Creditor Cannot File Lawsuit Against Deceased Debtor in Civil Division

Huth v. Kus, 5th Dist. Case Nos. 2014 AP 10 0041, 2014 AP 10 0052, 2015-Ohio-3457. R.C. § 2117.12 makes no provision to allow a creditor to prematurely file a lawsuit in the civil division of a common pleas court to recover from a deceased alleged debtor's estate and then utilize a subsequent estate claim rejection to cure the alleged procedural defect. As such, the appellate court upheld the trial court granting judgment on the pleadings dismissing a replevin complaint for failing to properly present the claim against the estate. Pursuant to R.C. § 2117.12, the presentment and rejection of a claim against and estate are conditions precedent to filing a lawsuit pertaining to the rejected claim. Accordingly, the creditor's premature replevin complaint was deemed an attempt to circumvent the proper statutory procedure.