Ohio’s HCSSA Loses Steam; Remodelers Beware!
In 2012, the Ohio General Assembly gave some relief to #homebuilders and #contractors, and carved out “home construction services” from the Consumer Sales Practices Act – the Ohio consumer protection law that can impose treble (aka, triple) damages and legal fees against contractors (See ORC 1345.02). That carve-out and resulting statute is the Home Construction Service Suppliers Act, […]
Ready for 2023? Evaluate the Tough Job
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing” -Henry Ford. “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: Admit it, Learn from it, and Don’t Repeat it.” -Bear Bryant. It’d be great if every project a contractor works on goes off without a […]
Ohio’s Prompt Payment Act May Not Apply to Upfront Payments?
In Ohio, whether you’re a general contractor, a construction manager, a subcontractor or a material supplier, you’re aware of the power of Ohio’s Prompt Payment Act. The Prompt Pay Act (ORC 4113.61) requires that a contractor pay its subcontractor within 10 days of being paid by the owner for that subcontractor’s work. (Subcontractors must pay […]
Buy-Sell Agreements in Construction – Even More Critical
Lawyers and other professionals talk all the time to Contractors about having good contracts or having their contracts reviewed, and rightfully so. But one contract in particular that every construction business owner needs, and gets overlooked even more, is a buy-sell agreement. A “buy-sell” is a contract formed by the business owners that describes how […]
Labor Productivity: Lost & Too Often Forgotten
At a given construction project, there are a number of entitlements for Contractors and Subcontractors – payment for work performed being an obvious one. Another less appreciated entitlement is labor productivity. Every Contractor and Subcontractor who bids on and enters into a contract for work has a right to be productive and efficient based on […]
Lien Waivers: A Subcontractor’s Land Mine
Working in the construction industry comes with numerous risks – many that are outside a contractor’s control, but many (in fact, most) that are. One such risk is waiving rights to liens and claims in the middle of a construction project, through a lien waiver. What is a lien waiver? This is not intended to […]
Phil Truax Honored as 2022 Ohio Super Law and CLSA Fellow
Truax Law is pleased to announce that our founder, Phil Truax, has been selected as an 2022 Ohio Super Lawyer, and a Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America (CLSA). Super Lawyers Magazine distinguishes the top 5% of attorneys in Ohio in more than 70 practice areas, and recognizes those who have attained a […]
Architects & Engineers, Armed with Lien Rights
Recently we published an article on the common ways contractors, subcontractors and suppliers lose their lien rights in connection with the work they perform on a given project. Traditional mechanic’s lien laws have been in place in Ohio for nearly 200 years. Effective September 30, 2021, Ohio expanded lien rights to include design professionals as […]
Five Ways to Lose Your Lien Rights
One of the strongest ways to secure payment rights on a construction project is through a mechanic’s lien. Contractors and subcontractors often “finance” construction projects with their work, which is paid for later. And like the banks that finance projects with money and secure their capital with mortgage liens, contractors and subcontractors (and suppliers) use […]