Entries by Nick Schwandner

Architect, landscape architect, engineer, and surveyor lien rights in Ohio

Architects, landscape architects, professional engineers, and professional surveyors have lien rights for construction projects located in Ohio. These design professional liens are a similar concept to mechanic’s liens where the project’s real property provides security for payment owed to the design professionals. Much like mechanic’s liens, the design professional liens can be an important tool for construction lawyers to get their clients paid…

Ohio’s Prompt Payment Act – remedies for late payments to subcontractors.

As a construction law firm in Cincinnati, an important legal tool that comes up often is Ohio’s prompt pay law, more formally called the Prompt Payment Act (O.R.C. 4113.61). The Prompt Payment Act sets certain time requirements for when payments must be made on Ohio construction projects. The Prompt Payment Act requires general contractors to pay subcontractors within 10 calendar days…

Arbitration provision: enforceable or unconscionable?

Arbitration is when parties submit their disagreement to a neutral third party for a binding decision instead of going to court. If a dispute is subject to an arbitration provision, one basis a construction lawyer may use for avoiding arbitration is demonstrating that the arbitration provision is unconscionable…

Is it a pay-when-paid provision or a pay-if-paid provision?

“We were not paid at all, so we will not be paying you.” “We were only partially paid. We took a haircut, so you will also have to take a haircut.” “We are not obligated to pay you until we receive payment ourselves.” These are common statements…

Schwandner Law Firm LLC helps contractors get paid for their work. Contact the firm for a construction lawyer experienced with construction law and contract provisions governing payment.