Chapter 1343 | Interest

Section 1343.01 | Maximum rate of interest.

• Effective: June 29, 1988
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 130 - 117th General Assembly

(A) The parties to a bond, bill, promissory note, or other instrument of writing for the forbearance or payment of money at any future time, may stipulate therein for the payment of interest upon the amount thereof at any rate not exceeding eight per cent per annum payable annually, except as authorized in division (B) of this section.

(B) Any party may agree to pay a rate of interest in excess of the maximum rate provided in division (A) of this section when:

(1) The original amount of the principal indebtedness stipulated in the bond, bill, promissory note, or other instrument of writing exceeds one hundred thousand dollars;

(2) The payment is to a broker or dealer registered under the "Securities Exchange Act of 1934," 48 Stat. 881, 15 U.S.C. 78A, as amended, for carrying a debit balance in an account for a customer if such debit balance is payable on demand and secured by stocks, bonds or other securities;

(3) The instrument evidences a loan secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on real estate where the loan has been approved, insured, guaranteed, purchased, or for which an offer or commitment to insure, guarantee, or purchase has been received, in whole or in part, by the federal government or any agency or instrumentality thereof, the federal national mortgage association, the federal home loan mortgage corporation, or the farmers home administration, all of which is authorized pursuant to the "National Housing Act," 12. U.S.C. 1701; the "Serviceman's Readjustment Act," 38 U.S.C. 1801; the "Federal Home Loan Bank Act," 12 U.S.C. 1421; and the "Rural Housing Act," 42 U.S.C. 1471, amendments thereto, reenactments thereof, enactments parallel thereto, or in substitution therefor, or regulations issued thereunder; or by the state or any agency or instrumentality thereof authorized pursuant to Chapter 122. of the Revised Code, or rules issued thereunder.

(4) The instrument evidences a loan secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or land installment contract on real estate which does not otherwise qualify for exemption from the provisions of this section, except that such rate of interest shall not exceed eight per cent in excess of the discount rate on ninety-day commercial paper in effect at the federal reserve bank in the fourth federal reserve district at the time the mortgage, deed of trust, or land installment contract is executed.

(5) The instrument is payable on demand or in one installment and is not secured by household furnishings or other goods used for personal, family, or household purposes.

(6)(a) The loan is a business loan to a business association or partnership, a person owning and operating a business as a sole proprietor; any persons owning and operating a business as joint venturers, joint tenants, or tenants in common; any limited partnership; or any trustee owning or operating a business or whose beneficiaries own or operate a business, except that:

(i) Any loan which is secured by an assignment of an individual obligor's salary, wages, commissions, or other compensation for services or by his household furniture or other goods used for his personal, family, or household purposes shall be deemed not a loan within the meaning of division (B)(6) of this section;

(ii) Any loan which otherwise qualifies as a business loan within the meaning of division (B)(6) of this section shall not be deemed disqualified because of the inclusion, with other security consisting of business assets of any such obligor, of real estate occupied by an individual obligor solely as his residence.

(b) As used in division (B)(6)(a) of this section, "business" means a commercial, agricultural, or industrial enterprise which is carried on for the purpose of investment or profit. "Business" does not mean the ownership or maintenance of real estate occupied by an individual obligor solely as his residence.

Section 1343.011 | Residential mortgage loans.

• Effective: December 28, 2009
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 124 - 128th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Discount points" means any charges, whether or not actually denominated as "discount points," that are paid by the seller or the buyer of residential real property to a residential mortgage lender or that are deducted and retained by a residential mortgage lender from the proceeds of the residential mortgage. "Discount points" does not include the costs associated with settlement services as defined in the "Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 1724, 12 U.S.C. 2601, amendments thereto, reenactments thereof, enactments parallel thereto, or in substitution therefor, or regulations issued thereunder.

(2) "Residential mortgage" means an obligation to pay a sum of money evidenced by a note and secured by a lien upon real property located within this state containing two or fewer residential units or on which two or fewer residential units are to be constructed and includes such an obligation on a residential condominium or cooperative unit.

(3) "Residential mortgage lender" means any person, bank, or savings and loan association that lends money or extends or grants credit and obtains a residential mortgage to assure payment of the debt. The term also includes the holder at any time of a residential mortgage obligation.

(B) Except residential mortgage loans described in division (B)(3) of section 1343.01 of the Revised Code, no residential mortgage lender shall receive either directly or indirectly from a seller or buyer of real estate any discount points in excess of two per cent of the original principal amount of the residential mortgage. This division is not a limitation on discount points or other charges for purposes of section 501(b)(4) of the "Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980," 94 Stat. 161, 12 U.S.C.A. 1735f-7a.

(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, residential mortgage obligations may be prepaid or refinanced without penalty at any time after five years from the execution date of the mortgage. Prior to such time a prepayment or refinancing penalty may be provided not in excess of one per cent of the original principal amount of the residential mortgage.

(2)(a) No penalty may be charged for the prepayment or refinancing of a residential mortgage obligation of less than seventy-five thousand dollars that is made or arranged by a mortgage broker, loan officer, or nonbank mortgage lender, as those terms are defined in section 1345.01 of the Revised Code, and that is secured by a mortgage on a borrower's real estate that is a first lien on the real estate.

(b) The amount specified in division (C)(2)(a) of this section shall be adjusted annually on the first day of January by the annual percentage change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, midwest region, all items, as determined by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor or, if that index is no longer published, a generally available comparable index, as reported on the first day of June of the year preceding the adjustment. The department of commerce shall publish the adjusted amounts on its official web site.

Section 1343.02 | Written stipulations for payment of interest.

• Effective: July 1, 1962
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 5 - 104th General Assembly

Upon all judgments, decrees, or orders, rendered on any bond, bill, note, or other instrument of writing containing stipulations for the payment of interest in accordance with section 1343.01 of the Revised Code, interest shall be computed until payment is made at the rate specified in such instrument.

Section 1343.03 | Rate not stipulated.

• Effective: September 8, 2016
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 166 - 131st General Assembly

(A) In cases other than those provided for in sections 1343.01 and 1343.02 of the Revised Code, when money becomes due and payable upon any bond, bill, note, or other instrument of writing, upon any book account, upon any settlement between parties, upon all verbal contracts entered into, and upon all judgments, decrees, and orders of any judicial tribunal for the payment of money arising out of tortious conduct or a contract or other transaction, the creditor is entitled to interest at the rate per annum determined pursuant to section 5703.47 of the Revised Code, unless a written contract provides a different rate of interest in relation to the money that becomes due and payable, in which case the creditor is entitled to interest at the rate provided in that contract.

(B) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (D) of this section and subject to section 2325.18 of the Revised Code, interest on a judgment, decree, or order for the payment of money rendered in a civil action based on tortious conduct or a contract or other transaction, including, but not limited to a civil action based on tortious conduct or a contract or other transaction that has been settled by agreement of the parties, shall be computed from the date the judgment, decree, or order is rendered to the date on which the money is paid and shall be at the rate determined pursuant to section 5703.47 of the Revised Code that is in effect on the date the judgment, decree, or order is rendered. That rate shall remain in effect until the judgment, decree, or order is satisfied.

(C)(1) If, upon motion of any party to a civil action that is based on tortious conduct, that has not been settled by agreement of the parties, and in which the court has rendered a judgment, decree, or order for the payment of money, the court determines at a hearing held subsequent to the verdict or decision in the action that the party required to pay the money failed to make a good faith effort to settle the case and that the party to whom the money is to be paid did not fail to make a good faith effort to settle the case, interest on the judgment, decree, or order shall be computed as follows:

(a) In an action in which the party required to pay the money has admitted liability in a pleading, from the date the cause of action accrued to the date on which the order, judgment, or decree was rendered;

(b) In an action in which the party required to pay the money engaged in the conduct resulting in liability with the deliberate purpose of causing harm to the party to whom the money is to be paid, from the date the cause of action accrued to the date on which the order, judgment, or decree was rendered;

(c) In all other actions, for the longer of the following periods:

(i) From the date on which the party to whom the money is to be paid gave the first notice described in division (C)(1)(c)(i) of this section to the date on which the judgment, order, or decree was rendered. The period described in division (C)(1)(c)(i) of this section shall apply only if the party to whom the money is to be paid made a reasonable attempt to determine if the party required to pay had insurance coverage for liability for the tortious conduct and gave to the party required to pay and to any identified insurer, as nearly simultaneously as practicable, written notice in person or by certified mail that the cause of action had accrued.

(ii) From the date on which the party to whom the money is to be paid filed the pleading on which the judgment, decree, or order was based to the date on which the judgment, decree, or order was rendered.

(2) No court shall award interest under division (C)(1) of this section on future damages, as defined in section 2323.56 of the Revised Code, that are found by the trier of fact.

(D) Division (B) of this section does not apply to a judgment, decree, or order rendered in a civil action based on tortious conduct or a contract or other transaction, and division (C) of this section does not apply to a judgment, decree, or order rendered in a civil action based on tortious conduct, if a different period for computing interest on it is specified by law, or if it is rendered in an action against the state in the court of claims, or in an action under Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code.

Section 1343.031 | Maximum interest charged person on active duty - notice to creditor - relief.

• Effective: May 18, 2005
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 426 - 125th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Obligation" means any retail installment sales contract, other contract for the purchase of goods or services, or bond, bill, note, or other instrument of writing for the payment of money arising out of a contract or other transaction for the purchase of goods or services.

(B) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Revised Code, no creditor in connection with an obligation entered into on or after the effective date of this section shall charge or collect from a person, or spouse of a person, who is deployed on active duty interest or finance charges exceeding six per cent per annum during the period that the person is deployed on active duty.

(C) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Revised Code, interest or finance charges in excess of six per cent per annum that otherwise would be incurred but for the prohibition in division (B) of this section are forgiven.

(D) The amount of any periodic payment due from a person, or spouse of a person, who is deployed on active duty under the terms of the obligation shall be reduced by the amount of the interest and finance charges forgiven under division (C) of this section that is allocable to the period for which the periodic payment is made.

(E) In order for an obligation to be subject to the interest and finance charges limitation of this section, the person, or spouse of the person, deployed on active duty shall provide the creditor with written notice of and a copy of the military or gubernatorial orders calling the person to active duty and of any orders further extending active duty, not later than one hundred eighty days after the date of the person's termination of or release from active duty.

(F) Upon receipt of the written notice and a copy of the orders referred to in division (E) of this section, the creditor shall treat the obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section, effective as of the date on which the person is deployed to active duty.

(G) A court may grant a creditor relief from the interest and finance charges limitation of this section, if, in the opinion of the court, the ability of the person, or spouse of the person, deployed on active duty to pay interest or finance charges with respect to the obligation at a rate in excess of six per cent per annum is not materially affected by reason of the person's deployment on active duty.

Section 1343.04 | Usurious interest.

• Effective: July 1, 1962
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 5 - 104th General Assembly

Payments of money or property made by way of usurious interest, whether made in advance or not, as to the excess of interest above the rate allowed by law at the time of making the contract, shall be taken to be payments made on account of principal; and judgment shall be rendered for no more than the balance found due, after deducting the excess of interest so paid.

Section 1343.05 | Bona fide indorsee of negotiable paper purchased before due.

• Effective: July 1, 1962
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 5 - 104th General Assembly

No debtor is deemed a particeps criminis on account of having paid, or agreeing to pay, the exorbitant interest mentioned in section 1343.04 of the Revised Code, but he shall have like remedy and relief in either case. No bona fide indorsee of negotiable paper purchased before due, shall be affected by any usury exacted by any former holder of such paper, unless he has actual notice of the usury previous to his purchase. In such cases, the amount of such excess, if incorporated into negotiable paper, after payment, may be recovered back, by action against the party who originally exacted the usuary.