When Vendor Collects Fictitious ‘Tax,’ May Customer Sue Vendor Directly for Fraud, Deceptive Sales Practice?
Or Is Recovery Available Only from Alleged Taxing Entity? Julie Volbers-Klarich v. Middletown Management, Inc., et al., Case no. 2009-0933 12th District Court of Appeals (Butler County) ISSUE: When a vendor has collected from its customers amounts represented to the customer as county and municipal excise taxes, despite the fact that no such taxes existed at the time: • May the customers sue the vendor directly to recover the improperly collected amounts, or must they seek a refund from the taxing authorities in whose names the “taxes” were collected? • May the customers pursue civil damages against the vendor based on claims of fraud and violation of the state Consumer Sales Practices Act? BACKGROUND: In August of 2002, Julie Volbers-Klarich and members of her family stayed at a Hampton Inn hotel in Fairfield, Ohio owned by Middletown Management Inc. When she paid for the room, Volbers-Klarich alleges that in addition to state sales tax, her bill included additional charges identified
