It’s fun to turn a losing case into a winner.
The Ohio Real Estate Recovery Fund (O.R.C. Section 4735.12) has the potential of taking a case that can’t be “won,” because the client can’t collect against the defendant, into a “winner” by accessing this special professional indemnity pool.
A plaintiff client who has a claim against an Ohio real estate agent who is insolvent — uncollectable — would typically just “walk away.” “You can’t get blood from a turnip,” they say. “Throwing good money after bad.”
But these are not necessarily losing claims.
In the limited instance in which the claim is (i) against an Ohio real estate salesperson or broker, (ii) “on the grounds of conduct that is in violation of” the real estate brokerage laws of the state, and (iii) for an act that “is associated with” Ohio real estate brokerage activities, a plaintiff can recover from the state of Ohio up to $40,000 per licensee (not per claim) any unpaid judgment “that represents the actual and direct loss sustained by the applicant.”
The statute is highly technical to invoke, and the Ohio Division of Real Estate that administers the fund and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office that defends against claims from the fund guard the funds zealously, meaning you have to carefully jump through a lot of hoops to access these funds.
Attorneys in our firm have successfully made a claim for funds from the Ohio real estate recovery fund.
There are separate and similar recovery funds for losses arising from the misdeeds of:
- Ohio appraisers in the scope of their licensed activities (O.R.C. Section 4763.16). Claims from that fund are limited to $10,000 per judgment.
- Ohio auctioneers in the scope of their licensed activities (O.R.C. Section 4707.25). Claims from that fund are limited to $50,000 per judgment.
Allow us to “make a difference” for you by pursuing claims against a statutory recovery fund of Ohio licensees.
