Cincinnati Construction Dispute Lawyers

Find the right Construction Dispute attorney in Cincinnati, OH

Construction Dispute Law in Ohio

Owners of real estate in Cincinnati, Ohio often contract with other parties ("contractors") for construction on the property they own. Such projects are likely to suffer at least a few minor setbacks, and any project also carries the risk of major setbacks, delays, or unexpected costs.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, however, these problems are resolvable, and do not lead to major disputes. Being rational, business-minded adults, landowners and construction contractors are usually able to resolve disputes amongst themselves. After all, both stand to gain if the project is completed, and the contractor is paid.

Even if a third party gets incorporated, it does not always need to be a court. Private mediators can assist the parties reach a settlement, or a private arbitrator who is an expert on construction litigation can render a binding decision, if mediation and negotiation fail and the parties can't resolve their dispute.

Litigating a construction dispute in Cincinnati, Ohio is definitely not something that anybody likes doing. Nonetheless, it is sometimes necessary, as a last resort.

Examples of Construction Disputes That Might Lead to Litigation in Cincinnati, Ohio

Delays: Some minor delays in a construction project are all but guaranteed to occur. Usually, if contracts require a specific completion date, the contractor will give itself longer than the project would take under ideal circumstances, to account for possible delays. Furthermore, construction contracts usually attempt to insure against delays, such as imposing fees on contractors if the project is delayed beyond a certain point. If no such clause is included in a contract, a court will usually award the client damages that could have been reasonably anticipated at the time the contract was entered into.

Owner's refusal to pay: Contractors can also be the victims in construction disagreements. Sometimes, the person who hired them will refuse to pay the agreed-upon fee, or withhold a portion of it. This, without more, certainly constitutes breach of contract. However, in such cases, the owner will rarely go to court and say "I just didn't feel like paying, so I didn't." Instead, they will claim that they had a very good reason to withhold all or part of the payment, such as unsatisfactory work by the contractor. In these situations, the court has to determine if the owner has a valid reason for not paying. If it concludes that he or she does not, it will order the owner to pay the agreed-upon price.

Subcontractor Disputes: In large projects, contractors often can't handle every aspect of the construction, so they hire other (usually smaller) contractors to do some specialized work for them, such as plumbing, electrical installations, and the like. The general contractor, nonetheless, is responsible to the owner for anything that goes wrong. If a subcontractor messes up, and the owner sues the contractor, the contractor will have to pay. Nonetheless, the contractor can then go after the subcontractor to recover whatever he had to pay.

Mechanic's Liens: Sometimes, when a contractor wins in a case against the landowner who hired him or her, and obtains a court order for payment, the contractor will still refuse to pay. Since a money judgment isn't worth much without a way to enforce it, the laws of many states have evolved to allow what's known as a "mechanic's lien." As a last resort, if a landowner refuses to pay the contractor for work done on the property, the contractor can force a sale of the property, and keep the proceeds, up to the amount of money owed.

Can a Cincinnati, Ohio Attorney Help?

If you have a construction dispute, you should first try to resolve it amicably with the other party. If this fails, it is almost always crucial to hire a Cincinnati, Ohio construction disputes attorney, who can advise you on the next steps in the process.

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Life in Cincinnati

Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County, Ohio. It has a population of over 333,000 which makes it the third-largest city in Ohio (behind Columbus and Cleveland).

In the early 19th Century, when the U.S. was rapidly expanding westward, Cincinnati became the first "boomtown" (a community that experiences sudden and massive population and economic growth) in what was then the western frontier to rival the more-established cities of the East Coast in size and wealth.

Before railroads were common, steamboats which traveled along the country's larger rivers were the predominant method of mass transport. Cincinnati, being near the Ohio River, was a major transportation hub. However, when railroads became more predominant, Cincinnati's importance in the transport industry waned, and it was quickly surpassed in population by nearby cities, such as Chicago.

Modernly, Cincinnati, Ohio is no economic slouch, and hosts headquarters or major satellite offices of many large, multinational corporations, such as Macy's, Proctor and Gamble, and The Kroger Company (a large supermarket chain, and parent company of a few smaller, regional chains).

Being a relatively large city, there are plenty of lawyers in Cincinnati, Ohio who can handle just about any legal problem that can possibly come up. While no single lawyer can handle every type of case, there are enough specialized Cincinnati, Ohio lawyers that there's at least one who can handle yours.

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