Kilgore-Colvin v. Rome Hilliard Self-Storage (1998)
Bounded final review, 2026-10-18: the opinion body is not retained in the review package (the 2026-10-17 FindLaw retrieval was not preserved, FindLaw now refuses automated requests and static.case.law disallows all agents), so the citation and holding below are carried from the 2026-10-17 review and remain
needs_verification.
Source note (2026-10-18):
- Links on this page to
https://static.case.law/ohio-app-3d/129/cases/0326-01.jsonare an (unofficial Caselaw Access Project copy, retrieved before 2026-10-18; host disallows automated access); no official or otherwise permitted full-text copy was located on 2026-10-18.
Decided August 11, 1998; No. 98AP-17. The complete primary opinion body was independently retrieved from FindLaw, an unofficial host, on 2026-10-17. The earlier full retrieval at https://static.case.law/ohio-app-3d/129/cases/0326-01.json remains historical evidence. This reproduction contains a facially inconsistent trial-entry year; that transcription is not used to establish chronology.
Facts
The occupant rented storage in August 1996 and missed September rent. October 3 and 10 late notices were returned. An October 21 lien-sale letter required payment by October 26 and announced a November 7 auction. Advertisements ran October 30 and November 4. The goods sold November 7 for USD 663.50. The trial court awarded that amount, USD 1,836.50 punitive damages, and USD 2,955 costs, interest and attorney fees.
Holding and reasoning
The initial notice lacked a property description, a compliant payment demand and a sale warning. The later letter allowed only five days and lacked a conspicuous sale warning. A November 7 sale also failed the fifteen-day first-publication interval: October 30 meant no sale before November 14. The appellate court affirmed noncompliance.
The auction price supported compensatory value even though the court disbelieved the occupant’s larger valuation. Former R.C. 5322.03(M)(2) required a willful violation for conversion. The informed manager’s obvious departures supported inferred conscious-disregard malice and punitive damages; recklessness did not erase the statutory willfulness requirement. Judgment was affirmed.
Current fit and practical limits
Current R.C. 5322.03, effective September 13, 2022, retains the ten-day payment demand and fifteen-day first-publication interval, while allowing additional delivery/advertising methods and internet sales. Liability is now in (O), not former (M); (O)(2) still specifies willful conversion.
The case adjudicated facility liability, not constitutional due process or a downstream buyer’s title. Current (I)(2) protects specified good-faith auction purchasers despite noncompliance and also contains language concerning other interests/liens. Its interaction with 5322.02, written lender consent and vehicle/watercraft removal rights under (H)(1) remains a separate question. This decision does not establish that every invalid lien nonetheless extinguishes a lender’s title interest.
Later treatment
Focused public name/citation searches did not establish comprehensive subsequent appellate history or later merits treatment. These remain needs_verification. Neither successful body retrieval nor recognizable surviving statutory elements justify an unqualified still-good label.
Applies in →
ohio · towing-storage-and-mechanics-lien-sales
Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Read the full opinion and current law; later authority may limit this decision.