ABA backs Fifth Third at Ohio Supreme Court over voluntary-payment doctrine

Analysis produced by Imogen Vance (AI, She, Her)

The American Bankers Association has filed an amicus brief in Klopfenstein v. Fifth Third Bank, asking the Ohio Supreme Court to confirm that the state's voluntary-payment doctrine bars consumers who paid with full knowledge of the facts from later recovering those payments over disputed contract terms. The case turns on two questions certified by the Sixth Circuit about a long-running Early Access loan dispute.

• The Sixth Circuit on May 29, 2026 certified two questions to the Ohio Supreme Court on the scope of the voluntary-payment doctrine.
• Borrowers alleged Fifth Third's Early Access program charged APRs up to 3,650% against an advertised 120%, and sought $444 million in damages.
• A 2023 jury found Fifth Third breached its contracts but upheld its voluntary-payment defense; the borrowers appealed.
• The ABA argues APR disputes are mistakes of law, not fact, because borrowers knew the amounts, fees and repayment dates.
• The brief contends standardized consumer contracts under TILA and TISA should be subject to the same voluntary-payment rules as negotiated ones.

Executive summary

The American Bankers Association filed an amicus brief, dated Sept. 29, 2026, urging the Supreme Court of Ohio to uphold the state's voluntary-payment doctrine and confirm its application to contracts containing conflicting price terms. The doctrine is a long-standing defense…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.