2014 Ohio 5287
Ohio Ct. App.2014Background
- In 2000 Rimmer took a residential mortgage that was later assigned to Citifinancial (Citi); she paid it off in April 2001 and the satisfaction was recorded in August 2001.
- Rimmer sued Citi in 2005 alleging violation of R.C. 5301.36 for failure to record mortgage satisfactions within 90 days of payoff, seeking statutory damages and costs.
- The trial court granted Rimmer individual summary judgment but initially denied class certification; this court reversed and directed certification under Civ.R. 23.
- The Supreme Court of Ohio remanded for application of Alexander v. Wells Fargo (holding arbitration clauses can apply to such claims); the trial court then certified a class but attempted to exclude borrowers who had arbitration agreements.
- On appeal this court previously found the trial court’s class definition unintentionally omitted persons who contracted with Citi’s predecessors/merged entities and ordered the trial court to insert a parenthetical phrase identifying predecessors at both mentions of “Citifinancial, Inc.”
- On remand the trial court inserted the parenthetical only at the first mention, omitting it at the second, thereby excluding those who entered mortgages with predecessors; this appeal challenges that deviation from the appellate mandate.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court properly implemented this court’s mandate by altering the class definition | Rimmer: trial court must follow the appellate mandate exactly and include predecessors/merged entities at both mentions of Citifinancial | Citi: trial court’s class definition was sufficient/was within trial court’s discretion (trial court did not follow direction precisely) | Court: Trial court violated the mandate; reversed and remanded to correct the class definition to include predecessors/merged entities at both mentions |
Key Cases Cited
- Alexander v. Wells Fargo Fin. Ohio 1, Inc., 122 Ohio St.3d 341, 911 N.E.2d 286 (2009) (Ohio Supreme Court holds arbitration agreements can apply to statutory mortgage satisfaction claims)
- Hawley v. Ritley, 35 Ohio St.3d 157, 519 N.E.2d 390 (1988) (trial courts are bound to adhere to appellate mandates on remand and may not vary or extend them)