Bass-Fineberg Leasing, Inc. v. Keller, 2011 Ohio 3989

Bass-Fineberg sued Susan Keller for $3,863.28 on a motor vehicle lease, seeking damages with 4% interest from judgment.
Stanley Keller guaranteed payment if Susan defaulted on the lease.
Lease term Aug 2005: 48 monthly payments of $220.34, with mileage and wear charges and an early termination penalty.
Bass-Fineberg moved for summary judgment in Aug 2010, attaching Linda Reed’s affidavit and copies of the lease and a balance statement totaling $3,863.28.
Kellers opposed, trial court granted summary judgment, and the Kellers appealed arguing issues about the affidavit framing and damages; two other arguments about signing and forgery were not properly argued.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Affidavit framing proper for summary judgment	Reed had personal knowledge and authenticated documents	Reed’s affidavit improperly framed per Target Natl. Bank v. Enos	Reed’s affidavit supported by personal knowledge; proper framing overruled on that basis
Damages amount – genuine issues	Evidence shows $3,863.28 owed based on the statement	Kellers deny amount and claim genuine issue remains	No genuine issue; summary judgment valid for $3,863.28
Lease compliance with RC 1335.05 (lessor signature)	Lease valid; signature issue not raised as defense	Lease allegedly noncompliant because lessor signature lacking	Not addressed on appeal as not argued in the brief
Forgery of Stanley Keller’s name; lease void	No basis shown to void lease on forgery	Lease void due to forged name	Not addressed on appeal as not argued in the brief

Target Natl. Bank v. Enos, 2010-Ohio-6307 (9th Dist. 2010) (expertise on personal knowledge in sworn statements; affiant must show personal knowledge)
Dresher v. Burt, 75 Ohio St.3d 280 (Ohio Supreme Court 1996) (summary-judgment standard require movant to show no genuine issue of material fact)
Bonacorsi v. Wheeling & Lake Erie Ry. Co., 95 Ohio St.3d 314 (Ohio Supreme Court 2002) (Civ.R. 56(E) personal-knowledge requirement)