Woods Cove II, LLC v. Blevins

• Decision Date: 05 February 2014
• Docket Number: CV 13 806353,CV 13 805993,CV 13 805839,CV 13 798601,CV 13 804861,CV 13 806367,CV 13 807238,CV 13 798623,CV 13 804763,CV 12 796343,CV 13 798610,CV 13 806243,CV 13 799015,CV 12 796507,CV 13 798754,CV 13 798991,CV 13 799238,CV 13 805737,CV 12 796313,CV 13 798606
• Parties: Woods Cove II, LLC v. Deanna Blevins, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Charles Turner, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Ryan Magby, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Abraham Lewis, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Jessie J. Fuller, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Lucious Terrell, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Robert A. Gunn, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Gladys Smith, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Naomi Taylor Brantley, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Lets Make a Deal, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Ashley D. Freeman, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. 1 West Luxary 38, LLC, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Sileema P. Scales, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Michael D. Scholz, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Daniel Peterson, Jr., et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Terrence Goldsmith, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Mavis Nichols, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Samarra L. Minor, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Charles S. Gray, et al.; Woods Cove II, LLC v. Joanna J. Petro, et al.
• Court: Court of Common Pleas of Ohio

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Deanna Blevins, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Charles Turner, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Ryan Magby, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Abraham Lewis, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Jessie J. Fuller, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Lucious Terrell, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Robert A. Gunn, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Gladys Smith, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Naomi Taylor Brantley, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Lets Make a Deal, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Ashley D. Freeman, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. 1 West Luxary 38, LLC, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Sileema P. Scales, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Michael D. Scholz, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Daniel Peterson, Jr., et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Terrence Goldsmith, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Mavis Nichols, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Samarra L. Minor, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Charles S. Gray, et al.;

Woods Cove II, LLC v. Joanna J. Petro, et al.

Nos. CV 12 796313, CV 12 796343, CV 12 796507, CV 13 798601, CV 13 798606, CV 13 798610, CV 13 798623, CV 13 798754, CV 13 798991, CV 13 799015, CV 13 799238, CV 13 804763, CV 13 804861, CV 13 805737, CV 13 805839, CV 13 805993, CV 13 806243, CV 13 806353, CV 13 806367, CV 13 807238

Court of Common Pleas of Ohio, Cuyahoga

February 5, 2014

OPINION

John P. O'Donnell, J.

Chapter 5721 of the Ohio Revised Code establishes a procedure by which local governments can collect delinquent real property taxes by selling tax certificates to investors. The certificates give the investors the right to pursue payment (with interest) from the delinquent taxpayer. Plaintiff Woods Cove II, LLC is one such investor.

The plaintiff bought the tax certificates for the properties in each of these 20 cases at a public auction conducted according to R.C. 5721.32. The effect of the purchase was to give Woods Cove a first priority lien on each property equal to the amount of unpaid taxes, and the right to foreclose on the properties. In connection with a tax certificate foreclosure action, R.C. 5721.39(A)(5) requires the court to include in the judgment of foreclosure a finding on the amount of the fees and costs of the private attorney representing the certificate holder. Although there is no dollar limit on the amount of attorney's fees and costs that can be awarded, under R.C. 5721.371(B), fees exceeding $2, 500 can be paid only if authorized by a separate court order. While the statute allows for an award of fees of more than $2, 500, as a practical matter tax certificate holders rarely request, or attempt to justify, fees greater than that amount.

These cases were filed for Woods Cove by attorney Kirk W. Liederbach of the Tax Lien Law Group, LLP. Since then, Liederbach and his firm were replaced by the plaintiff in these cases with the law firms of Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich and The Law Offices of Manbir S. Sandhu, LLC.

Because of that substitution, Woods Cove has now filed a motion for a hearing to determine attorney's fees taxable as costs by Liederbach and his firm. No party to the lawsuits has opposed the motion, but the Tax Lien Law Group, on September 23, 2013, filed a brief in opposition. In the motion, Woods Cove asks " that the court conduct a hearing and issue findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect to the reasonable fees owed to its former counsel." ^[1]

It appears that Woods Cove deemed this motion necessary when the Tax Lien Law Group's managing partner, Mark A. Schwartz, submitted 20 identical affidavits in these cases asserting that the tax lien law group had performed services in all cases justifying payment for attorney's fees in the amount of $1, 750 or $900, depending on the case.^[2] Since, as noted above, the recovery of attorney's fees from costs in these lawsuits is effectively limited to $2, 500, Woods Cove will have to pay any attorney's fees in excess of $2, 500. This means that Woods Cove's new attorneys can only do work on any given case worth $750 or $1, 600, depending on the case, before Woods Cove itself must start paying the...