UPDATE:
Send certified copy of unfiled complaint and all evidence along with ITS letter to owner and management company. The deposit was $600. Told them they had 10 days before we filed and they could send us a check for $700 to stop us from filing. If they did not, we would be seeking the whole $1200 allowed under ORC.
Management company sent letter same day saying they would cut a check for $600 if we could keep the owner out of it. It wasn't their fault, blah, blah, blah. We were going to response with a no but the next day but we got a 2nd email early in the morning from the management company saying they would over night a check for $700. Got check the next day, case closed.
I can only speculate that the management company was doing something shady. Like maybe they told the owner they gave us the deposit back then tried to just keep it. Or maybe they just didn't want the owner to see how bad of a management company they were. (all the exhibits, etc, attached to complaint) Oh well, sure they will continue trying to steal the uneducated's security deposits. We just happened to be the 1 out of 50 that called them on it.

