The April 2007 Brickerconstructionlaw.com Newsletter

VIEW OR PRINT ENTIRE ISSUE IN PDF FORMAT
OR
GO DIRECTLY TO NEWSLETTER INDEX TO SELECT ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Index to April 2007 Brickerconstructionlaw.com Newsletter

Feature Articles

Force Account Labor—When Should Municipalities Use Their Own Employees To Get the Job Done?
When can a municipality (or another governmental entity) use its own employees for work such as road construction? The concept is called “Force Account Labor,” and Rod Davisson, the mayor of Obetz, examines its pros and cons this month. (No, he is not a guest author; Rod wears two hats: one mayor hat, and one Bricker construction lawyer hat.)

Ohio Supreme Court Issues Long-Awaited Opinion, Enforces Contract Terms Despite Numerous Changes in Contract
If you’ve said more than once, “I wonder when the Ohio Supreme Court is going to decide the Dugan & Meyers case,” you now know the answer: April 25. That opinion, on whether a contractor can collect delay damages for the cumulative impact of numerous changes to the project plans, is bound to be a hot topic for the next few weeks, and you will want to read Maureen Taylor’s report on it here.

Monthly Columns

Construction-Related Legislation
The 127th Ohio General Assembly has begun. Keep up-to-date with pending construction-related legislation, updated daily.

What the Courts Are Saying . . .
This month our four cases come from a federal court, two Ohio Courts of Appeals, and an Indiana Court of Appeals. The federal case, from the Southern District of Ohio, should be of special interest to municipalities, as the City of St. Clairsville was the defendant. The question: Did the City’s insurer have to cover a claim based on eminent domain, even though the City had not instituted a formal eminent domain action? The Ohio cases deal with road construction, faulty workmanship, and insurance again (all one case, this one from Medina County) and our old standby, intentional torts (Montgomery County). Finally, an interesting opinion from an Indiana Court of Appeals shows just how complicated litigation can get when it’s about a mechanic’s lien.

Holman, Gillis & Shevelow on Construction Documents: Mythbusting 101, or the Truth about Municipal Contracting
In a departure from the usual contracts column, Doug Shevelow, P.E. & Esq., probes the reality behind nine pieces of folk wisdom about public contracting.

OSHA Corner: What's New in the World of Job Safety?
Continuing the discussion of trenching regulations he started last month, Andrew Balcar looks at rules for ingress and egress—in other words, getting in and out of a trench.

ADR Corner: Mediation & Public Bodies
For our special municipalities issue, Dave Riddle, P.E., examines particular questions of confidentiality vs. public disclosure that concern public bodies when they mediate.

Upcoming Seminars
See information on upcoming construction seminars featuring Bricker & Eckler construction attorneys.

Back Page