Construction Contracts

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While electronic funds transfer is considered a convenient and quicker way to process payments and receive funds on construction projects, this practice presents significant risk to project participants. Contractual and processing controls are necessary to prevent fraud, which is on the rise locally and nationally.
Continue Reading Owners and Contractors Beware! Electronic Payments in Construction Are Subject to Increased Fraud

Many of us have heard the old saying that “decisions are made by those who show up.” The Ohio Facilities and Construction Commission (“OFCC”) is currently giving design and construction professionals involved in the construction of public schools the opportunity to show up, or more accurately speak up, to provide comments on contract general conditions and specifications of OFCC, including those in the Ohio School Design Manual (“OSDM”), as well as on the materials and methods of design used in the OSDM. This comment period offers industry professionals an important chance to provide input on the construction documents that control school construction projects throughout Ohio. It is crucial that design and construction professionals take this opportunity to give its opinion on current issues, as well as potential issues that may impact the industry in the coming years. Interested parties have until February 15, 2019 to submit comments on materials and methods of design used in the OSDM, and until March 1, 2019 to provide comments on OFCC’s contract documents.
Continue Reading The Contracting Community Has a Say in OFCC Contracts

Strict Application of Claims Waiver Provisions Bars Surety Payment Claims

In Berkley Ins. Co. v. Kent State Univ., Ohio Ct. of Cl. No. 2018-00579JD (Jan. 14, 2019), the Ohio Court of Claims expanded its prior rulings strictly enforcing contract dispute resolution provisions in the public construction contract arena. The Court ruled, despite the circumstances that actually existed between the contracting parties, that a contractor’s surety who takes over and completes a project after the contractor’s default and termination is likewise bound by the contract’s dispute provisions. The ruling reinforces the significant risk of waiver of claims by contractors and their sureties when claims are not promptly submitted in accordance with contract provisions governing disputes, even though all parties are aware of the dispute and claim.Continue Reading Ohio Court of Claims Decision Puts Public Works Bond Sureties Directly Behind the Eight Ball