OHIO COURT DENIES BANK REIMBURSEMENT | KEY POINTS

1. Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed an order entered in a foreclosure case wherein the lower court denied, based solely on its untimeliness, a mortgagee’s motion for reimbursement for various advances made for taxes, insurance, property preservation costs, property maintenance costs, court costs, and late fees on mortgaged property on which Fidelity held the note and mortgage.

2. The appellate court rejected Fidelity’s argument that the lower court abused its discretion in denying the motion for reimbursement. The Court found the 21-day deadline sufficient and reasonable and found the case law and statutes relied upon by Fidelity to be inapplicable because they pertained to judgment debtors, not lender mortgagees.

3. Contrary to the explicit 21-day deadline included in Fidelity’s foreclosure judgment, Fidelity failed to explain why it waited several months after the court-imposed deadline to file its motion for reimbursement. Although unfortunate and costly, the court’s refusal to reimburse Fidelity for advances it made to protect the property could have been easily avoided.

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