a creditor, upon a debtor’s default, to enter judgment against the debtor without the usual notice or hearing. Current Ohio law, specifically Ohio Revised Code Section 2323.13, generally enforces … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Determining whether a security interest is properly perfected by using a state’s online lien search may be leading you astray. Perfecting a security interest in collateral establishes the priority of the secured party’s claim to such collateral, providing the perfected secured party with an interest in such collateral superior to the rights held by most … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on I. Introduction Effective March 23, 2015, Ohio’s antiquated receivership statute (Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 2735) will be modernized, particularly as it relates to the appointment of a receiver in commercial mortgage foreclosures and the ability of a receiver to sell real estate free and clear of liens. II. Appointment of a Receiver Previously, commercial mortgagees … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Legislation has been introduced in the Ohio House that would amend Ohio’s foreclosure law in a manner favorable to licensed auctioneers and realtors and unfavorable to county sheriffs and appraisers. As set forth below, House Bill 586 would, among other things, permit “private selling officers” to conduct judicial sales of real property; permit written or … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Earlier this month the Supreme Court of Ohio resolved a split of authority between the Fifth District and Seventh District regarding whether a foreclosure decree is a final appealable order when it includes unspecified amounts advanced by the mortgagee for inspections, appraisals, property protection and the like. Prior to the May 15 decision in CitiMortgage, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on From time to time we like to pass along educational opportunities that may be of interest to our subscribers. I am including details on an upcoming event that members of our Appellate and Supreme Court Practice are offering on the benefits of amicus advocacy before the Ohio Supreme Court. Too often, the Ohio Supreme Court … Continue Reading
By Brad Hughes on Last Spring, we discussed on this blog a trifecta of noteworthy lending cases pending before the Ohio Supreme Court. Today, the Court resolved one of them, and in doing so also resolved a certified conflict among Ohio’s appellate districts regarding whether Ohio’s Statute of Frauds bars a party from relying on an oral forbearance agreement … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Commercial leases often lack leasehold financing provisions despite the significant impact such provisions can have on the business dealings of the tenant during the term of the lease. Long-term, creditworthy tenants, those who have value in their leaseholds such as restaurants and hotels, are often prime candidates for leasehold financing. A leasehold mortgage is very … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on 2013 was an active year for the Banking & Finance Law Report. Our authors covered a wide range of topics — from legislative and regulatory changes to court opinions to financing and bankruptcy matters in the healthcare, agricultural and oil and gas industries. To offer a glimpse into the news and trends of the past … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Secured lenders extending financial accommodations to borrowers whose collateral includes perishable food items should consider certain specific risks associated with such collateral. Notably, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930 (PACA) creates a statutory trust for the benefit of persons who originally sell the perishable agricultural commodities to such borrowers and are not paid. The … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In this hypothetical, we will consider the following circumstances. “Farmer Bob” grows wheat (i.e., crops) “AgBank” has loaned Farmer Bob money secured in part by his wheat “Massive Grain Elevator” wants to purchase Farmer Bob’s wheat Can Massive buy the wheat and not get the shaft from AgBank? It depends. In 1985 Congress passed the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In a triumph of substance over form, on August 22, 2013, the Tenth Appellate District Court of Appeals disregarding self-serving labels and further clarified the distinction between a loan and a sale of accounts receivable in Fenway Financial, LLC dba Commission Express v. Greater Columbus Realty, LLC dba Keller Williams Greater Columbus Realty, LLC, No. … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As with our prior posts on oil and gas leases in bankruptcy (located here and here), this post presents another thorny issue – namely, “Is an oil and gas lease a lease at all?” Whether an oil and gas lease is a “lease” is significant in the bankruptcy context, because the Bankruptcy Code has several … Continue Reading
