323.72 Answer - hearing on or dismissal of complaint.

(A) Within thirty days after service of process has been perfected pursuant to section 323.69 of the Revised Code, in the answer to a complaint filed under that section:

(1) The record owner or another person having a legal or equitable ownership interest in the abandoned land may plead only that the impositions shown by the notice to be due and outstanding have been paid in full, and may raise issues pertaining to service of process and the parcel’s status as abandoned land;

(2) A lienholder or another person having a security interest of record in the abandoned land may plead that the impositions shown by the notice to be due and outstanding have been paid in full or, subject to division (C) of this section, that in order to preserve the lienholder’s or other person’s security interest of record in the land, the complaint should be dismissed and the abandoned land should be removed from the list compiled under division (A) of section 323.67 of the Revised Code and not disposed of as provided in sections 323.65 to 323.78 of the Revised Code.

(B) If the record owner or another person having a legal or equitable ownership interest in a parcel of abandoned land timely files an answer with the county board of revision under division (A)(1) of this section, or if a lienholder or another person having a security interest of record in the abandoned land timely files an answer with the board under division (A)(2) of this section that asserts that the impositions have been paid in full, the board shall schedule a hearing for a date not sooner than thirty days, and not later than ninety days, after the board receives the answer. Upon scheduling the hearing, the board shall notify the person that filed the answer and all interested parties of the date, time, and place of the hearing, and shall conduct the hearing. The only questions to be considered at the hearing are whether those impositions have in fact been paid in full and, under division (A)(1) of this section, whether valid issues pertaining to service of process and the parcel’s status as abandoned land have been raised. If the record owner, lienholder, or other person shows by a preponderance of the evidence that all impositions against the parcel have been paid, the board shall dismiss the complaint and remove the parcel of abandoned land from the list compiled under division (A) of section 323.67 of the Revised Code, and that land shall not be offered for sale or otherwise conveyed under sections 323.65 to 323.78 of the Revised Code. If the record owner, lienholder, or other person fails to appear, or appears and fails to show by a preponderance of the evidence that all impositions against the parcel have been paid, the board shall proceed in the manner prescribed in section 323.73 of the Revised Code.

(C) If a lienholder or another person having a security interest of record in the abandoned land, other than the owner, timely files an answer under division (A)(2) of this section and requests that the complaint be dismissed and the parcel of land be removed from the list compiled under division (A) of section 323.67 of the Revised Code and not disposed of as provided in sections 323.65 to 323.78 of the Revised Code in order to preserve the lienholder’s or other person’s security interest, the county board of revision may approve the request if the board finds that the sale or other conveyance of the parcel of land under those sections would unreasonably jeopardize the lienholder’s or other person’s ability to enforce the security interest or to otherwise preserve the lienholder’s or other person’s security interest. The board may approve the request, by board order, without conducting a hearing, but shall not disapprove the request unless and until a hearing is held on the request and the board makes a ruling based on the available and submitted evidence of the parties. If the board approves the request without a hearing, the board shall file the decision with the clerk of court, and the clerk shall send a notice of the decision to the lienholder or other person by ordinary mail. In order for a lienholder or other person having a security interest to show for purposes of this division that the parcel of abandoned land should be removed from the list in order “to preserve the lienholder’s or other person’s security interest,” the lienholder or other person must make a minimum showing by a preponderance of the evidence pursuant to section 323.71 of the Revised Code that the impositions against the parcel of abandoned land do not exceed the fair market value of the abandoned land as determined by the auditor’s then-current valuation of that parcel, which valuation is presumed, subject to rebuttal, to be the fair market value of the land.

(D) If an answer as described in division (B) or (C) of this section is filed and the county board of revision approves a request made under those divisions, regardless of whether a hearing is conducted under division (C) of this section, the board shall send notice of its approval to the prosecuting attorney or the certificate holder that filed the complaint for foreclosure, and shall dismiss the complaint and remove the abandoned land from the list compiled under division (A) of section 323.67 of the Revised Code. Thereafter, the land shall not be disposed of by sale or otherwise conveyed pursuant to sections 323.65 to 323.78 of the Revised Code unless the record owner, lienholder, or other person who filed the answer first consents to proceedings under those sections by filing written notice with the board. If a record owner, lienholder, or other person so consents, the proceedings may recommence as provided in sections 323.65 to 323.78 of the Revised Code with the reentry of the land on the list and the conducting of a new title search.

If the county board of revision does not, under division (A)(2) or (4) of section 323.71 of the Revised Code, dismiss the complaint and remove the abandoned land from the list compiled under division (A) of section 323.67 of the Revised Code or does not approve a request as described in division (B) or (C) of this section after conducting a hearing, the board shall proceed with the final hearing prescribed in section 323.70 of the Revised Code and file its decision on the complaint for foreclosure with the clerk of court. The clerk shall send written notice of the decision to the parties by ordinary mail or by certified mail, return receipt requested. If the board renders a decision ordering the foreclosure and forfeiture of the parcel of abandoned land, the parcel shall be disposed of under section 323.73 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-28-2006