Contract disputes are common business conflicts resolved in the Ohio courts. Such disputes may involve the smallest businesses to the largest giants of an industry. In such matters, the parties often claim that the other side caused a breach of contract and the incurring of damages. One of the most voluminous sources of contract disputes is the construction industry.
Construction companies often run into contract disputes with other contractors, business customers, public agencies and private parties with whom they have contracts for the building or refurbishing of designated structures. One current contract conflict was ended on Nov. 15 when a jury awarded a construction firm nearly $1.4 million in damages. The contractor claimed that the client did not pay the balance due for completion of the project.
The dispute involved Wahpeton N.S., a construction firm that was contracted to build an expansion building for the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The cost of the project was $51.7 million, and it appears that the $1.4 million was held back by the Historical Society from the very final payments due. As in all such disputes, however, each side has its version of what happened.
The contractor claimed that it received inadequate plans for the support of exterior limestone panels, which caused damage and delays. The state argued that the contractor was responsible for the panels and there were other aspects of the project that were not finished. These are the kinds of issues that typically arise in large construction contracts.
Similar breach of contract cases appear in the Ohio state and federal courts systems regularly. Business litigation attorneys with experience in such disputes are valuable to their clients because of their ability to cut through the layers of misunderstanding and encourage settlements that benefit their clients. In some exceedingly thorny disputes, like the one reported above, the conflict will go to the wire and be decided by a neutral fact-finder, usually a jury.
Source: jamestownsun.com, “Jury awards construction firm nearly $1.4 million in Heritage Center dispute“, John Hageman, Nov. 15, 2017
