The March 2006 ohioconstructionlaw.com Newsletter

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Second Annual Heavy Highway Issue
Looks at the Law of Underground Utilities

Last March, we published our First Annual Heavy Highway issue, so it’s time for a repeat performance. We plan a tradition: If it’s March, ohioconstructionlaw.com will be focusing on articles of special interest to those in the heavy highway side of the construction industry. Our lead article, “Utility Protection: What Duties Does the Owner Owe the Contractor?,” should be such an article. In it, Doug Shevelow, P.E., explains the statutes that control how underground utilities are to be protected during the construction process. Anybody engaged in construction where there are existing utilities should be aware of what these statutes say.

Even if you have nothing to do with heavy highway construction, our second article, “New Data Security Law Affects Ohio Businesses,” should interest you. Anyone who maintains data on customers, including personal information such as social security numbers and addresses, needs to know how the new law could affect business. Two Bricker & Eckler attorneys from outside the Construction Department wrote this piece; if you want to know more, Alex Brown and Miranda Motter invite you to contact them directly.

Don’t forget our new link to pending legislation, which replaces our “What the Legislators Are Considering” column. If you click on the link in our e-mail, you should see that it contains much more information than our old column did.

The March edition of “What the Courts Are Saying” looks at five recent court opinions, starting with a significant decision from the Ohio Supreme Court that clarifies the penalties for a violation of the Public Records Act. Anyone who maintains public records—and contractors or construction managers who work on public projects do have public records—should know how the Court is interpreting this law. Our second case is a federal decision from the Eighth Circuit that should interest highway contractors especially, as it deals with a contractor’s liability for an accident caused, in part, by the lack of proper signage. Then we turn to a bidding case from the Court of Appeals for Franklin County that discusses the perception of personal bias in awarding a contract. Another Court of Appeals decision, this one from Summit County, discusses some limits of an arbitrator’s powers. Our fifth and final decision covers a topic all of our readers should be familiar with by now: intentional torts. In this case, the injured employee was a roofer who fell more than 20 feet to the ground.

Since highway construction often involves a contract from the EJCDC, this month’s Holman, Gillis and Shevelow on Construction Documents looks at that organization’s C-700 contract, specifically, how that contract tackles dispute resolution, according to guest author David Riddle, P.E.

Next we include a short recap of the new “Job-Ready Sites Program” and what it may mean for the construction industry in Ohio. Following that, we have our three final columns: Unforeseen Site Conditions, OSHA Corner, and ADR Corner. More than our normal contingent of columns, you say? You’re perceptive. When we have a special issue like this for Heavy Highway Construction, we like to include both Unforeseen Site Conditions (particularly relevant for this segment of the industry) and OSHA Corner, two columns that usually alternate.

Index to March 2006 ohioconstructionlaw.com Newsletter

Feature Articles

Utility Protection, Part I: What Duties Does the Owner Owe the Contractor?
When construction risks disturbing underground utilities, the Ohio statutes step in and dictate the roles of the project owner, the utility owner, and the contractor. Find out what you should know about this complex subject from Doug Shevelow, P.E., who is both an attorney and a civil engineer.

New Data Security Law Affects Ohio Businesses
Effective February 17, 2006, a new Ohio law requires most business entities to notify Ohio consumers of any breach of data security that releases personal information about their customers.

Grant Program Opens Funding Possibilities For “Job-Ready Sites”
Certain construction projects will have increased funding opportunities soon due to the new "Job-Ready Sites" program.

Monthly Columns

What the Legislators Are Considering
Now you can link to information on pending legislation of particular interest, updated daily.

What the Courts Are Saying . . .
What the Ohio Supreme Court had to say about obligations under the Public Records Act leads off our column, followed by summaries of other courts' decisions on a highway contractor's liability for improper signage, perceived bias in the public bidding context, what can and cannot be done in an arbitration, and whether a roofer's fall involved an intentional tort.

Holman, Gillis & Shevelow on Construction Documents The EJCDC & Dispute Resolution
Guest author David Riddle, P.E., discusses the resolution of disputes on a construction site under the EJCDC-700.

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

Unforeseen Site Conditions
How can you calculate the damages caused by a Type II differing site condition? Doug Shevelow, P.E., explains how it was done in a recent court case.

OSHA Corner: What's New in the World of Job Safety?
Read this to stay up-to-date on news and information regarding OSHA and job safety.

ADR Corner: Challenging or Confirming the Award in Court—Beware of the Time for Filing!
What happens when you don't meet the deadlines for challenging or confirming an arbitration award in court? Sam Wampler describes a recent Court of Appeals opinion that answers this question.