The Eighth District Court of Appeals ruled on 22 October 2026 that Wells Fargo Bank could enforce a foreclosure judgment of $449,905 against a Cuyahoga County home. The decision closed a legal fight that had stretched 17 years, spanning three loan‑modification agreements filed between 2009 and 2022.
Doberdruk and her late husband bought the property in July 2007 and immediately took out a mortgage. After her husband died in 2009, she struggled to keep up with payments, prompting a first modification that lowered the interest rate and reduced the monthly principal. A second tweak in 2014 further eased the burden, but a steep spike in costs in 2020 left her again behind schedule.
In the 2022 modification, Doberdruk signed a document that expressly referenced the original 2007 promissory note, thereby reaffirming her personal liability for the entire debt. The panel held that this act bound her to the revised terms and cleared any question about the bank’s standing as the rightful mortgage holder.
The court found that the property passed directly to Doberdruk after her husband’s death, rendering the probate estate irrelevant to the foreclosure. It also confirmed that Wells Fargo had complied with Ohio’s statutory requirements, including proper recording of the mortgage and notification of the unpaid balance.
With the appeal dismissed, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department is slated to conduct a public auction. Proceeds will first cover court fees and outstanding taxes; any surplus will go to Wells Fargo’s claim.
Doberdruk, a single mother of two, told the court she had no other options after her husband’s death and that the sale will leave her without a place to stay.