Ohio House Bill 105 took effect October 6, 2026, enacting Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1357 and repealing the prior consumer-litigation-funding provision in section 1349.55. The chapter establishes separate requirements for arrangements that meet its definitions of a consumer legal funding agreement or a commercial litigation financing agreement. It does not apply to every loan, legal-expense arrangement or investment connected to litigation.
The registration requirement is delayed. Sections 1357.02 and 1357.08 say that, beginning 90 days after the law's effective date, a consumer legal funding company or commercial litigation financing company must register with the Ohio attorney general before commencing business in Ohio. Counting 90 days from October 6 puts that trigger on January 4, 2027. That date is a calendar calculation from the statute, not a separately announced agency deadline.
For consumer legal funding, the law requires specified agreement disclosures and an attorney acknowledgment, provides a ten-business-day cancellation period, limits a service fee to no more than 7% of the original funding amount, and prohibits a funding company from directing or making decisions about the underlying legal claim. A violation is treated as an unfair or deceptive act or practice; the statute says a willful violation can make an agreement unenforceable.
For both defined consumer and commercial arrangements, the chapter includes attorney and financing-party duties tied to confidentiality, conflicts and control of the claim. Certain resolution-related information must be disclosed to the attorney general within 14 days, with the statute directing publication in a form that redacts identifying information. Clauses that purport to prevent discovery of a financing agreement are void for agreements entered into, amended or renewed on or after the effective date.
Section 1357.07 also restricts covered funding when a funding party, or the claim being financed directly or indirectly, is knowingly financed by an entity domiciled outside the United States. That provision should not be described as a general ban on foreign investment: it operates within the chapter's defined litigation-financing arrangements and uses a knowledge standard.
The definitions contain important exclusions. Among other limits, the consumer category excludes cash payments of $400,000 or more. The commercial category excludes consumer legal funding, contingency-fee legal services, specified health-payor and provider arrangements, ordinary noncontingent loans from financial institutions, and certain preexisting indemnity obligations. The attorney general may enforce the chapter. This is a plain-language summary of the enacted text, not legal advice; application to a particular agreement depends on the statutory definitions and facts.
Sources
- Ohio General Assembly · House Bill 105 status and effective date
- Ohio Revised Code · Chapter 1357, Litigation Financing
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.01 · definitions and exclusions
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.02 · consumer-company registration
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.03 · consumer agreement requirements
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.04 · consumer legal funding prohibitions
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.05 · attorney duties and disclosures
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.07 · foreign-domicile restriction
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.08 · commercial-company registration
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.09 · commercial financing requirements
- Ohio Revised Code § 1357.10 · attorney-general enforcement