Vardeman v. Llewellyn

The court acknowledged that in Vardeman v. Llewellyn (1985), 17 Ohio St.3d 24, 26, 17 Ohio B. 20, 476 N.E.2d 1038, it held that "a landlord who both wrongfully withholds a portion of a security deposit and fails to timely provide the tenant with an itemized list of deductions is liable for damages equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld and for reasonable attorney fees." Id. at 348-349. The "amount wrongfully withheld" under R.C. 5321.16(C) is defined as "the amount found owing from the landlord to the tenant over and above any deduction that the landlord may lawfully make." Id. at 349, footnote 5, quoting Vardeman, at 29. The court further noted that its holding in Vardeman was based upon the reasoning that "part of the General Assembly's intent in enacting R.C. 5321.16(B) and (C) was 'to provide a penalty by way of damages and reasonable attorney fees against a noncomplying landlord for the wrongful withholding of any or all of the security deposit.'" Id., quoting Vardeman, at 28.