In Hardesty v. CitiFinancial, Inc.,1 the Sixth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s denial of the trustee’s request to avoid the debtors’ mortgages with the creditor based on allegedly defective certificates of acknowledgement in the mortgage documents under Ohio law.

Recently, some bankruptcy courts in Ohio have given mortgage lenders something new to be concerned over: Is the form of your notary’s certification proper? Everyone in the mortgage industry is aware of the wave of cases challenging the validity or effectiveness of certain mortgages or mortgage assignments on account of sub-standard execution, notarization and recordation practices.

Rock Ohio Ventures redeemed a 20 percent minority interest held by one of Caesars subsidiaries and now owns 100 percent of Horseshoe Cleveland, Horseshoe Cincinnati, and Thistledown racino. According to Rock Ohio’s CEO, nothing changes for customers. Caesars will still manage the facilities. The properties will still be part of Caesars Total Rewards program and it will be business as usual.

Caesars Entertainment Operating Company filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code last month. The Ohio properties were not part of the filing.

I. Introduction

Effective March 23, 2015, Ohio’s antiquated receivership statute (Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 2735) will be modernized, particularly as it relates to the appointment of a receiver in commercial mortgage foreclosures and the ability of a receiver to sell real estate free and clear of liens.

 II. Appointment of a Receiver

Changes to Ohio’s receivership statute will expand the circumstances under which a receiver may be appointed, as well as authorize “free and clear” sales, which is perhaps the most anticipated aspect of the revision, says Matthew A. Salerno, a director at Kegler, Brown, Hill + Ritter.

“Great cases…make bad law” declared Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in his dissenting opinion in the Northern Securities antitrust case of 1904. One of the most oft-quoted phrases any aspiring lawyer will hear in law school, this maxim stands for the proposition that decisions in cases of great importance from a public or social perspective make a poor basis upon which to construct a general law. Although an otherwise innocuous adversary bankruptcy proceeding (Daren A. Messer, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA (In re Messer), Adv. Pro.

On December 19, 2014, the Governor of the State of Ohio signed into law legislation that clarifies and expands the scope of powers given to a receiver under Ohio’s receivership statutes (chapter 2735 of the Ohio Revised Code (“ORC”)).  Most significantly, effective March 23, 2015 (the effective date for all of the amendments), an Ohio receiver will have express statutory power to sell real and personal property free and clear of liens and will

An Analysis of Ohio’s Amended Receivership Law Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP January 2015 © Copyright 2015, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP. All Rights Reserved. vorys.com Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................................1 Affected Statutes..........................................................................2 Grounds for Appointment............................................................2 Scope of Receiver’s Authority – “Property Receivers” vs.

Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, which operates the Cincinnati and Cleveland casinos as well as the Thistledown racino, has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. However, Ohio’s gambling facilities were not listed in the filing. Newly appointed CFO, Eric Hession, has even stated to the Ohio Casino Control Commission that the bankruptcy filing should have little or no impact on Ohio’s facilities. It will continue to be business as usual.

Changes to Ohio's receivership statute will go into effect as of March 23, 2015. The changes include, among other things:

• Expansion of the circumstances under which a receiver may be appointed
• "Priority consideration" for the candidate proposed by the party seeking the appointment of a receiver
• Certain clarifications with respect to exercising the equity of redemption

The revised statute also expressly authorizes "free and clear" sales - perhaps the most anticipated change to Ohio's receivership statute.