Ohio House Passes Bill Specifying Statute of Limitations for Libel, Slander

State Representatives Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) and Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) are pleased to announce that the Ohio House of Representatives has passed House Bill 441, legislation that clarifies when the statute of limitations begins for defamation claims.

The legislation follows the Ohio Supreme Court's 2025 decision in Weidman v. Hildebrant, which held that the statute of limitations for defamation claims begins when the allegedly defamatory statement is discovered by the plaintiff rather than when it is published. The ruling represented a significant departure from more than a century of Ohio precedent, under which the one-year filing period began at the time of publication, regardless of when the statement was discovered.

"The proper role of the legislature is to write laws, and the proper role of a judge is to apply the law as written, with the plain meaning at the time they are written," Mathews said. "This bill reasserts the law, while protecting Ohioans with a fair statute of limitations for defamation claims."

"HB 441 is a commonsense bill that safeguards Ohioans' ability to exercise their freedom of speech without living under a never-ending cloud of legal liability," said Rep. Stewart. "This bill provides a 4-year statute of limitations that begins at the time the allegedly defamatory statement was made, which will protect Ohioans against drawn out and burdensome litigation."

Sponsors of the bill underscored that the new precedent set by the court would allow defamation lawsuits to be filed years, and potentially even decades, after the original incident. House Bill 441 requires an action for libel or slander to be commenced within four years after the defamatory statement is made instead of one year, while also restoring certainty and consistency to Ohio law by clearly establishing when the statute of limitations begins to run for libel and slander claims.

House Bill 441 now awaits further consideration from the Ohio Senate.