The Bullet Point: An Ohio Commercial Law Bulletin

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Civil Liability for Criminal Act

Buddenberg v. Weisdack, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-3832

In this case, the Ohio Supreme Court held that a criminal conviction is not a condition precedent to filing a claim under R.C. 2307.60 for a civil cause of action based on injuries sustained due to a criminal act.

The Bullet Point: Pursuant to R.C. 2307.60(A)(1), “anyone injured in person or property by a criminal act has, and may recover full damages in, a civil action unless specifically excepted by law * * *.” Previously, there was a split amongst courts as to whether a person had to have been convicted of a criminal act before civil liability was possible under this statute. In analyzing R.C. 2307.60, the Court noted that the fact a person commits criminal actions that may subject the person to prosecution in no way establishes that they will be prosecuted. Moreover, being subjected to prosecution does not mean that the person will in fact be convicted. As succinctly summarized by the Court, the word “conviction” is noticeably absent from R.C. 2307.06(A)(1). Therefore, the Court construed the statute as written according to its plain language, and held that R.C. 2307.60 does not require a criminal conviction as a prerequisite for civil liability.

Originally published in The Bullet Point: An Ohio Commercial Law Bulletin on August 6, 2020.