“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.
There is no single answer to the questions of what contractors’ rights are and what must be done to protect those rights for COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) delays and impacts. Construction attorneys and litigation will be working on the questions for years to come. However, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who may be affected directly or through ripple effects should immediately…
When a subcontractor signs a fixed price contract, the subcontractor typically bears the risk of increased prices for materials. Under normal circumstances the subcontractor will have to absorb increases in the price of lumber, paint, PVC, metals, glass, concrete, etc. A construction attorney, however, can draft contract provisions that change how the costs of the work and material price fluctuations will be handled to mitigate impacts on the subcontractor…
In Ohio, a construction attorney would say probably not. At least that was the outcome for the company whose bulldozer was stolen and then rammed into someone’s home…
Often whether a project is subject to Ohio’s mechanic’s lien statute is a clear-cut determination for a construction attorney and not subject to serious dispute. There can be projects where it is more difficult to determine if the project is subject to the statute, which is a preliminary question for whether contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers possess lien rights…
Bonding off a mechanic’s lien in Ohio is a statutory procedure performed by a construction attorney who is usually retained by either the project’s owner, general contractor, or mid-tier subcontractor. Ohio Revised Code § 1311 contains the bonding off procedure…
The opinion in TRAX Construction Company v. Village of Reminderville, 2021-Ohio-3481 (11th Dist. 2021) is an interesting one for Ohio construction lawyers. The project’s construction manager was held liable for over $1 million for the contractor’s delay damages, labor inefficiency, and pending change orders…
Contracts are often modified during construction projects by change orders and other written documents. Construction contracts can also be modified during projects by oral discussions when the owner and contractor speak to each other. Construction contracts can even by modified by the parties’ conduct…
The case in Martins Ferry City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Colaianni Construction, Inc., 2023-Ohio-2285 (7th Dist. 2023) arose from school construction. The projects participated in Ohio’s Classroom Facilities Assistance Program, which resulted in the design contract including a reference to…
An Ohio court has ruled that under the indemnity provision before it, the contractor was not liable to the owner for attorney’s fees in the owner’s breach of contract lawsuit…