2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2743.60. Grounds for denial of claim or reduction of award; limit on aggregate awarded.

§ 2743.60. Grounds for denial of claim or reduction of award; limit on aggregate awarded.
 

(A)  The attorney general, a court of claims panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims shall not make or order an award of reparations to any claimant who, if the victim of the criminally injurious conduct was an adult, did not file an application for an award of reparations within two years after the date of the occurrence of the criminally injurious conduct that caused the injury or death for which the victim is seeking an award of reparations or who, if the victim of that criminally injurious conduct was a minor, did not file an application for an award of reparations within the period provided by division (B)(1) of section 2743.56 of the Revised Code. An award of reparations shall not be made to a claimant if the criminally injurious conduct upon which the claimant bases a claim was not reported to a law enforcement officer or agency within seventy-two hours after the occurrence of the conduct, unless it is determined that good cause existed for the failure to report the conduct within the seventy-two-hour period. 

(B) (1)  The attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims shall not make or order an award of reparations to a claimant if any of the following apply: 

(a) The claimant is the offender or an accomplice of the offender who committed the criminally injurious conduct, or the award would unjustly benefit the offender or accomplice. 

(b) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, both of the following apply: 

(i) The victim was a passenger in a motor vehicle and knew or reasonably should have known that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or both. 

(ii) The claimant is seeking compensation for injuries proximately caused by the driver described in division (B)(1)(b)(i) of this section being under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or both. 

(c) Both of the following apply: 

(i) The victim was under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or both and was a passenger in a motor vehicle and, if sober, should have reasonably known that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or both. 

(ii) The claimant is seeking compensation for injuries proximately caused by the driver described in division (B)(1)(b)(i) of this section being under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or both. 

(2) Division (B)(1)(b) of this section does not apply if on the date of the occurrence of the criminally injurious conduct, the victim was under sixteen years of age or was at least sixteen years of age but less than eighteen years of age and was riding with a parent, guardian, or care-provider. 

(C)  The attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims, upon a finding that the claimant or victim has not fully cooperated with appropriate law enforcement agencies, may deny a claim or reconsider and reduce an award of reparations. 

(D)  The attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims shall reduce an award of reparations or deny a claim for an award of reparations that is otherwise payable to a claimant to the extent that the economic loss upon which the claim is based is recouped from other persons, including collateral sources. If an award is reduced or a claim is denied because of the expected recoupment of all or part of the economic loss of the claimant from a collateral source, the amount of the award or the denial of the claim shall be conditioned upon the claimant's economic loss being recouped by the collateral source. If the award or denial is conditioned upon the recoupment of the claimant's economic loss from a collateral source and it is determined that the claimant did not unreasonably fail to present a timely claim to the collateral source and will not receive all or part of the expected recoupment, the claim may be reopened and an award may be made in an amount equal to the amount of expected recoupment that it is determined the claimant will not receive from the collateral source. 
 

If the claimant recoups all or part of the economic loss upon which the claim is based from any other person or entity, including a collateral source, the attorney general may recover pursuant to section 2743.72 of the Revised Code the part of the award that represents the economic loss for which the claimant received the recoupment from the other person or entity. 

(E) (1)  Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(2) of this section, the attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims shall not make an award to a claimant if any of the following applies: 

(a) The victim was convicted of a felony within ten years prior to the criminally injurious conduct that gave rise to the claim or is convicted of a felony during the pendency of the claim. 

(b) The claimant was convicted of a felony within ten years prior to the criminally injurious conduct that gave rise to the claim or is convicted of a felony during the pendency of the claim. 

(c) It is proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the victim or the claimant engaged, within ten years prior to the criminally injurious conduct that gave rise to the claim or during the pendency of the claim, in an offense of violence, a violation of section 2925.03 of the Revised Code, or any substantially similar offense that also would constitute a felony under the laws of this state, another state, or the United States. 

(d) The claimant was convicted of a violation of section 2919.22 or 2919.25 of the Revised Code, or of any state law or municipal ordinance substantially similar to either section, within ten years prior to the criminally injurious conduct that gave rise to the claim or during the pendency of the claim. 

(e) It is proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the victim at the time of the criminally injurious conduct that gave rise to the claim engaged in conduct that was a felony violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code or engaged in any substantially similar conduct that would constitute a felony under the laws of this state, another state, or the United States. 

(2) The attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims may make an award to a minor dependent of a deceased victim for dependent's economic loss or for counseling pursuant to division (F)(2) of section 2743.51 of the Revised Code if the minor dependent is not ineligible under division (E)(1) of this section due to the minor dependent's criminal history and if the victim was not killed while engaging in illegal conduct that contributed to the criminally injurious conduct that gave rise to the claim. For purposes of this section, the use of illegal drugs by the deceased victim shall not be deemed to have contributed to the criminally injurious conduct that gave rise to the claim. 

(F)  In determining whether to make an award of reparations pursuant to this section, the attorney general or panel of commissioners shall consider whether there was contributory misconduct by the victim or the claimant. The attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims shall reduce an award of reparations or deny a claim for an award of reparations to the extent it is determined to be reasonable because of the contributory misconduct of the claimant or the victim. 
 

When the attorney general decides whether a claim should be denied because of an allegation of contributory misconduct, the burden of proof on the issue of that alleged contributory misconduct shall be upon the claimant, if either of the following apply: 

(1) The victim was convicted of a felony more than ten years prior to the criminally injurious conduct that is the subject of the claim or has a record of felony arrests under the laws of this state, another state, or the United States. 

(2) There is good cause to believe that the victim engaged in an ongoing course of criminal conduct within five years or less of the criminally injurious conduct that is the subject of the claim. 

(G)  The attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims shall not make an award of reparations to a claimant if the criminally injurious conduct that caused the injury or death that is the subject of the claim occurred to a victim who was an adult and while the victim, after being convicted of or pleading guilty to an offense, was serving a sentence of imprisonment in any detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code. 

(H)  If a claimant unreasonably fails to present a claim timely to a source of benefits or advantages that would have been a collateral source and that would have reimbursed the claimant for all or a portion of a particular expense, the attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims may reduce an award of reparations or deny a claim for an award of reparations to the extent that it is reasonable to do so. 

(I)  Reparations payable to a victim and to all other claimants sustaining economic loss because of injury to or the death of that victim shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars in the aggregate. If the attorney general, a panel of commissioners, or a judge of the court of claims reduces an award under division (F) of this section, the maximum aggregate amount of reparations payable under this division shall be reduced proportionately to the reduction under division (F) of this section. 
 

HISTORY: 136 v H 82 (Eff 9-29-76); 139 v H 694 (Eff 11-15-81); 139 v S 30 (Eff 3-18-83); 141 v H 662 (Eff 3-11-87); 142 v S 308 (Eff 3-14-89); 143 v H 837 (Eff 7-3-90); 146 v H 363 (Eff 8-1-96); 148 v S 153. Eff 7-1-2000; 150 v H 95, § 1, eff. 6-26-03.
 

The effective date is set by section 182 of H.B. 95 (150 v  - ). 

The provisions of § 177 of H.B. 95 (150 v  - ) read as follows: 

SECTION 177. Sections 2743.51, 2743.60, 2743.65, and 3701.741 of the Revised Code, as amended by Section 1 of this act, apply to claims filed under section 2743.56 of the Revised Code that are based on criminally injurious conduct occuring on and after July 1, 2003. 

See provisions, § 3 of SB 153 (148 v  - ), following RC § 2743.51. 

See provisions, § 10(A), (B) of SB 153 (148 v  - ), as amended by § 81 of SB 245 (148 v  - ), following RC § 2743.51. 

 

Effect of Amendments

H.B. 95, Acts 2003, effective June 26, 2003, substituted "division (B)(1)" for "division (C)(1)" in (A); rewrote (E); deleted the last paragraph of (F); and added the last sentence to (I).