Ohio High Court Limits Pandemic-Era Mortgage Class Action

Homeowner can keep $250 penalty, but class action barred for 2020 violations

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a homeowner can collect a $250 statutory penalty over a late mortgage release, but blocked his effort to pursue that same penalty for an entire class of borrowers affected in 2020. The court affirmed the homeowner's individual claim but reversed the certification of the proposed class action.

Why it matters

The decision preserves individual remedies for homeowners whose lenders missed the 90-day mortgage recording window in 2020, but it closes off the broad class action mechanism for those violations. It highlights the tension between individual rights and class action lawsuits, as well as the ability of state legislatures to retroactively limit class certification.

The details

In a 6-1 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court said the 2023 change to the state's mortgage-recording law that bars classwide recovery for 2020 violations is a permissible retroactive change. The court affirmed the portion of the lower court's ruling that allows homeowner Samuel Voss to recover the $250 penalty, but it reversed the certification of the proposed class action and ordered the class decertified.

  • In May 2020, the lender's mortgage release for Voss's home did not appear in the county recorder's office until 22 days after it should have.
  • Voss filed suit in August 2020.
  • The trial court certified a class in February 2023.
  • The First District Court of Appeals initially affirmed that class certification.
  • The Ohio Supreme Court accepted the case on appeal and issued its ruling on February 19, 2026.

The players

Samuel Voss

A Hamilton County homebuyer who filed the lawsuit over a late mortgage release.

Ohio Supreme Court

The state's highest court that issued the split decision, allowing Voss to keep his $250 penalty but blocking the class action.

Ohio General Assembly

The state legislature that in April 2023 amended the mortgage-recording law to create an exception barring class actions for 2020 violations.

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What they’re saying

“The decision preserves individual remedies while shutting down the pandemic-era class action that had been certified last year.”

— Justice Daniel R. Hawkins, Writing for the majority (Court News Ohio)

“Allowing this kind of exception could invite lawmakers to sidestep the court's rulemaking authority.”

— Judge Jill Flagg Lanzinger, Partial dissent (Court News Ohio)

What’s next

The ruling leaves space for attorneys to bring individual claims or to test other theories of harm, but it closes off the broad class action mechanism for recording delays that occurred during 2020.

The takeaway

This case highlights the tension between individual rights and class action lawsuits, as well as the ability of state legislatures to retroactively limit class certification, even in the face of established legal precedents.