Ohio cannot keep interest earned on unclaimed funds

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Ohio cannot keep interest earned on unclaimed funds owed to taxpayers. 

The state has held millions of unclaimed checks and money from dormant banking accounts and placed the cash in a state-held trust fund since the 1960s.

In 1991, the Ohio legislature amended the state law regulating those practices to add a sentence stating that interest collected on those individual funds is not payable to claimants who may later seek to collect their money. However, that claim was declared unconstitutional in the class-action suit, Sogg v. Zurz.

The Supreme Court's decision overturns the 10th District Court of Appeals and sides with a Franklin County lower court. The high court sent the case back to the lower court to determine how much interest is owed and who is due the money.

The court ruling also places a four-year statute of limitation on claims for the interest from the day the claim was made.

More Ohio Legislation

Federal Legislation

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