Chapter 1335 | Statute Of Frauds

Section 1335.02 | Actions on loan agreements.

• Effective: March 23, 2018
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 199 - 132nd General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Debtor" means a person that obtains credit or seeks a loan agreement with a financial institution or owes money to a financial institution.

(2) "Financial institution" means a ny of the following:

(a) A federally or state-chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, or credit union, or a holding company, subsidiary, or affiliate of a bank, savings bank, or savings and loan association;

(b) A licensee under sections 1321.01 to 1321.19 of the Revised Code, or a registrant under sections 1321.51 to 1321.60 of the Revised Code, or a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate of a licensee or registrant ;

(c) A person registered as a mortgage lender under Chapter 1322. of the Revised Code or a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate of such a person.

(3) "Loan agreement" means one or more promises, promissory notes, agreements, undertakings, security agreements, mortgages, or other documents or commitments, or any combination of these documents or commitments, pursuant to which a financial institution loans or delays, or agrees to loan or delay, repayment of money, goods, or anything of value, or otherwise extends credit or makes a financial accommodation. "Loan agreement" does not include a promise, promissory note, agreement, undertaking, or other document or commitment relating to a credit card, a charge card, a revolving budget agreement subject to section 1317.11 of the Revised Code, an open-end loan agreement subject to section 1321.16 or 1321.58 of the Revised Code, or an open-end credit agreement subject to section 1109.18 of the Revised Code.

(B) No party to a loan agreement may bring an action on a loan agreement unless the agreement is in writing and is signed by the party against whom the action is brought or by the authorized representative of the party against whom the action is brought. However, a loan agreement need not be signed by an officer or other authorized representative of a financial institution, if the loan agreement is in the form of a promissory note or other document or commitment that describes the credit or loan and the loan agreement, by its terms, satisfies all of the following conditions:

(1) The loan agreement is intended by the parties to be signed by the debtor but not by an officer or other authorized representative of the financial institution.

(2) The loan agreement has been signed by the debtor.

(3) The delivery of the loan agreement has been accepted by the financial institution.

(C) The terms of a loan agreement subject to this section, including the rights and obligations of the parties to the loan agreement, shall be determined solely from the written loan agreement, and shall not be varied by any oral agreements that are made or discussions that occur before or contemporaneously with the execution of the loan agreement. Any prior oral agreements between the parties are superseded by the loan agreement.

(D) This section does not apply to any loan agreement in which the proceeds of the loan agreement are used by the debtor primarily for personal, household, or family purposes and either of the following applies:

(1) The proceeds of the loan agreement are less than forty thousand dollars;

(2) A security interest securing the loan agreement is or will be acquired in the primary residence of the debtor.

Section 1335.04 | Interest in land to be granted in writing.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

No lease, estate, or interest, either of freehold or term of years, or any uncertain interest of, in, or out of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, shall be assigned or granted except by deed, or note in writing, signed by the party assigning or granting it, or his agent thereunto lawfully authorized, by writing, or by act and operation of law.

Section 1335.05 | Certain agreements to be in writing.

• Effective: July 1, 1976
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1426 - 111th General Assembly

No action shall be brought whereby to charge the defendant, upon a special promise, to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another person; nor to charge an executor or administrator upon a special promise to answer damages out of his own estate; nor to charge a person upon an agreement made upon consideration of marriage, or upon a contract or sale of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or interest in or concerning them, or upon an agreement that is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof; unless the agreement upon which such action is brought, or some memorandum or note thereof, is in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith or some other person thereunto by him or her lawfully authorized.

No action shall be brought to charge a person licensed by Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine or surgery, osteopathic medicine or surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery in this state, upon any promise or agreement relating to a medical prognosis unless the promise or agreement is in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith.

Section 1335.11 | Paying commission on sales.

• Effective: October 29, 1999
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 18 - 123rd General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Commission" means compensation accruing to a person for payment by another person, the rate of which is expressed as a percentage of the dollar amount of orders, sales, or profits.

(2) "Principal" means a person who does all of the following:

(a) Engages in either of the following:

(i) The business of manufacturing, producing, importing, or distributing one or more products for sale to customers who purchase products for resale or for consumption or utilization in the manufacturing process;

(ii) The business of providing services to customers.

(b) Utilizes one or more sales representatives to solicit orders for those products or orders for those services;

(c) Compensates the sales representatives in whole or in part by commission.

(3) "Sales representative" means a person who contracts with a principal to solicit orders for a product or orders for the provision of services and who is compensated, in whole or in part, by commission, but does not include a person who places orders for or purchases the product for that person's own account for resale or places orders for the provision of or purchases services for that person's own account, a person who is an employee of a principal, or a person who contracts with a principal to solicit within this state orders for a product or orders for the performance of services and who is not compensated, in whole or in part, by commission.

(4) "Termination" means the end of the performance of services by a sales representative for a principal, including discharge of the sales representative by the principal, resignation of the sales representative, or expiration of the contract between the sales representative and the principal.

(B) For purposes of this section, the time at which a commission is due to a sales representative shall be determined in the following manner:

(1) If the contract between the principal and the sales representative is in writing and its terms unambiguously and clearly specify when the commission is due, the terms of the contract shall control the determination.

(2) If the contract between the principal and the sales representative is not in writing, or if the contract between them is in writing but its terms do not specify when the commission is due or its terms are ambiguous or unclear, the past practice used by the principal and the sales representative shall control the determination.

(3) If neither division (B)(1) nor (B)(2) of this section can be used to clearly ascertain when a commission is due, the custom and usage prevalent in this state for the principal's and sales representative's industry shall control the determination.

(C) Upon the termination of a contract between a principal and a sales representative for the solicitation of orders for a product or orders for services, the principal shall pay the sales representative all commissions due the sales representative at the time of the termination within thirty days of the termination and shall pay the sales representative all commissions that become due after the termination within thirteen days of the date on which the commissions become due.

(D) A principal who fails to comply with division (C) of this section or with any contractual provision concerning timely payment of commissions due upon termination of a contract with a sales representative is liable in a civil action for exemplary damages in an amount not to exceed three times the amount of the commissions owed to the sales representative if the sales representative proves that the principal's failure to comply with division (C) of this section or the contractual provision constituted willful, wanton, or reckless misconduct or bad faith. If a principal receives a written demand for payment of the commissions owed to a sales representative that was sent by certified mail, the failure of the principal to respond to the written demand in writing within twenty days after the principal receives the written demand shall raise a presumption that the principal acted willfully and in bad faith. The prevailing party in an action brought under this section is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

(E) Division (A)(1) of section 2307.382 of the Revised Code applies to a principal who is not a resident of this state and who enters into an agreement with a sales representative for the solicitation of orders in this state, to authorize the exercise by a court of personal jurisdiction over the principal.

(F) Any provision in any contract between a sales representative and principal is void if it purports to do any of the following:

(1) Waive any of the provisions of this section;

(2) Make the contract subject to the laws of another state;

(3) Limit the right of the sales representative to initiate litigation or alternative dispute resolution in this state.

(G) Nothing in this section invalidates or restricts any other or additional right or remedy available to a sales representative or precludes a sales representative from seeking to recover in one action on all claims against a principal.

(H) This section does not apply to any person licensed by the superintendent of insurance to engage in the business of issuing or selling insurance, as defined in division (D) of section 3901.19 of the Revised Code.