Ohio Code 1317.032 – Asserting defenses against holder, assignee, or transferee of purchase money loan installment note or retail installment contract
(A) A buyer who is entitled to assert in an action in connection with a consumer transaction any of the following defenses against the seller of goods or services that are obtained pursuant to a purchase money loan installment note or retail installment contract may also assert the defenses against the holder, assignee, or transferee of the purchase money loan installment note or retail installment contract, whether or not any notice of potential claims and defenses is included in the note or contract:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 1317.032
- Buyer: means a person that buys or agrees to buy goods or any legal successor in interest of such person. See Ohio Code 1317.01
- Consumer transaction: means a sale, lease, assignment, or other transfer of an item of goods, or a service, except those transactions between persons, defined in sections 4905. See Ohio Code 1317.01
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Goods: means all things, including specially manufactured goods but not including the money in which the price is to be paid or things in action, that satisfy both of the following:
(a) They are movable at the time of identification for sale or identification to the contract for sale;
(b) They are purchased primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. See Ohio Code 1317.01
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, trust, partnership of two or more persons having a joint or common interest, and any other association. See Ohio Code 1317.01
- Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Purchase money loan: means a cash advance that is received by a consumer from a creditor in return for a finance charge within the meaning of the "Truth in Lending Act" 82 Stat. See Ohio Code 1317.01
- Retail: means to dispose of specific goods to, or to acquire specific goods by, a person for use other than for purposes of resale. See Ohio Code 1317.01
- Retail installment contract: means any written instrument that is executed in connection with any retail installment sale and is required by section 1317. See Ohio Code 1317.01
- Seller: means a person who sells or agrees to sell goods. See Ohio Code 1317.01
(1) That the subject of the consumer transaction was not furnished or delivered by the seller in accordance with the agreed upon terms of the transaction;
(2) That, as evidenced by any writing in the consumer transaction, the subject of the transaction is not of the particular brand, color, or model that it was represented to be;
(3) That the subject of the consumer transaction is not new or unused, if the subject was represented by the seller to be new or unused;
(4) That the subject of the consumer transaction did not conform to any express or implied warranty made by the seller;
(5) That the consumer transaction was entered into because of a fraudulent act or misrepresentation committed or made by the seller.
(B) If a creditor, in writing, requests a debtor to disclose, in writing, whether the proceeds of a loan that he receives or will receive are to be applied to a consumer transaction, the debtor shall disclose at that time any such intended application. The written request imposes a continuing obligation upon the debtor to disclose any application of any part of the proceeds to a consumer transaction. If the debtor fails to disclose any application of the proceeds to a consumer transaction, the loan shall not be considered a purchase money loan for purposes of this chapter.
(C) A buyer, who has a defense against a seller arising out of a consumer transaction that he is entitled to assert as a defense against a holder, assignee, or transferee of a purchase money loan installment note or retail installment contract and as a cause of action against that seller, may assert the cause of action to recover from the holder, assignee, or transferee of the purchase money loan installment note or retail installment contract, the amount of any payments made to the holder, assignee, or transferee, if all of the following apply:
(1) The buyer has presented, or has made a reasonable effort to present, his claim to the seller, and furnished a copy of the claim to the holder, assignee, or transferee.
(2) The seller has not settled the claim within thirty days after the request if the buyer has presented the claim to the seller.
(3) The buyer’s action against the holder, assignee, or transferee is brought within the earlier of the following dates:
(a) The date fixed by the note or contract for the last payment due under the note or contract;
(b) Two years after the date on which the note or contract is executed.
The assertion of such an action against the holder, assignee, or transferee is authorized even if the grounds for the cause of action against the seller are asserted as a defense in an action by the holder, assignee, or transferee.
(D)(1) As used in this section, “claim” means only those claims that arise from a consumer transaction evidenced by a purchase money loan installment note or retail installment contract, that do not involve a claim of personal injury, death, or property damage.
(2) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit or otherwise affect any other right, claim, or defense that a buyer may assert against a seller or any other person in an action relative to a consumer transaction, purchase money loan installment note, or retail installment contract.