Litigation Targets Predatory Lending Activities in Ohio
Attorney General Brings Senate Bill 185 Lawsuits

Christopher N. Slagle
Terrence O'Donnell
Bricker & Eckler LLP
June 2007

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann recently filed the first series of lawsuits seeking to enforce Ohio’s new predatory lending laws recently enacted in Ohio Senate Bill 185. The lawsuits, filed in four different Ohio counties, allege that mortgage industry participants violated provisions of Senate Bill 185 and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act in pressuring real estate appraisers to inflate home appraisal prices.

The lawsuits target mortgage brokers, lenders, and appraisal companies in Ohio, California, New York, and Arizona. Each lawsuit seeks penalties of $25,000.00 for each violation of Ohio law, in addition to attorney fees, court costs, and reimbursements to all consumers damaged as a result of the alleged violations.

Mortgage companies, among others, targeted by the Ohio Attorney General, together with the complaint include:

• Island Financial, LLC Twinsburg, Ohio

• Sage Credit Company, LLC Irvine, California

• Wall Street Mortgage Bankers East Rockaway, New York

• All Line Appraisals Phoenix, Arizona

• American Home Brokerage Corp. Garden Grove, California

• Premiere Funding Mortgage West Chester, Ohio

• Apex Mortgage Services, LLC Columbus, Ohio

• Robert C. Roach, The Valley Mortgage Group Austintown, Ohio

• First Ohio Banc & Lending, Inc. Independence, Ohio

For more information on the litigation or anti-predatory lending issues in Ohio, contact Christopher N. Slagle at 614.227.8826 or Terrence O'Donnell at 614.227.2345. Additional resources, including the Senate Bill 185 compliance toolkit and audit services, are available on the Bricker & Eckler Predatory Lending Resource Center.