Franklin County Municipal Court is on track to receive about 41,000 filings involving contracts, loans and accounts in 2026—the highest annual total in the 21 years covered by a court chart provided to ABC6.
The projection would top 2025's total of 37,090 cases by about 11%. The court had already recorded more than 34,000 "Contracts, Notes and Accounts" filings through mid-October.
The court handles cases for all of Franklin County, including Upper Arlington, Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff.
Those filings cover a range of disputes: car-loan defaults, credit-card debt and contract disagreements over services allegedly paid for but never completed. The court's combined total does not break out which type is driving the increase, and ABC6 reported it had requested that breakdown.
Three years of sharp growth
The climb has been steep. Filings in the same category totaled 20,946 in 2023, then jumped about 46% to 30,499 in 2024. They rose another 22% to 37,090 in 2025. The projected 2026 figure would nearly double the 2023 count.
For context, filings peaked at 30,082 in 2008 before dropping to 13,658 by 2013.
ABC6 reported that the rise could reflect growing financial strain but cautioned that the filings alone do not show how many residents are behind on payments or signal a coming recession.
Broader court strain
The surge adds to a broader caseload crunch across Franklin County's courts. Each Franklin County Common Pleas judge carried an average of 761 pending civil and criminal cases in 2025, the highest per-judge load in Ohio, according to a policy brief provided by State Sen. Bill DeMora in a Columbus Dispatch report.
"Some civil trials are taking three years to come to fruition, and that's far too long," DeMora told the Dispatch.
DeMora and State Sen. Hearcel Craig, both Columbus Democrats, introduced Senate Bill 471 on Sept. 14. The bill would add two judges to the Common Pleas General Division, which has 17. If passed, the new judges would be elected in 2028 and take the bench in 2029. The bill has not yet reached a Senate committee.
Rising costs strain veterans aid
Rising costs are straining Franklin County households in other ways. The county's Veterans Service Commission reported that its average utility-assistance award climbed to $1,025 through August, up from $779 in 2025. Average mortgage-assistance awards rose from about $3,450 to $3,961, according to county records.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $455,000 in supplemental funding on Oct. 6 to cover the commission's needs through the end of the year.
Senate Bill 471 awaits its first committee hearing in the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate.
