Universal Acceptance Corp. v. Colbert, 2019 Ohio 4377

Universal Acceptance Corp. (plaintiff/appellee) sued Antoine Colbert (defendant/appellant) in Sylvania Municipal Court for breach of a June 10, 2016 retail installment contract to finance a 2005 Lexus after Colbert defaulted. Plaintiff sought $9,129.84 plus interest and repossession.
Colbert, pro se, filed multiple pleadings asserting venue and personal-jurisdiction objections, affirmative defenses (warranty/title issues, statute noncompliance, statute of frauds, material alteration), and a counterclaim demanding an accounting.
The contract bore a stamp indicating it was assigned to Huntington National Bank; plaintiff explained it had granted the bank a first-lien security interest as collateral for a revolving loan.
The trial court denied Colbert’s pretrial motions (transfer of venue, lack of personal jurisdiction, failure to state a claim, real-party-in-interest challenge), held a bench trial where plaintiff’s assistant manager testified and authenticated the contract, payment history, and title documents, and heard Colbert’s testimony admitting he signed the contract and defaulted.
After a supplemental hearing on the assignment, the trial court found plaintiff remained the real party in interest (Huntington was a collateral assignee), Colbert had defaulted, plaintiff lawfully repossessed the vehicle and was entitled to judgment; Colbert appealed pro se raising six assignments of error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Personal jurisdiction	Service was proper (signed USPS delivery) and pleadings waived jurisdictional objection	Special appearance objects to court's acquisition of personal jurisdiction	Held: Court had personal jurisdiction; service and defendant's filings waived challenge
Real party in interest / assignment	Assignment to Huntington was collateral security; plaintiff retained ownership and standing to sue	Assignment divested plaintiff; plaintiff lacked standing and contract was void	Held: Assignment was collateral lien; plaintiff remained real party in interest and could enforce contract
Affirmative defenses (venue, warranty, R.C. compliance, statute of frauds, alteration)	Plaintiff denied these defenses and produced contract, payment history, title showing default	Raised multiple defenses and claimed fraud/alteration of contract	Held: Colbert bore burden to prove defenses and failed to carry it; trial court properly rejected them
Sufficiency of evidence / damages & repossession	Introduced contract, payment records, title, and testimony showing default and repossession	Argued evidence was insufficient and relied on improper/uncertified documents	Held: Evidence was legally sufficient to support judgment for plaintiff (default, right to demand balance and repossess)

Pratts v. Hurley, 806 N.E.2d 992 (Ohio 2004) (jurisdictional power and effect of acting without jurisdiction)
Maryhew v. Yova, 464 N.E.2d 538 (Ohio 1984) (personal jurisdiction may be acquired by service, appearance, or waiver)
Fraley v. Estate of Oeding, 6 N.E.3d 9 (Ohio 2014) (standard of review for personal-jurisdiction determinations)
Scott v. Davis, 181 N.E.2d 470 (Ohio 1962) (filing pleadings on the merits can waive jurisdictional defenses)
Fed. Home Loan Mtge. Corp. v. Schwartzwald, 979 N.E.2d 1214 (Ohio 2012) (standing is a jurisdictional requirement determined at the time of filing)
Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co. v. Holden, 60 N.E.3d 1243 (Ohio 2016) (no specific document required to establish standing; facts control)
Katz v. Ohio Nat. Bank, 191 N.E. 782 (Ohio 1934) (collateral assignment creates a lien for assignee but does not divest assignor of property)
State ex rel. Ford v. Ruehlman, 73 N.E.3d 396 (Ohio 2016) (joinder of collateral assignee not necessarily required)
Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Commrs. v. State, 858 N.E.2d 330 (Ohio 2006) (standing reviewed as a matter of law)
In re Estate of Flowers, 88 N.E.3d 599 (Ohio appellate 2017) (definition and scope of sufficiency review)
State v. Poole, 294 N.E.2d 888 (Ohio 1973) (burden of proof for affirmative defenses)