CHAPTER 2329: EXECUTION AGAINST PROPERTY

Lands and tenements, including vested legal interests therein, permanent leasehold estates renewable forever, and goods and chattels, not exempt by law, shall be subject to the payment of debts, and liable to be taken on execution and sold as provided in sections 2329.02 to 2329.61, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Any judgment or decree rendered by any court of general jurisdiction, including district courts of the United States, within this state shall be a lien upon lands and tenements of each judgment debtor within any county of this state from the time there is filed in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of such county a certificate of such judgment, setting forth the court in which the same was rendered, the title and number of the action, the names of the judgment creditors and judgment debtors, the amount of the judgment and costs, the rate of interest, if the judgment provides for interest, and the date from which such interest accrues, the date of rendition of the judgment, and the volume and page of the journal entry thereof.

No such judgment or decree shall be a lien upon any lands, whether or not situated within the county in which such judgment is rendered, registered under sections 5309.02 to 5309.98, inclusive, and 5310.01 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, until a certificate under the hand and official seal of the clerk of the court in which the same is entered or of record, stating the date and purport of the judgment, giving the number of the case, the full names of the parties, plaintiff and defendant, and the volume and page of the journal or record in which it is entered, or a certified copy of such judgment, stating such facts, is filed and noted in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the land is situated, and a memorial of the same is entered upon the register of the last certificate of title to the land to be affected.

Such certificate shall be made by the clerk of the court in which the judgment was rendered, under the seal of said court, upon the order of any person in whose favor such judgment was rendered or upon the order of any person claiming under him, and shall be delivered to the party so ordering the same; and the fee therefor shall be taxed in the costs of the action.

When any such certificate is delivered to the clerk of the court of common pleas of any county in this state, the same shall be filed by such clerk, and he shall docket and index it under the names of the judgment creditors and the judgment debtors in a judgment docket, which shall show as to each judgment all of the matters set forth in such certificate as required by this section. The fee for such filing, docketing, and indexing shall be taxed as increased costs of such judgment upon such judgment docket and shall be included in the lien of the judgment.

When the clerk of any court, other than that rendering the judgment, in whose office any such certificate is filed, has docketed and indexed the same, he shall indorse upon such certificate the fact of such filing with the date thereof and the volume and page of the docket entry of such certificate and shall return the same so indorsed to the clerk of the court in which the judgment was rendered, who shall note upon the original docket the fact of the filing of said certificate, showing the county in which the same was filed and the date of such filing. When such certificate is filed, docketed, and indexed in the office of the clerk of the court which rendered the judgment, such clerk shall likewise indorse the certificate and make like notation upon the original docket.

Each such judgment shall be deemed to have been rendered in the county in which is kept the journal of the court rendering the same, in which journal such judgment is entered.

Certificates or certified copies of judgments or decrees of any courts of general jurisdiction, including district courts of the United States, within this state, may be filed, registered, noted, and memorials thereof entered, in the office of the recorder of any county in which is situated land registered under sections 5309.02 to 5309.98, inclusive, and 5310.01 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, for the purpose of making such judgments liens upon such registered land.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code, any judgment issued in a court of record may be transferred to any other court of record. Any proceedings for collection may be had on such judgment the same as if it had been issued by the transferee court.

Effective Date: 09-16-1957

As used in sections 2329.021 to 2329.027 of the Revised Code, “foreign judgment” means any judgment, decree, or order of a court of the United States, or of any court of another state, that is entitled to full faith and credit in this state.

Effective Date: 07-29-1983

A copy of any foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with section 1738 of Title 28 of the United States Code, 62 Stat. 947 (1948), may be filed with the clerk of any court of common pleas. The clerk shall treat the foreign judgment in the same manner as a judgment of a court of common pleas. A foreign judgment filed pursuant to this section has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses, and proceedings for reopening, vacating, or staying as a judgment of a court of common pleas and may be enforced or satisfied in same manner as a judgment of a court of common pleas.

Effective Date: 07-29-1983

(A) When a foreign judgment is filed pursuant to section 2329.022 of the Revised Code, the judgment creditor or his attorney shall make and file with the clerk of the court in which the foreign judgment is filed an affidavit setting forth the name and last known address of the judgment debtor and of the judgment creditor.

(B) Upon the filing of a foreign judgment pursuant to section 2329.022 of the Revised Code and the affidavit pursuant to division (A) of this section, the judgment creditor or his attorney shall file with the clerk of the court a praecipe instructing the clerk to issue a notice of the filing of the foreign judgment to the judgment debtor at the address given in the affidavit. The clerk shall enter a note of the mailing in the docket. The notice shall include the name and address of the judgment creditor, and of the judgment creditor’s attorney, if any, in this state. In addition, the judgment creditor may mail a notice of the filing of the foreign judgment to the judgment debtor and may file proof of mailing with the clerk. The failure of the clerk to mail to the judgment debtor notice of the filing of the foreign judgment does not affect the enforcement proceedings with respect to the foreign judgment, if the judgment creditor has filed proof that he mailed a notice of the filing to the judgment debtor.

(C) No execution or other process for enforcement of a foreign judgment that is filed pursuant to section 2329.022 of the Revised Code shall issue until thirty days after the date the foreign judgment is filed pursuant to that section.

Effective Date: 07-29-1983

(A) If the judgment debtor shows the court of common pleas that an appeal is pending or will be taken from a foreign judgment that is filed pursuant to section 2329.022 of the Revised Code, or that a stay of execution of the foreign judgment has been granted and if proof is given to the court that the judgment debtor has furnished the security for the satisfaction of the foreign judgment that is required by the jurisdiction in which the foreign judgment was rendered, the court shall stay enforcement of the foreign judgment until the appeal is concluded, the time for appeal expires, or the stay of execution expires or is vacated.

(B) If the judgment debtor shows the court of common pleas any ground upon which enforcement of a judgment of a court of common pleas would be stayed, the court shall, upon requiring the same security for satisfaction of the judgment that is required in this state, stay enforcement of a foreign judgment that is filed pursuant to section 2329.022 of the Revised Code for an appropriate period.

Effective Date: 07-29-1983

Any person who files a foreign judgment pursuant to section 2329.022 of the Revised Code shall pay a filing fee of fifteen dollars. Fees for docketing, transcription, or other enforcement proceedings shall be as provided in section 2303.20 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 07-29-1983

Sections 2329.021 to 2329.027 of the Revised Code do not affect the right of a judgment creditor to bring an action to enforce a foreign judgment rather than to enforce the judgment pursuant to those sections.

Effective Date: 07-29-1983

Sections 2329.021 to 2329.027 of the Revised Code shall be construed to effectuate the general purpose to make uniform the law of those states that enact a uniform enforcement of foreign judgments act.

Effective Date: 07-29-1983

Lands and tenements of a judgment debtor shall be bound with a lien for the satisfaction of any judgment of any court of general jurisdiction, including district courts of the United States, within this state, without the filing of the certificate provided for in section 2329.02 of the Revised Code, from the time when the same are seized in execution. Goods and chattels of a judgment debtor shall be bound from the time they are seized in execution.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Judgments of probate courts, municipal courts, county courts, and other courts inferior to the court of common pleas may be made liens upon lands and tenements of a judgment debtor within any county of this state only in the manner provided in section 2329.02 of the Revised Code. The certificate of such judgment shall be made by the clerk of any such court or judge of a county court except that as to all judgments mentioned in section 5309.54 of the Revised Code, when the certificate is to be filed in the office of the county recorder in order to obtain a lien upon registered lands, the same shall be procured and issued as provided in said sections. When any certificate of a judgment of any such court made by the clerk of such court or judge of a county court has been filed in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of any county, and docketed and indexed therein, execution may be issued out of such court of common pleas upon such judgment, and such further proceedings to enforce said judgment may be had as if the same had been rendered in such court of common pleas. If stay of execution of any such judgment is obtained, such facts shall be certified by the clerk of the court rendering the decision or the judge of a county court, to the clerk of the court of common pleas, who shall enter a memorandum of such stay upon the judgment docket. Such certificate of judgment shall be used instead of a transcript in every case where it is or has been provided by law that a transcript of a judgment shall be filed in order to obtain a lien upon the lands.

Effective Date: 01-01-1958

A judgment of the supreme court for money shall bind the lands and tenements of the judgment debtor in any county from the time there is filed, docketed, and indexed, in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of such county, a certificate of such judgment, issued by the clerk of the supreme court or by the clerk of the court to which the mandate of the supreme court is directed or to which such judgment is finally remanded for execution, in like manner as is provided in sections 2329.02 and 2329.04 of the Revised Code. The goods and chattels of the judgment debtor shall be bound from the time they are seized in execution. This section does not affect the lien of any judgment which, having attached to property of a judgment debtor in any county, is preserved pending the review of such judgment upon appeal in the court of appeals or the supreme court.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a certificate is filed as provided in section 2329.02 of the Revised Code, the lien of a judgment of the court of common pleas in an action which is appealed by the judgment debtor to the court of appeals and thence removed into the supreme court shall not thereby be divested or vacated, but shall be continued until the final determination of the action in the supreme court.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A)(1) If neither execution on a judgment rendered in a court of record or certified to the clerk of the court of common pleas in the county in which the judgment was rendered is issued, nor a certificate of judgment for obtaining a lien upon lands and tenements is issued and filed, as provided in sections 2329.02 and 2329.04 of the Revised Code, within five years from the date of the judgment or within five years from the date of the issuance of the last execution thereon or the issuance and filing of the last such certificate, whichever is later, then, unless the judgment is in favor of the state, the judgment shall be dormant and shall not operate as a lien upon the estate of the judgment debtor.

(2) If the judgment is in favor of the state, the judgment shall not become dormant and shall not cease to operate as a lien against the estate of the judgment debtor provided that either execution on the judgment is issued or a certificate of judgment is issued and filed, as provided in sections 2329.02 and 2329.04 of the Revised Code, within ten years from the date of the judgment or within fifteen years from the date of the issuance of the last execution thereon or the issuance and filing of the last such certificate, whichever is later, except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section. The fifteen-year limitation period applies to executions issued and certificates of judgments issued and filed before, on, or after the effective date of the amendment of this section by …....... of the 126th general assembly.

(B) If, in any county other than that in which a judgment was rendered, the judgment has become a lien by reason of the filing, in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of that county, of a certificate of the judgment as provided in sections 2329.02 and 2329.04 of the Revised Code, and if no execution is issued for the enforcement of the judgment within that county, or no further certificate of the judgment is filed in that county, within five years or, if the judgment is in favor of the state, within fifteen years from the date of issuance of the last execution for the enforcement of the judgment within that county or the date of filing of the last certificate in that county, whichever is the later, then the judgment shall cease to operate as a lien upon lands and tenements of the judgment debtor within that county, except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section. The fifteen-year limitation period applies to executions issued and certificates of judgments issued and filed before, on, or after the effective date of the amendment of this section by H.B. 699 of the 126th general assembly.

(C)(1) As used in division (C) of this section, “interim period” means the period beginning September 26, 2003, and ending September 27, 2006.

(2) Division (C) of this section applies only to judgments in favor of the state that are subject to this section and to which both of the following apply:

(a) The first issuance of execution on the judgment, or the first issuance and filing of the certificate of judgment, was issued or issued and filed within the ten-year period provided in this section before the beginning of the interim period;

(b) Subsequent issuance of execution on the judgment or subsequent issuance and filing of the certificate of judgment would have been required during the interim period in order to keep the lien from becoming dormant under this section as this section existed on September 25, 2003, and as if this section as it existed on that date had been in effect during the interim period.

(3) Such a judgment shall not become dormant and shall not cease to operate as a lien against the estate of the judgment debtor if either execution on the judgment is issued or a certificate of judgment is issued and filed, as provided in sections 2329.02 and 2329.04 of the Revised Code, within fifteen years after the expiration of the ten-year period following issuance of the last execution on the judgment or following the issuance and filing of the last such certificate, whichever is later.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003; 09-28-2006; 2006 HB699 03-29-2007

Any judgment for money rendered in a court of record in this state upon any indebtedness which is secured or evidenced by a mortgage, or other instrument in the nature of a mortgage, on real property or any interest therein, upon which real property there has been located a dwelling or dwellings for not more than two families which has been used in whole or in part as a home or farm dwelling or which at any time was held as a homestead by the person who executed or assumed such mortgage or other instrument, or which has been held by such person as a homesite, shall be unenforceable as to any deficiency remaining due thereon, after the expiration of two years from the date of the confirmation of any judicial sale of such property completed subsequent to the rendition of such judgment. Any execution issued upon such judgment, or any action or proceeding in aid of execution, or in the nature thereof, or to marshal liens, commenced prior to the expiration of such two year period, shall not be affected by this section. This section does not affect any action or proceeding in the nature of a creditor’s bill, commenced within such two year period, to subject the interest of the judgment debtor in any property owned at the date of such judgment and concealed with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors.

This section may be waived by an instrument in writing, executed by the judgment debtor within such two year period, but such waiver shall not be effective unless within such two year period, such waiver is filed in the office of the clerk of the court in which the judgment was rendered. Upon the filing of said waiver such clerk shall enter a memorial thereof on the docket in which the judgment was rendered.

Effective Date: 09-16-1957

The writ of execution against the property of a judgment debtor issuing from a court of record shall command the officer to whom it is directed to levy on the goods and chattels of the debtor. If no goods or chattels can be found, the officer shall levy on the lands and tenements of the debtor. If the court rendering the judgment or decree so orders, real estate may be sold under execution as follows: one third cash on the day of sale, one third in one year, the third in two years thereafter, with interest on deferred payments, to be secured by mortgage on the premises so sold. An execution on a judgment rendered against a partnership firm by its firm name shall operate only on the partnership property. The exact amount of the debt, damages, and costs, for which the judgment is entered, shall be indorsed on the execution.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) When a judgment creditor files a praecipe for a writ of execution with a clerk of a common pleas court pursuant to section 2303.11 of the Revised Code, or with a clerk of a municipal court pursuant to section 1901.23 of the Revised Code, or with a clerk of the county court pursuant to section 1907.47 of the Revised Code, the clerk shall issue a writ of execution to the levying officer and cause a notice and a hearing request form to be served upon the judgment debtor. The court, in accordance with division (E) of this section, shall appoint a levying officer who shall immediately and simultaneously execute the writ of execution and serve the notice and the hearing request form upon the judgment debtor. If the levying officer is unable to obtain personal service upon the judgment debtor, the levying officer shall serve the notice and hearing request form upon the judgment debtor by both certified mail and regular mail at the judgment debtor’s last known address.

(B)(1) The notice to the judgment debtor shall be in substantially the following form:

“(Name and Address of Court)

(Case Caption).................. Case No….....................

NOTICE TO THE JUDGMENT DEBTOR

You are hereby notified that this court has issued a writ of execution in the above case in favor of (name and address of judgment creditor), the judgment creditor in this proceeding, directing that some or all of your property be sold according to law and the proceeds of the sale be delivered to the clerk of this court to be used to satisfy all or part of your debt to the judgment creditor. This writ of execution was issued on the basis of the judgment creditor’s judgment against you that was obtained in (name of court) in (case number) on (date).

The laws of Ohio and the United States provide that certain property cannot be taken from you to pay a debt. The law exempts from execution your interest in or right to specified property as described in Ohio Revised Code section 2329.66(A). The substance of this statutory provision is attached to this notice.

If you believe that some or all of your property is exempt from execution, you may request a hearing before this court by filling out the enclosed form for requesting a hearing, or a substantially similar form, and delivering the request for hearing to the office of the clerk of this court no later than the end of the fifth business day after you receive this notice. In the space provided on the form, you may state your reason for claiming that some of your property is exempt from execution, but you are not required to do so. If you do not state reasons on the form, the court will permit you to state your reasons at the hearing. If you do state reasons on the form, you may also state other reasons at the hearing.

If you request a hearing by delivering your request for hearing no later than the end of the fifth business day after you receive this notice, the hearing will be conducted no later than twelve days after the court receives your request, unless you request an earlier hearing due to an emergency, in which case the court will schedule the hearing as soon as practicable. At the hearing, the court will consider the amount of your property that is exempt from execution and the amount that can be used to satisfy all or part of the judgment you owe to the judgment creditor. The court will not hear or consider any objections to the judgment itself at the hearing.

If you do not request a hearing by delivering your request prior to the end of the fifth business day after you receive this notice, you give up your right to a hearing and to assert reasons why some or all of your property should not be used for payment of your debt to the judgment creditor.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, you may contact the office of the clerk of this court. If you want legal representation, you should contact your lawyer immediately. If you need the name of a lawyer, contact the local bar association or your local legal aid or legal services office.

Clerk of the Court

Date”

(2) The notice that is served upon the judgment debtor shall, securely and prominently, have attached to it a document setting forth the substance of division (A) of section 2329.66 of the Revised Code.

(C) The hearing request form that is served upon the judgment debtor shall have attached to it a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope or shall be on a postage-paid self-addressed postcard, and shall be in substantially the following form:

“(Name and Address of Court)

Case Number…...................... Date….........................

REQUEST FOR HEARING

I believe that some or all of my property may be exempt from execution in the above case and request that a hearing be held no later than twelve days after the delivery of this request to the court.

OPTIONAL

I request that a hearing be held as soon as possible due to emergency circumstances as follows:

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

I believe that some or all of my property may be exempt from execution for the following reasons:

...........................................................................................................................

(Optional)

...........................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................

(Name of Judgment Debtor)

(Address of Judgment Debtor)

(Telephone Number of Judgment Debtor)

(Signature of Judgment Debtor)

(Date)

WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT DELIVER THIS REQUEST FOR HEARING OR A REQUEST IN A SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR FORM TO THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THIS COURT WITHIN FIVE (5) BUSINESS DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF IT, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A HEARING, AND SOME OR ALL OF YOUR PROPERTY WILL BE USED TO SATISFY ALL OR PART OF YOUR DEBT TO (JUDGMENT CREDITOR’S NAME).”

(D) A judgment debtor shall receive a hearing in accordance with this division if he delivers a written request for a hearing to the clerk of the court within five business days after receipt of the notice required under division (A) of this section. The judgment debtor may set forth on the request its reasons for believing that some or all of its property is exempt from execution, but neither its inclusion of reasons on the request nor its failure to include reasons constitutes a waiver of any defense or affects its right to produce evidence at any hearing.

If the judgment debtor makes the request within the prescribed time, the court shall schedule a hearing no later than twelve days after the court receives the request, unless the judgment debtor advises the court that an emergency hearing is necessary, in which case the court shall schedule the hearing as soon as practicable after the request is made. The clerk of court shall send notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing to the parties in accordance with division (G) of this section. The hearing shall be limited to a consideration of the amount of the property of the judgment debtor that can be executed upon to satisfy all or part of the debt owed to the judgment creditor.

If the judgment debtor does not request a hearing within the prescribed time, the court may grant a hearing if, prior to the sale of the property by the levying officer, the judgment debtor establishes a reasonable justification for its failure to request the hearing within the prescribed time.

(E) The court shall appoint a levying officer to immediately and simultaneously execute the writ of execution and serve the notice and the hearing request form required by division (A) of this section upon the judgment debtor. The levying officer shall be the bailiff, a deputy bailiff, or an ex officio deputy bailiff of the court as specified in Chapter 1901. of the Revised Code or another chapter of the Revised Code, or the sheriff of the appropriate county. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Revised Code, if the bailiff, deputy bailiff, ex officio deputy bailiff, or sheriff is not able to perform the duties of the levying officer in accordance with this section, the court, upon application by the judgment creditor, shall appoint a disinterested person to serve as the levying officer. The disinterested person shall post a bond with the clerk of the court in an amount set by the court to ensure the faithful performance of his duties.

(F) If the nature of the property executed upon precludes the levying officer from taking immediate physical possession of the property, the court, upon application by the judgment creditor or the levying officer, shall appoint a custodian of the property until the levying officer is able to take physical possession of the property. If the person appointed as custodian converts the property, fails to conserve it, or places it beyond the reach of the levying officer, the custodian shall be subject to a citation for contempt.

(G) The clerk of the court shall send any notice of hearing to the parties by regular mail or otherwise in accordance with Rule 5 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

(H) If a hearing is conducted, the court shall determine what portion, if any, of the property of the judgment debtor is exempt under section 2329.66 of the Revised Code and shall issue an order to the levying officer setting forth that determination and ordering the levying officer to sell the nonexempt property according to law.

(I) If it is necessary to ascertain the amount or value of the judgment debtor’s personal property that is exempt under section 2329.66 of the Revised Code, it shall be estimated and appraised in accordance with section 2329.68 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 08-19-1994

When two or more writs of execution against the same debtor are delivered to the officer to whom they are directed on the same day, no preference shall be given to either of such writs. If a sufficient sum of money is not made to satisfy all such executions, the amount made shall be distributed to the several creditors in proportion to the amounts of their respective demands. In all other cases the writ of execution first delivered to the officer shall be the first satisfied. The officer shall indorse on every writ of execution the time when he received it. This section does not affect any preferable lien which a judgment on which execution issued has on the lands of the debtor.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The officer to whom a writ of execution is delivered shall proceed immediately to levy it upon the goods and chattels of the debtor. If no goods and chattels can be found, the officer shall indorse on the execution the words “no goods,” and forthwith levy it upon the lands and tenements of the debtor which are liable to satisfy the judgment.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a sheriff, coroner, or other officer, by virtue of an execution, levies upon goods and chattels which afterward remain upon his hands unsold for want of bidders, for the want of time to advertise and sell, or for other reasonable cause, for his own security, he may take of the defendant a bond with security in such sum as he deems sufficient, to the effect that the property shall be delivered to the officer holding an execution for the sale of it at the time and place appointed by such officer, either by notice given in writing to the defendant in execution, or by advertisement published in a newspaper published in the county, naming therein the day and place of sale. If the defendant fails to deliver the goods and chattels at the time and place mentioned in the notice, or to pay to the officer holding the execution the full value of such goods and chattels, or the amount of the debt and costs, the bond shall be considered as broken, and may be proceeded on as in other cases.

Effective Date: 10-07-1977

(A) Goods and chattels levied upon by virtue of an execution of a court of record shall not be sold until both of the following occur:

(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, the judgment creditor who seeks the sale of the goods and chattels or the judgment creditor’s attorney does both of the following:

(i) Causes a written notice of the date, time, and place of the sale to be served in accordance with divisions (A) and (B) of Civil Rule 5 upon the judgment debtor and upon each other party to the action in which the judgment giving rise to the execution was rendered;

(ii) At least three calendar days prior to the date of the sale, files with the clerk of the court that rendered the judgment giving rise to the execution a copy of the written notice described in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section with proof of service endorsed on the copy in the form described in division (D) of Civil Rule 5.

(b) Service of the written notice described in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section is not required to be made upon any party who is in default for failure to appear in the action in which the judgment giving rise to the execution was rendered.

(2)(a) Subject to division (A)(2)(b) of this section, the officer who levies upon the goods and chattels gives public notice of the date, time, and place of the sale for at least ten days before the day of sale by advertisement in a newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county. The court ordering the sale may designate in the order of sale the newspaper in which this public notice shall be published.

(b) If the goods to be sold are merchandise or inventory used in connection with a trade or business and if the sale is to satisfy a judgment in favor of the state or one of its political subdivisions for delinquent taxes, public notice of the sale shall be given by advertisement in a newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county once a week for three weeks preceding the date of the sale. In the case of a sale of goods used in connection with a trade or business, notice of the location, date, and nature of that sale also shall be conspicuously posted on the premises where the trade or business is carried on and on the premises where the goods to be sold are kept if they are located elsewhere.

(B)(1) A sale of goods and chattels levied upon by virtue of an execution of a court of record may be set aside in accordance with division (B)(2) of this section.

(2) Subject to divisions (B)(3) and (4) of this section, all sales of goods and chattels levied upon by virtue of an execution of a court of record that are made without compliance with the written notice requirements of division (A)(1)(a) of this section and the public notice requirements of division (A)(2) of this section shall be set aside, on motion, by the court to which the execution is returnable.

(3) Proof of service endorsed upon a copy of the written notice required by division (A)(1)(a) of this section shall be conclusive evidence of the service of the written notice in compliance with the requirements of that division, unless, prior to the confirmation of the sale of the goods and chattels as described in division (B)(4) of this section, a party files a motion to set aside the sale pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section and establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the proof of service is fraudulent.

(4) If the court to which the execution is returnable enters its order confirming the sale of the goods and chattels, the order has both of the following effects:

(a) The order shall be deemed to constitute a judicial finding as follows:

(i) That the sale of the goods and chattels complied with the written notice requirements of division (A)(1)(a) of this section and the public notice requirements of division (A)(2) of this section, or that compliance of that nature did not occur but the failure to give a written notice to a party entitled to notice under division (A)(1)(a) of this section has not prejudiced that party;

(ii) That all parties entitled to notice under division (A)(1)(a) of this section received adequate notice of the date, time, and place of the sale of the goods and chattels.

(b) The order bars the filing of any further motions to set aside the sale of the goods and chattels.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

When goods and chattels levied upon by execution cannot be sold for want of bidders or for want of time, the officer who makes the return shall annex to the execution a true inventory of the goods and chattels remaining unsold. The plaintiff in that execution may have another execution issued directing the sale of the goods and chattels levied upon. The goods and chattels shall not be so sold unless the written notice requirements of division (A)(1)(a) of section 2329.13 of the Revised Code and the public notice requirements of division (A)(2) of that section first have been satisfied. Division (B) of that section also applies to any sale of goods and chattels levied upon by virtue of a subsequent execution of a court of record under this section.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

All sales of goods and chattels shall be at public auction unless the court from which an execution or order of sale issues, or a judge thereof in vacation, for good cause shown, on application of either party and due notice to the adverse party, makes an order directing the sheriff, or other officer holding the process, to sell them at private sale for cash, specifying the time, not beyond the return day of the process, during which such sale will continue. Before such sale, public or private, is made, the court shall order the property to be appraised by three disinterested persons; and it shall not be sold for less than two thirds of its appraised value.

In the case of a sale to satisfy a judgment in favor of the state, or one of its political subdivisions for delinquent taxes, if the sum bid by the purchaser for goods sold pursuant to this section is insufficient to pay the costs which the court has determined prior to such sale shall be paid out of the proceeds thereof, then the purchaser, in addition to the amount of his bid, must pay a sum which, with the amount so bid will be sufficient to pay the costs. The court may fix the amount remaining unpaid on such claims or obligations for the purpose of the sale, and to that end require the parties to the suit to furnish satisfactory evidence of such unpaid amount.

Effective Date: 05-07-1974

All public auctions of goods, chattels, or lands levied upon by execution shall be conducted personally by an officer of the court or by an auctioneer licensed under Chapter 4707. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-22-1969

When a writ is issued directing the sale of property previously taken in execution, the officer who issues the writ, if requested by the person entitled to the benefit thereof, his agent or attorney, shall add thereto a command to the officer to whom it is directed, that if, in his opinion, the property remaining in his hands not sold is insufficient to satisfy the judgment, he shall levy the writ upon lands and tenements, goods and chattels, or either, of the judgment debtor, as the law permits, sufficient to satisfy the debt.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When execution is levied upon lands and tenements, the officer who makes the levy shall call an inquest of three disinterested freeholders, residents of the county where the lands taken in execution are situated, and administer to them an oath impartially to appraise the property so levied upon, upon actual view. They forthwith shall return to such officer, under their hands, an estimate of the real value of the property in money.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When an officer receives the return provided for in section 2329.17 of the Revised Code, he forthwith shall deposit a copy of it with the clerk of the court from which the writ issued, and immediately advertise and sell such real estate in conformity with sections 2329.01 to 2329.61, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Upon the return provided for in section 2329.17 of the Revised Code, if it appears by the inquisition that two-thirds of the appraised value of the lands and tenements levied upon is sufficient to satisfy the execution, with costs, the judgment on which the execution issued shall not operate as a lien on the residue of the debtor’s estate to the prejudice of any other judgment creditor.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No tract of land shall be sold for less than two thirds of the value returned in the inquest required by section 2329.17 of the Revised Code; except that in all cases where a junior mortgage or other junior lien is sought to be enforced against real estate by an order, judgment, or decree of court, subject to a prior lien thereon, and such prior lien, and the claims or obligations secured thereby, are unaffected by such order, judgment, or decree, the court making such order, judgment, or decree, may determine the minimum amount for which such real estate may be sold, such minimum amount to be not less than two thirds of the difference between the value of the real estate appraised as provided in such section, and the amount remaining unpaid on the claims or obligations secured by such prior lien.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If the sum bid by the purchaser for the real estate sold under section 2329.20 of the Revised Code relating to the enforcement of junior liens is insufficient to pay the costs and allowance which the court has determined prior to such sale should be paid out of the proceeds thereof, pursuant to the terms of the mortgage or lien sought to be enforced, then the purchaser, in addition to the amount of his bid, must pay a sum which with the amount so bid will be sufficient to pay the costs and allowances. The court may fix the amount remaining unpaid on such claims or obligations for the purpose of the sale, and to that end require the parties to the suit to furnish to it satisfactory evidence of such unpaid amount.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Sections 2329.19 to 2329.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code do not affect the sale of lands by the state. All lands, the property of individuals, indebted to the state for debt, taxes, or in any other manner shall be sold without valuation for the discharge of such debt or taxes.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

All notices and advertisements for the sale of lands and tenements located in a municipal corporation, made by virtue of the proceedings in a court of record therein, in addition to a description of such lands and tenements, shall contain the street number of the buildings erected on the lands, or the street number of the lots offered for sale. If no such number exists, then the notice or advertisement must contain the name of the street or road upon which such lands and tenements are located, together with the names of the streets or roads immediately north and south or east and west of such lands and tenements that cross or intersect the street or road upon which they are located.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

All notices and advertisements for the sale of lands and tenements located in a township and not within the limits of a municipal corporation, which are made by virtue of proceedings in a court of record therein, must contain the name of the township in which the lands and tenements are located.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If the property of a clerk of the court of common pleas, sheriff, coroner, county court judge, or constable, or of a collector of state, county, municipal corporation, or township taxes, is levied on, for or on account of money by him collected or received in his official capacity, the property so levied on shall be sold without valuation.

Effective Date: 01-01-1958

(A) Lands and tenements taken in execution shall not be sold until both of the following occur:

(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, the judgment creditor who seeks the sale of the lands and tenements or the judgment creditor’s attorney does both of the following:

(i) Causes a written notice of the date, time, and place of the sale to be served in accordance with divisions (A) and (B) of Civil Rule 5 upon the judgment debtor and upon each other party to the action in which the judgment giving rise to the execution was rendered;

(ii) At least seven calendar days prior to the date of the sale, files with the clerk of the court that rendered the judgment giving rise to the execution a copy of the written notice described in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section with proof of service endorsed on the copy in the form described in division (D) of Civil Rule 5.

(b) Service of the written notice described in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section is not required to be made upon any party who is in default for failure to appear in the action in which the judgment giving rise to the execution was rendered.

(2) The officer taking the lands and tenements gives public notice of the date, time, and place of the sale for at least thirty days before the day of sale by advertisement in a newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county. The court ordering the sale may designate in the order of sale the newspaper in which this public notice shall be published, and this public notice is subject to division (A) of section 2329.27 of the Revised Code.

(B) A sale of lands and tenements taken in execution may be set aside in accordance with division (B) of section 2329.27 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

(A) When the public notice required by division (A)(2) of section 2329.26 of the Revised Code is made in a newspaper published weekly, it is sufficient to insert it for three consecutive weeks. If both a daily and weekly edition of the paper are published and the circulation of the daily in the county exceeds that of the weekly in the county, or if the lands and tenements taken in execution are situated in a city, both a daily and weekly edition of the paper are published, and the circulation of the daily in that city exceeds the circulation of the weekly in that city, it is sufficient to publish the public notice in the daily once a week for three consecutive weeks before the day of sale, each insertion to be on the same day of the week. The expense of that publication in a daily shall not exceed the cost of publishing it in a weekly.

(B)(1) Subject to divisions (B)(2) and (3) of this section, all sales of lands and tenements taken in execution that are made without compliance with the written notice requirements of division (A)(1)(a) of section 2329.26 of the Revised Code and the public notice requirements of division (A)(2) of that section and division (A) of this section shall be set aside, on motion, by the court to which the execution is returnable.

(2) Proof of service endorsed upon a copy of the written notice required by division (A)(1)(a) of section 2329.26 of the Revised Code shall be conclusive evidence of the service of the written notice in compliance with the requirements of that division, unless a party files a motion to set aside the sale of the lands and tenements pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section and establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the proof of service is fraudulent.

(3) If the court to which the execution is returnable enters its order confirming the sale of the lands and tenements, the order shall have both of the following effects:

(a) The order shall be deemed to constitute a judicial finding as follows:

(i) That the sale of the lands and tenements complied with the written notice requirements of division (A)(1)(a) of section 2329.26 of the Revised Code and the public notice requirements of division (A)(2) of that section and division (A) of this section, or that compliance of that nature did not occur but the failure to give a written notice to a party entitled to notice under division (A)(1)(a) of section 2329.26 of the Revised Code has not prejudiced that party;

(ii) That all parties entitled to notice under division (A)(1)(a) of section 2329.26 of the Revised Code received adequate notice of the date, time, and place of the sale of the lands and tenements.

(b) The order bars the filing of any further motions to set aside the sale of the lands and tenements.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

The sheriff shall indorse on the writ of execution his proceedings thereon, and the clerk of the court of common pleas, upon the return thereof, immediately shall record all such indorsements at length, in the execution docket, or other docket provided for that purpose. That record shall be a part of the record of the court of common pleas.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If the sheriff collects any part of a judgment by virtue of an execution without the sale of real estate, he shall pay it to the judgment creditor, or his attorney, upon demand made therefor at the sheriff’s office. If the execution is fully satisfied, the sheriff shall return it within three days after he collected the money thereon.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The court from which an execution or order of sale issues, upon notice and motion of the officer who makes the sale, or of an interested party, shall punish as for contempt any purchaser of real property who fails to pay the purchase money therefor.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Upon the return of any writ of execution for the satisfaction of which lands and tenements have been sold, on careful examination of the proceedings of the officer making the sale, if the court of common pleas finds that the sale was made, in all respects, in conformity with sections 2329.01 to 2329.61, inclusive, of the Revised Code, it shall direct the clerk of the court of common pleas to make an entry on the journal that the court is satisfied of the legality of such sale, and that the officer make to the purchaser a deed for the lands and tenements.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The officer, on making the sale of property of a judgment debtor, may retain the purchase money in his hands until the court examines his proceedings, when he shall pay it to the person entitled thereto, under the order of the court.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

In sales of real estate on execution or order of sale, at any time before the confirmation thereof, the debtor may redeem it from sale by depositing in the hands of the clerk of the court of common pleas to which such execution or order is returnable, the amount of the judgment or decree upon which such lands were sold, with all costs, including poundage, and interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum on the purchase money from the day of sale to the time of such deposit, except where the judgment creditor is the purchaser, the interest at such rate on the excess above his claim. The court of common pleas thereupon shall make an order setting aside such sale, and apply the deposit to the payment of such judgment or decree and costs, and award such interest to the purchaser, who shall received from the officer making the sale the purchase money paid by him, and the interest from the clerk. This section does not take away the power of the court to set aside such sale for any reason for which it might have been set aside prior to April 16, 1888.

Effective Date: 08-06-1976

Real property may be conveyed by a master commissioner or special master only:

(A) When, by an order or a judgment in an action or proceeding, a party is required to convey such property to another, and he neglects or refuses to do so, and the master is directed to convey on his failure;

(B) When specific real property is sold by a master under an order or judgment of the court appointing him. No court shall make or issue an order to a master for the sale of real estate, unless there exists some special reason why the sale should not be made by the sheriff of the county where the decree or order was made, which reason, if the court finds any to exist, shall be embodied in and made part of the judgment, order, or decree for such sale.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

A master commissioner or special master who sells real property shall have the same power to administer oaths that is conferred upon sheriffs. A sheriff may act as a master commissioner. On notice, and for a reasonable compensation to be paid him by a master out of his fees, the sheriff shall attend and make sale for a master who, by reason of sickness, is unable to attend. Sales made by a master must conform to the laws regulating sales of lands upon execution.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

An officer, including a master commissioner and a special master, who sells real property, on confirmation of the sale, must make to the purchaser a deed, containing the names of the parties to the judgment, the names of the owners of the property sold, a reference to the volume and page of the recording of the next preceding recorded instrument by or through which the owners claim title, the date and amount of the judgment, the substance of the execution or order on which the property was sold, the substance of the officer’s return thereon, and the order of confirmation. The deed shall be executed, acknowledged, and recorded as other deeds.

Effective Date: 09-09-1957

The deed provided for in section 2329.36 of the Revised Code shall be prima facie evidence of the legality and regularity of the sale. All the estate and interest of the person whose property the officer so professed to sell and convey, whether it existed at the time the property become liable to satisfy the judgment, or was acquired afterward, shall be vested in the purchaser by such sale.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The officer who makes a levy, or holds an order of sale, before giving notice of the sale, may demand of the plaintiff, his agent or attorney, the fees of the printer for publishing such notice. The officer need not make such publication until the fees are paid.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Sale of lands or tenements under execution or order of sale must be held in the county in which they are situated and at the courthouse, unless otherwise ordered by the court. Purchase of real or personal property, by the officer making the sale thereof, or by an appraiser of such property, shall be fraudulent and void.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If lands and tenements levied on, or ordered to be sold, are not sold upon execution, other executions may be issued to sell them.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When two or more executions come to the hands of an officer, and it is necessary to levy on real estate to satisfy them, and either of the judgment creditors, or his assignee, requires him to make a separate levy to satisfy his executions, the officer shall obey the direction. The officer who makes the levy on behalf of the creditor whose execution is entitled to a preference by sections 2329.01 to 2329.61, inclusive, of the Revised Code, has the choice of such part of the real property of the judgment debtor as, at two thirds of the appraised value, will be sufficient to satisfy it.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If two or more executions entitled to no preference as to each other are put in the hands of the same officer, when required, he must levy them on separate parcels of the real property of the judgment debtor if, in the opinion of the appraisers, they can be divided without material injury. If the real property of such debtor is not sufficient, at two thirds of its appraised value, to satisfy all the executions chargeable thereon, such part of it must be levied on, to satisfy each execution, as bears the same proportion in value to the whole as the amount due on the execution bears to the amount of all the executions chargeable thereon, as near as may be, according to the appraised value of each separate parcel.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If the term of service of the officer who makes a sale of lands and tenements expires, or if he dies, is absent, or otherwise unable to make a deed of conveyance of the property sold, on receiving a certificate from the court from which execution issued for such sale, signed by the clerk of such court, by order of the court, setting forth that sufficient proof has been made that the sale was fair and legal, on tender of the purchase money, or if it or a part thereof has been paid, then, on proof of such payment and tender of the balance, any of the successors of such officer may execute to the purchaser, or his legal representatives, a deed of conveyance of the lands and tenements sold. Such deed shall be as valid in law as if the officer who made the sale had executed it.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) On a sale made pursuant to this chapter, if the officer who makes the sale receives from the sale more money than is necessary to satisfy the writ of execution, with interest and costs, the officer who made the sale shall deliver any balance remaining after satisfying the writ of execution, with interest and costs, to the clerk of the court that issued the writ of execution. The clerk then shall do one of the following:

(1) If the balance is twenty-five dollars or more, send to the judgment debtor whose property was the subject of the sale a notice that indicates the amount of the balance, informs the judgment debtor that he is entitled to receive the balance, and sets forth the procedure that the judgment debtor is required to follow to obtain the balance. This notice shall be sent to the judgment debtor at the address of the judgment debtor in the caption on the judgment or at any different address he may have provided, by certified mail, return receipt requested, within ninety days after the sale. If the certified mail envelope is returned with an endorsement showing failure or refusal of delivery, the clerk immediately shall send the judgment debtor, at the address of the judgment debtor in the caption on the judgment or any different address he may have provided, a similar notice by ordinary mail. If the ordinary mail envelope is returned for any reason, the clerk immediately shall give a similar notice to the judgment debtor by an advertisement in a newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county, which advertisement shall run once a week for at least three consecutive weeks.

(2) If the balance is less than twenty-five dollars, send to the judgment debtor whose property was the subject of the sale a notice that indicates the amount of the balance, informs the judgment debtor that he is entitled to receive the balance, and sets forth the procedure that the judgment debtor is required to follow to obtain the balance. This notice shall be sent to the judgment debtor at the address of the judgment debtor in the caption on the judgment or at any different address he may have provided, by ordinary mail.

(B)(1) Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, the clerk of the court that issued the writ of execution, on demand and whether or not the notice required by division (A)(1) or (2) of this section is provided as prescribed, shall pay the balance to the judgment debtor or his legal representatives.

(2) The clerk of the court that issued the writ of execution is not required to pay the balance to the judgment debtor or his legal representatives pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section until the judgment debtor or the legal representatives pay to the clerk twenty-five dollars if the balance is twenty-five dollars or more, or five dollars if the balance is less than twenty-five dollars to compensate the clerk for the costs incurred in the provision of the notice required by division (A)(1) or (2) of this section.

Effective Date: 07-16-1986

If a judgment in satisfaction of which lands, or tenements are sold, is reversed, such reversal shall not defeat or affect the title of the purchaser. In such case restitution must be made by the judgment creditor of the money for which such lands or tenements were sold, with interest from the day of sale.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Upon the sale of property on execution, if the title of the purchaser is invalid by reason of a defect in the proceedings, he may be subrogated to the right of the creditor against the debtor to the extent of the money paid and applied to the debtor’s benefit, and, to the same extent, may have a lien on the property sold, as against all persons, except bona fide purchasers without notice. This section does not require the creditor to refund the purchase money by reason of the invalidity of such sales.

This section applies to sales by order of court, sales by executors, administrators, guardians, and assignees, and to sales for taxes.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a plaintiff in execution or his agent, in good faith, has ordered a levy of execution upon property not subject thereto, and which has been sold, applied on his judgment, and a recovery therefor had against him by the owner of the property, such plaintiff, having paid the amount so recovered, on motion in the court having control of the judgment, on giving the judgment defendant notice thereof, may have the satisfaction so made from the sale of the property vacated, and may collect the judgment.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When an officer to whom an execution issues on a judgment levies it in good faith upon property not subject to levy, sells it, applies the proceeds in satisfaction in whole or part of the judgment, and a recovery is had against him for its value, upon payment thereof, on motion before the court having control of the judgment and a showing that due notice of such motion was given to the defendant in the execution, such officer may have the satisfaction of such judgment vacated, and execution shall issue therefor for his use as if such levy and sale had not been made.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a defendant in a judgment, or his surety or cosurety, by mistake has directed an execution issued on the judgment to be levied on property not liable thereto, thereby causing such judgment to be wholly or in part satisfied, and has been compelled to pay the owner of the property therefor, he has the same rights against a codefendant in such judgment, and against a cosurety or principal in respect of the debts on which such judgment is founded, as though such satisfaction, by due process of law, had been made out of the property of such defendant, surety, or cosurety so directing such levy.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

In all cases in which judgment is rendered in the court of appeals or supreme court and a special mandate is directed to the court of common pleas to carry it into execution, the lien of the judgment creditor shall continue for one year after it is so entered. In computing such period of one year, the time covered by an appeal of the case, or by an injunction against the execution, or by a vacancy in the office of sheriff and coroner, or by the inability of such officers, shall be excluded.

Effective Date: 08-06-1976

When real estate taken on execution and appraised, advertised, and offered for sale is unsold for want of bidders, the court from which the execution issued, on motion of the plaintiff, shall set aside such appraisement and order a new appraisement to be made, or shall set aside the levy and appraisement and award a new execution to issue. When such real estate or a part of it has been two times appraised and thereafter advertised and offered for sale, and is unsold for want of bidders, the court may direct the amount for which it shall be sold.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When premises are ordered to be sold, if said premises, or a part thereof, remain unsold for want of bidders after having been once appraised, advertised, and offered for sale, the court from which the order of sale issued may, on motion of the plaintiff or defendant and from time to time until said premises are disposed of, order a new appraisement and sale or direct the amount for which said premises, or a part thereof, may be sold.

The court may order that the premises be sold as follows: One third cash in hand, one third in nine months from the day of sale, and the remaining one third in eighteen months from the day of sale, the deferred payments to draw interest at six per cent and be secured by a mortgage on the premises.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The officer to whom a writ of execution is directed shall return such writ to the court to which it is returnable within sixty days from its date.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When judgment is rendered in a court of record in this state upon an instrument in writing in which two or more persons are jointly or severally bound, and it appears to the court, by parol or other testimony, that one or more of the persons so bound signed it as surety or bail for his codefendant, the clerk of such court, in recording the judgment thereon, must certify which of the defendants is principal debtor and which is the surety or bail. Such clerk shall issue execution on such judgment, commanding the officer to levy on the goods, chattels, lands, and tenements, of the principal debtor, or, for want of sufficient property of his to make it, to levy on the goods, chattels, lands, and tenements, of the surety or bail. The property, personal and real, of the principal debtor, within the jurisdiction of the court, shall be exhausted before any of the property of the surety or bail is taken in execution.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Effective Date: 09-13-1955

When a freeholder, summoned as an appraiser, fails to appear at the time and place appointed by the officers ordering his appearance and discharge his duty as such, on complaint made to a judge of the county court in the district in which such freeholder resides, unless he has a reasonable excuse, he shall pay fifty cents for each neglect, which shall be collected by the judge, and paid into the county treasury for the use of the county.

When execution is issued in a county and directed to the sheriff or coroner of another county, the sheriff or coroner having the execution, after discharging all the duties required of him, may transmit it by mail to the clerk of the court who issued the writ. On proof by such sheriff or coroner that it was mailed soon enough to reach the office where it was issued within the time prescribed by law, he shall not be liable to amercement or penalty if it does not reach the office in due time.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No sheriff or coroner shall forward by mail any money made on an execution, unless he is specially instructed to do so by the plaintiff, his agent, or attorney of record.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The clerk of the court of common pleas shall enter upon the execution docket the names in full of parties to the cause in which an execution is issued, the number of the cause on the appearance docket, number of the execution, date of its issue, amount of the judgment, the costs due each person or officer, the time when the judgment was rendered, and the date of the return. The return shall be recorded upon the execution docket in full.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The clerk of the court of common pleas shall keep an index to the execution docket, showing, in separate columns, the names of all parties against whom and in whose favor an execution has been issued, the number of the execution, and the number of the cause upon the execution docket.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If an order of sale is issued in a case not on the trial docket, the clerk of the court of common pleas shall enter it on the execution docket and enter the subsequent proceedings in pursuance thereof in the manner that executions and proceedings thereon are entered. When a sale of real estate is made under such order, it shall be confirmed as are sales on executions. After the sale, the officer shall be governed by the law relating to sales on execution.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Effective Date: 09-28-1979

A beneficiary fund, not exceeding five thousand dollars, set apart, appropriated, or paid by a benevolent association or society, according to its rules, regulations, or bylaws, to the family of a deceased member, or to a member of such family, is not liable to be taken by process or proceedings, legal or equitable, to pay any debt of such deceased member.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The regalia, insignia of office, journals of proceedings, account books, and the private work belonging to a benevolent society in this state is exempt from seizure or sale to satisfy any judgment or decree rendered against such society.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Property used, or kept to be used, by a municipal corporation or fire company for the purpose of extinguishing fire is exempt from execution or sale to satisfy any judgment or order arising upon contract or otherwise, but the owner thereof may create valid liens thereon by bill of sale or mortgage.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) Every person who is domiciled in this state may hold property exempt from execution, garnishment, attachment, or sale to satisfy a judgment or order, as follows:

(1)(a) In the case of a judgment or order regarding money owed for health care services rendered or health care supplies provided to the person or a dependent of the person, one parcel or item of real or personal property that the person or a dependent of the person uses as a residence. Division (A)(1)(a) of this section does not preclude, affect, or invalidate the creation under this chapter of a judgment lien upon the exempted property but only delays the enforcement of the lien until the property is sold or otherwise transferred by the owner or in accordance with other applicable laws to a person or entity other than the surviving spouse or surviving minor children of the judgment debtor. Every person who is domiciled in this state may hold exempt from a judgment lien created pursuant to division (A)(1)(a) of this section the person’s interest, not to exceed five thousand dollars, in the exempted property.

(b) In the case of all other judgments and orders, the person’s interest, not to exceed five thousand dollars, in one parcel or item of real or personal property that the person or a dependent of the person uses as a residence.

(2) The person’s interest, not to exceed one thousand dollars, in one motor vehicle;

(3) The person’s interest, not to exceed two hundred dollars in any particular item, in wearing apparel, beds, and bedding, and the person’s interest, not to exceed three hundred dollars in each item, in one cooking unit and one refrigerator or other food preservation unit;

(4)(a) The person’s interest, not to exceed four hundred dollars, in cash on hand, money due and payable, money to become due within ninety days, tax refunds, and money on deposit with a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, public utility, landlord, or other person. Division (A)(4)(a) of this section applies only in bankruptcy proceedings. This exemption may include the portion of personal earnings that is not exempt under division (A)(13) of this section.

(b) Subject to division (A)(4)(d) of this section, the person’s interest, not to exceed two hundred dollars in any particular item, in household furnishings, household goods, appliances, books, animals, crops, musical instruments, firearms, and hunting and fishing equipment, that are held primarily for the personal, family, or household use of the person;

(c) Subject to division (A)(4)(d) of this section, the person’s interest in one or more items of jewelry, not to exceed four hundred dollars in one item of jewelry and not to exceed two hundred dollars in every other item of jewelry;

(d) Divisions (A)(4)(b) and (c) of this section do not include items of personal property listed in division (A)(3) of this section.

If the person does not claim an exemption under division (A)(1) of this section, the total exemption claimed under division (A)(4)(b) of this section shall be added to the total exemption claimed under division (A)(4)(c) of this section, and the total shall not exceed two thousand dollars. If the person claims an exemption under division (A)(1) of this section, the total exemption claimed under division (A)(4)(b) of this section shall be added to the total exemption claimed under division (A)(4)(c) of this section, and the total shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars.

(5) The person’s interest, not to exceed an aggregate of seven hundred fifty dollars, in all implements, professional books, or tools of the person’s profession, trade, or business, including agriculture;

(6)(a) The person’s interest in a beneficiary fund set apart, appropriated, or paid by a benevolent association or society, as exempted by section 2329.63 of the Revised Code;

(b) The person’s interest in contracts of life or endowment insurance or annuities, as exempted by section 3911.10 of the Revised Code;

(c) The person’s interest in a policy of group insurance or the proceeds of a policy of group insurance, as exempted by section 3917.05 of the Revised Code;

(d) The person’s interest in money, benefits, charity, relief, or aid to be paid, provided, or rendered by a fraternal benefit society, as exempted by section 3921.18 of the Revised Code;

(e) The person’s interest in the portion of benefits under policies of sickness and accident insurance and in lump sum payments for dismemberment and other losses insured under those policies, as exempted by section 3923.19 of the Revised Code.

(7) The person’s professionally prescribed or medically necessary health aids;

(8) The person’s interest in a burial lot, including, but not limited to, exemptions under section 517.09 or 1721.07 of the Revised Code;

(9) The person’s interest in the following:

(a) Moneys paid or payable for living maintenance or rights, as exempted by section 3304.19 of the Revised Code;

(b) Workers’ compensation, as exempted by section 4123.67 of the Revised Code;

(c) Unemployment compensation benefits, as exempted by section 4141.32 of the Revised Code;

(d) Cash assistance payments under the Ohio works first program, as exempted by section 5107.75 of the Revised Code;

(e) Benefits and services under the prevention, retention, and contingency program, as exempted by section 5108.08 of the Revised Code;

(f) Disability financial assistance payments, as exempted by section 5115.06 of the Revised Code.

(10)(a) Except in cases in which the person was convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code and in which an order for the withholding of restitution from payments was issued under division (C)(2)(b) of that section or in cases in which an order for withholding was issued under section 2907.15 of the Revised Code, and only to the extent provided in the order, and except as provided in sections 3105.171, 3105.63, 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person’s right to a pension, benefit, annuity, retirement allowance, or accumulated contributions, the person’s right to a participant account in any deferred compensation program offered by the Ohio public employees deferred compensation board, a government unit, or a municipal corporation, or the person’s other accrued or accruing rights, as exempted by section 145.56, 146.13, 148.09, 742.47, 3307.41, 3309.66, or 5505.22 of the Revised Code, and the person’s right to benefits from the Ohio public safety officers death benefit fund;

(b) Except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person’s right to receive a payment under any pension, annuity, or similar plan or contract, not including a payment from a stock bonus or profit-sharing plan or a payment included in division (A)(6)(b) or (10)(a) of this section, on account of illness, disability, death, age, or length of service, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person’s dependents, except if all the following apply:

(i) The plan or contract was established by or under the auspices of an insider that employed the person at the time the person’s rights under the plan or contract arose.

(ii) The payment is on account of age or length of service.

(iii) The plan or contract is not qualified under the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 1, as amended.

(c) Except for any portion of the assets that were deposited for the purpose of evading the payment of any debt and except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person’s right in the assets held in, or to receive any payment under, any individual retirement account, individual retirement annuity, “Roth IRA,” or education individual retirement account that provides benefits by reason of illness, disability, death, or age, to the extent that the assets, payments, or benefits described in division (A)(10)(c) of this section are attributable to any of the following:

(i) Contributions of the person that were less than or equal to the applicable limits on deductible contributions to an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity in the year that the contributions were made, whether or not the person was eligible to deduct the contributions on the person’s federal tax return for the year in which the contributions were made;

(ii) Contributions of the person that were less than or equal to the applicable limits on contributions to a Roth IRA or education individual retirement account in the year that the contributions were made;

(iii) Contributions of the person that are within the applicable limits on rollover contributions under subsections 219, 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), 408(b), 408(d)(3), 408A(c)(3)(B), 408A(d)(3), and 530(d)(5) of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended.

(d) Except for any portion of the assets that were deposited for the purpose of evading the payment of any debt and except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, the person’s right in the assets held in, or to receive any payment under, any Keogh or “H.R. 10” plan that provides benefits by reason of illness, disability, death, or age, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person’s dependents.

(11) The person’s right to receive spousal support, child support, an allowance, or other maintenance to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person’s dependents;

(12) The person’s right to receive, or moneys received during the preceding twelve calendar months from, any of the following:

(a) An award of reparations under sections 2743.51 to 2743.72 of the Revised Code, to the extent exempted by division (D) of section 2743.66 of the Revised Code;

(b) A payment on account of the wrongful death of an individual of whom the person was a dependent on the date of the individual’s death, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the person and any of the person’s dependents;

(c) Except in cases in which the person who receives the payment is an inmate, as defined in section 2969.21 of the Revised Code, and in which the payment resulted from a civil action or appeal against a government entity or employee, as defined in section 2969.21 of the Revised Code, a payment, not to exceed five thousand dollars, on account of personal bodily injury, not including pain and suffering or compensation for actual pecuniary loss, of the person or an individual for whom the person is a dependent;

(d) A payment in compensation for loss of future earnings of the person or an individual of whom the person is or was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any of the debtor’s dependents.

(13) Except as provided in sections 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, and 3123.06 of the Revised Code, personal earnings of the person owed to the person for services in an amount equal to the greater of the following amounts:

(a) If paid weekly, thirty times the current federal minimum hourly wage; if paid biweekly, sixty times the current federal minimum hourly wage; if paid semimonthly, sixty-five times the current federal minimum hourly wage; or if paid monthly, one hundred thirty times the current federal minimum hourly wage that is in effect at the time the earnings are payable, as prescribed by the “Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,” 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1), as amended;

(b) Seventy-five per cent of the disposable earnings owed to the person.

(14) The person’s right in specific partnership property, as exempted by division (B)(3) of section 1775.24 of the Revised Code;

(15) A seal and official register of a notary public, as exempted by section 147.04 of the Revised Code;

(16) The person’s interest in a tuition unit or a payment under section 3334.09 of the Revised Code pursuant to a tuition payment contract, as exempted by section 3334.15 of the Revised Code;

(17) Any other property that is specifically exempted from execution, attachment, garnishment, or sale by federal statutes other than the “Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978,” 92 Stat. 2549, 11 U.S.C.A. 101, as amended;

(18) The person’s interest, not to exceed four hundred dollars, in any property, except that division (A)(18) of this section applies only in bankruptcy proceedings.

(B) As used in this section:

(1) “Disposable earnings” means net earnings after the garnishee has made deductions required by law, excluding the deductions ordered pursuant to section 3119.80, 3119.81, 3121.02, 3121.03, or 3123.06 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Insider” means:

(a) If the person who claims an exemption is an individual, a relative of the individual, a relative of a general partner of the individual, a partnership in which the individual is a general partner, a general partner of the individual, or a corporation of which the individual is a director, officer, or in control;

(b) If the person who claims an exemption is a corporation, a director or officer of the corporation; a person in control of the corporation; a partnership in which the corporation is a general partner; a general partner of the corporation; or a relative of a general partner, director, officer, or person in control of the corporation;

(c) If the person who claims an exemption is a partnership, a general partner in the partnership; a general partner of the partnership; a person in control of the partnership; a partnership in which the partnership is a general partner; or a relative in, a general partner of, or a person in control of the partnership;

(d) An entity or person to which or whom any of the following applies:

(i) The entity directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds with power to vote, twenty per cent or more of the outstanding voting securities of the person who claims an exemption, unless the entity holds the securities in a fiduciary or agency capacity without sole discretionary power to vote the securities or holds the securities solely to secure to debt and the entity has not in fact exercised the power to vote.

(ii) The entity is a corporation, twenty per cent or more of whose outstanding voting securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to vote, by the person who claims an exemption or by an entity to which division (B)(2)(d)(i) of this section applies.

(iii) A person whose business is operated under a lease or operating agreement by the person who claims an exemption, or a person substantially all of whose business is operated under an operating agreement with the person who claims an exemption.

(iv) The entity operates the business or all or substantially all of the property of the person who claims an exemption under a lease or operating agreement.

(e) An insider, as otherwise defined in this section, of a person or entity to which division (B)(2)(d)(i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this section applies, as if the person or entity were a person who claims an exemption;

(f) A managing agent of the person who claims an exemption.

(3) “Participant account” has the same meaning as in section 148.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) “Government unit” has the same meaning as in section 148.06 of the Revised Code.

(C) For purposes of this section, “interest” shall be determined as follows:

(1) In bankruptcy proceedings, as of the date a petition is filed with the bankruptcy court commencing a case under Title 11 of the United States Code;

(2) In all cases other than bankruptcy proceedings, as of the date of an appraisal, if necessary under section 2329.68 of the Revised Code, or the issuance of a writ of execution.

An interest, as determined under division (C)(1) or (2) of this section, shall not include the amount of any lien otherwise valid pursuant to section 2329.661 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003; 09-29-2005

(A) Division (A)(1) of section 2329.66 of the Revised Code does not:

(1) Extend to a judgment rendered on a mortgage executed, or security interest given on real or personal property by a debtor or to a claim for less than four hundred dollars for manual work or labor;

(2) Impair the lien, by mortgage or otherwise, of the vendor for the purchase money of real or personal property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor uses as a residence, the lien of a mechanic or other person, under a statute of this state, for materials furnished or labor performed in the erection of a dwelling house on real property, or a lien for the payment of taxes due on real property;

(3) Affect or invalidate any mortgage on any real property, or any lien created by such a mortgage.

(B) No promise, agreement, or contract shall be made or entered into that would waive the exemption laws of this state, and every promise, agreement, or contract insofar as it seeks to waive the exemption laws of this state is void.

(C) Section 2329.66 of the Revised Code does not affect or invalidate any sale, contract of sale, conditional sale, security interest, or pledge of any personal property, or any lien created thereby.

Effective Date: 09-28-1979

Pursuant to the “Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978,” 92 Stat. 2549, 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(1), this state specifically does not authorize debtors who are domiciled in this state to exempt the property specified in the “Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978,” 92 Stat. 2549, 11 U.S.C. 522(d).

Effective Date: 09-28-1979

The exempt personal earnings provided for in division (A)(13) of section 2329.66 of the Revised Code are not subject to the payment of the cost of any proceedings brought to recover a judgment for a debt or to satisfy a judgment for a debt.

Effective Date: 09-28-1979

When it is necessary to ascertain the amount or value of personal property exempt under sections 2329.63 to 2329.71 of the Revised Code, it shall be estimated and appraised by two disinterested householders of the county, who shall be selected by the officer holding the execution and sworn by the officer to impartially make the appraisement.

Effective Date: 09-28-1979

Sections 2329.63 to 2329.71 of the Revised Code, with respect to exemptions, apply to all courts in this state, and a person is entitled to all applicable exemptions in any case or proceeding before any court or officer.

Effective Date: 09-28-1979

Any person upon whom a demand has been made in accordance with section 2716.02 of the Revised Code may apply to any judge of a county court or judge of a municipal court within this state in whose jurisdiction the person resides or, if the person is not a resident of this state, in whose jurisdiction the person’s place of employment is located for the appointment of a trustee to receive that portion of the personal earnings of the debtor that is not exempt from execution, garnishment, attachment, or proceedings in aid of execution and any additional sums that the debtor voluntarily pays or assigns to the trustee. The person shall file with the person’s application a full, accurate, and complete statement, under oath, of the names of the person’s secured and unsecured creditors with liquidated claims, their addresses, and the amount due to each of them. Upon that application and filing, the judge shall appoint a trustee to distribute the funds to the creditors of the debtor at the time of the application and filing.

If a debtor fails, through mistake or otherwise, to list a creditor, that creditor or debtor may apply to the court, with notice to the other party, to list the omitted creditor in the trusteeship. Any person who becomes a creditor after the appointment of a trustee may be listed in the trusteeship, and that creditor shall share in any distribution made by the trustee after the next ensuing distribution.

No proceedings in garnishment, attachment, or aid of execution or other action or proceeding to subject the personal earnings of the debtor to the payment of claims shall be brought or maintained by any creditor as long as at least the amount of the personal earnings of the debtor that is not exempt from execution, garnishment, attachment, or proceedings in aid of execution is paid to the trustee at regular intervals as fixed by the county court judge or the municipal court judge. This section does not prohibit creditors from recovering judgment against the debtor or prohibit levy, under a writ of attachment or execution, upon any other property that is not exempt from execution.

The maintaining of proceedings in garnishment, attachment, aid of execution, or otherwise in violation of this section is prohibited and may be prevented by a writ of prohibition in addition to all other remedies provided by law. The judge of the county court or municipal court shall provide by rule or otherwise for notice to creditors, the authentication and proof of claims, the time and manner of payment by the debtor, the distribution of funds, the bond of the trustee if required, and all other matters necessary or proper to carry into effect the jurisdiction conferred by this section.

The personal earnings of the debtor that are exempted by law shall not be liable to the plaintiff for the costs of any proceedings brought to recover a judgment for debt, damage, fine, or amercement or for the costs of any proceedings in garnishment, attachment, or aid of execution to satisfy that judgment, if the debtor has listed that creditor as to name, amount of that creditor’s claim, and the amount due on that claim and makes payment as provided for in this section.

Upon an application for a trustee, a judge of the court in which the application is made shall designate the clerk of the court to act as trustee, and the clerk shall serve as trustee without additional compensation. The clerk’s official bond shall be construed as conditioned upon the fulfillment of the trust, and no additional bond shall be required.

The trusteeship shall terminate upon the failure of the debtor to make the payments required by this section in accordance with the rules established by the county court or municipal court. The privileges conferred by this section that exempt that debtor’s personal earnings from proceedings in garnishment, attachment, or aid of execution or any other action or proceeding to subject the personal earnings of that debtor to the payment of claims or judgments shall terminate upon that neglect.

If a trusteeship is dismissed for nonpayment as provided by this section, the trusteeship shall not be reinstated, and the debtor shall not be permitted to file for a new trusteeship for a period of six months from date of the dismissal of the trusteeship, unless, upon motion supported by affidavit, the debtor proves to the satisfaction of the court that the failure to maintain the trusteeship agreement was not due to willful neglect.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

Any creditor who holds a chattel mortgage or any other lien or encumbrance on the property of any applicant for trusteeship under section 2329.70 of the Revised Code may participate in a trusteeship.

The holder of a chattel mortgage or other encumbrance may elect to participate in a trusteeship, subject to the terms of a written agreement with the debtor, filed with and approved by the court in which the application for trusteeship is filed. If the holder of a chattel mortgage elects to participate in the trusteeship, he shall be estopped to assert his lien or other encumbrance so long as the debtor complies with the terms of such agreement and with section 2329.70 of the Revised Code. Upon the failure of the debtor to maintain such agreement, the creditor may be released from the trusteeship, upon written request to the court, to pursue his chattel property or other remedies as provided by law, which are not in violation of section 2329.70 of the Revised Code.

Upon the receipt of a notice of the filing of an application for trusteeship as provided in section 2329.70 of the Revised Code, a secured creditor shall file with the court, in writing, his election to participate and his agreement with the debtor, if such has been created, or his objection to being included. Failure of a secured creditor to answer such notice as provided in section 2329.70 of the Revised Code within ten days after receiving such notice, shall be held by the court as an election to participate in the trusteeship, and such creditor shall be estopped to assert his lien for so long as the debtor maintains his trusteeship agreement, as provided by section 2329.70 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 01-23-1963

Effective Date: 09-28-1979

Sections 2327.01 and 2327.02 and Chapters 2329. and 2331. of the Revised Code do not impair the right of contingent or vested dower, the right to remain in the mansion house set forth in section 2106.15 of the Revised Code, or the mode provided by law for enforcing those rights.

Effective Date: 05-31-1990

If, by virtue of a writ of execution issued from a court of record in this state, an officer levies it on goods and chattels claimed by a person other than the defendant, such officer forthwith shall give written notice to a judge of the county court, which notice shall contain the names of the plaintiff, defendant, and claimant, and at the same time furnish the judge a schedule of the property claimed. Immediately upon the receipt of the notice and schedule, the judge shall make an entry of them on his docket, and issue a summons directed to the sheriff or any constable of the county commanding him to summon five disinterested men, having the qualifications of electors, to be named in the summons, to appear before him, at the time and place therein mentioned, which shall not be more than three days after the date of the writ, to try and determine the claimant’s right to the property in controversy. The claimant shall give two days’ notice, in writing, to the plaintiff, or other party, for whose benefit the execution was issued and levied, his agent, or attorney, if within the county, of the time and place of trial. The claimant shall prove to the satisfaction of the judge that such notice was given, or that it could not be given by reason of the absence of the party, his agent, or attorney.

Effective Date: 01-01-1958

The jurors summoned under section 2329.84 of the Revised Code shall be sworn to try and determine the right of the claimant to the property in controversy, and give a true verdict according to the evidence. If the jury finds that the right to the goods and chattels, in whole or part, is in the claimant, they also shall find the value thereof. The judge of the county court shall render judgment on such finding for the claimant that he recover his costs against the plaintiff in execution, or other party for whose benefit the writ issued, and also have restitution of the goods and chattels, or any part thereof, according to the finding of the jury. If the jury finds that no right to any part of the goods and chattels, is in the claimant, the judge shall render judgment on such finding in favor of the plaintiff in execution, or other party for whose benefit it issued, and against the claimant, for costs, and award execution thereon. If the jury fails to agree and is discharged, costs shall be taxed, to abide the final event of the proceedings, and another jury shall be summoned as before. Unless a bond is executed, as provided in section 2329.86 of the Revised Code, a judgment for the claimant shall be a justification of the officer in returning “no goods” to the writ by virtue of which the levy was made, as to such part of the goods and chattels as were found to belong to the claimant. The same fees shall be allowed and taxed by the judge, or himself, officers, jurors, and witnesses, as are allowed by law for like services.

Effective Date: 01-01-1958

If the jury summoned under section 2329.84 of the Revised Code finds that the right to the property, or a part of it, is in the claimant, and the plaintiff in execution within three days after the trial tenders to the officer having the property in his custody, a bond in double the amount of its value as assessed by the jury, with good and sufficient sureties, payable to the claimant, to the effect that they will pay all damages sustained by reason of the detention or sale of the property, the officer shall deliver such bond to the claimant, sell the property as if no trial of the right thereto had taken place, and shall not be liable to the claimant therefor.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

As used in sections 2329.90 to 2329.94 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Foreign country” means a governmental unit other than the United States and other than a state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States.

(B) “Foreign country judgment” means any judgment of a foreign country that grants or denies the recovery of a sum of money, other than the following types of judgments:

(1) A judgment for taxes;

(2) A judgment imposing a fine or other monetary penalty;

(3) A judgment for support involving matrimonial or family matters.

Effective Date: 08-29-1985

(A) Except as provided in sections 2329.92 and 2329.93 of the Revised Code, any foreign country judgment that is final, conclusive, and enforceable where rendered shall be recognized and enforced by the courts of this state, even though an appeal from the judgment is pending or the judgment is subject to an appeal. Such a foreign country judgment is enforceable in this state in the same manner as a judgment of another state that is entitled to full faith and credit.

(B) For purposes of division (A) of this section, a foreign country judgment is conclusive between the parties to the extent that it grants or denies the recovery of a sum of money, except that, if any of the following applies, a foreign country judgment is not conclusive:

(1) The judgment was rendered under a system that does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures that are compatible with the requirements of the due process of law;

(2) Subject to divisions (C) and (D) of this section, the foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant;

(3) The foreign court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter.

(C) A foreign country judgment shall be considered conclusive, and shall not be refused recognition and enforcement for lack of personal jurisdiction, if any of the following applies:

(1) The defendant was personally served in the foreign country;

(2) The defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceedings other than for the purpose of protecting seized property or property threatened with seizure in the proceedings, or other than to contest the jurisdiction of the foreign court over him;

(3) Prior to the commencement of the proceedings, the defendant agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign court with respect to the subject matter involved;

(4) The defendant was domiciled in the foreign country when the proceedings were commenced or, if the defendant was a corporation, it had its principal place of business, was incorporated, or otherwise had acquired corporate status in the foreign country;

(5) The defendant had a business office in the foreign country and the proceedings in the foreign court involved a claim for relief that arose out of the business done by the defendant through that office;

(6) The defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign country and the proceedings involved a claim for relief that arose out of that operation.

(D) A court of this state may recognize bases for jurisdiction over a defendant that are not listed in division (C) of this section and that have been recognized by the courts of this state or the general assembly.

Effective Date: 08-29-1985

(A) A foreign country judgment shall not be recognized and enforced pursuant to section 2329.91 of the Revised Code if the judge determines that any of the following are true:

(1) The defendant in the proceedings in the foreign court did not receive notice of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to defend;

(2) The foreign country judgment was obtained by fraud;

(3) The claim for relief on which the foreign country judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this state;

(4) The foreign country judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive judgment;

(5) The proceedings in the foreign court were contrary to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was to be settled otherwise than by proceedings in that court;

(6) If jurisdiction was based only on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action.

(B) A foreign country judgment rendered in a foreign country that does not have a procedure for recognizing judgments made by courts of other countries and their political subdivisions in its statutes, rules, or common law that is substantially similar to sections 2329.90 to 2329.94 of the Revised Code may be recognized and enforced pursuant to section 2329.91 of the Revised Code in the discretion of the court.

Effective Date: 08-29-1985

A court of this state may stay proceedings under sections 2329.90 to 2329.94 of the Revised Code to recognize and enforce a foreign country judgment if the defendant satisfies the court that an appeal is pending or that he is entitled and intends to appeal the foreign country judgment. The stay may be granted only until the appeal has been determined or until the expiration of a time period sufficient to enable the defendant to prosecute an appeal.

Effective Date: 08-29-1985

(A) Sections 2329.90 to 2329.94 of the Revised Code do not prevent courts from recognizing judgments in situations not covered by those sections.

(B) Sections 2329.90 to 2329.94 of the Revised Code shall be construed so as to effectuate the general purpose to make uniform the laws of the states that enact similar provisions.

Effective Date: 08-29-1985