Construction Law

Advise and assist Indiana's largest private, not-for-profit health system with three projects that are among the largest construction projects the system has ever undertaken, with total costs expected to exceed $1.3 billion over several years. The first project involves construction of a new campus location in the downtown area. The second project involves a new facility on a university campus. The third project involves renovating 150,000 square feet of the vacated children’s hospital to create a maternity hospital. Bricker’s role is to provide the legal services specific to the construction of health care facilities, while Indiana co-counsel is expected to provide more general construction advice.

On behalf of an Ohio municipality, obtained a favorable verdict in a construction-related litigation suit that had a value of over $2.5 million. The city is also entitled to recover its attorney fees.

Retained by a city to help identify the cause of the water infiltration issues over the natatorium area of its recreation center. Destructive testing was scheduled, and based upon the forensic report prepared by a consultant, it was determined that sections of the roof needed to be replaced. We prepared contract documents and assisted the city with the bid process for a contractor to perform the remedial work and are working with the city to schedule mediation with the design professional and original contractors.

Worked with a local school district on construction and other procurement matters, providing assistance with selection of project teams, preparing professional agreements and contract documents, and working through project issues.  

Worked with a public hospital's office of general counsel and its department of construction management with regard to all aspects of design and construction of a 58,000-square-foot off-campus health center using the construction manager in an agency role delivery model with multiple prime contracts.

Provided procurement and construction counsel services to a city school district throughout phased additions and renovations to an existing school building, as well as a district-wide master planning and programming process that identified facility needs throughout the district and defined a plan for future improvements.

Assisted a school district with procurement and construction issues related to a $50 million district-wide capital improvement program, which included renovations and additions to all existing school buildings. 

Prepared master services agreement for private hospital system to include master planning services for a greenfield site with an outpatient facility, including full service emergency department, imaging diagnostics, breast center, cancer center, and medical office space, with a documented system for adding services for future improvements to the facility and site.

Prepared request for qualifications, request for proposals and contract documents for a K-12 school district's design-build project.

Successfully represented a library in a lawsuit against six companies responsible for the faulty design and construction of the heavy timber frame roof of the library with damages estimated at $1.8 million. 

Represented a contractor in an Ohio Court of Claims lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Transportation after payment was withheld when pavement rutted prematurely.

Represented a library in connection with faulty restoration design and construction that jeopardized an historic building.

Represented a contractor in a lawsuit against a public owner when payment was withheld after a component of the landfill project failed.

Represented a county engineer in a lawsuit against a bridge contractor when a dispute arose over the scope of work.

Represented a landfill contractor in a lawsuit where the subcontractor made claims for delay damages.

Represented an engineer in a matter where the general contractor failed to make payment for surveying and construction inspection services.

Served as an arbitrator on several complex construction disputes.

Represented a school district against an architect, general contractor and supplier in connection with the failure of a vented nail base roof system.

Represented several contractors in bid disputes against public agencies, resulting in the issuance of several temporary restraining orders.

Defended a village against a neighboring village's lawsuit regarding conflicting service area claims.

Represented a general contractor when an adjacent landowner sued regarding damage to property.

Represented a developer in trial against a municipality regarding adequacy of design and construction of a regional wastewater lift station.

Represented a general contractor in trial against a concrete paving subcontractor where the pavement deteriorated prematurely.

Prepared resolutions and related documents for projects deemed to be of urgent necessity, including fire alarm and HVAC renovation projects for a K-12 school district. 

Represented a school district when a sudden subsidence episode severely damaged its nearly complete middle school.

Represented general contractor against claims made by township when full depth reclamation and cement stabilization did not meet expectations.

Represented an airport authority against a contractor’s claims of defective plans and differing site conditions.

Prepared design services and construction manager in an agency role services agreements for a public hospital's new 58,000 GSF ambulatory care center; prepared construction contract documents for bidding the work (estimated construction cost of $18.3 million).

Negotiated and prepared a construction contract with a GMP for a new health and technology campus for a private hospital (estimated construction cost of $122,400,000).

Prepared an agreement with construction manager as constructor for a $56 million bed expansion project for a private hospital.

Prepared an agreement with a construction manager as constructor for a private hospital's enabling project to prepare the existing site for a patient tower building (estimated construction cost of $10 million for the enabling project).

Prepared documents required for the statutory qualifications-based selection process for design professionals for a public school construction project; prepared resolutions to document the process and selection of the most qualified firm and the agreement with the firm selected.

Prepared documents required for the statutory qualifications-based selection process for construction management services in an agency role for a public school construction project; prepared resolutions to document the process and selection of the most qualified firm and the agreement with the firm selected.

Prepared documents for the selection of a construction manager at risk following the requirements of the Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code for a public school construction project; prepared resolutions to document the process and selection of the firm determined to provide the best value and the agreement with the firm selected; prepared the GMP amendment to the agreement before construction began.

Prepared documents for the selection of a criteria architect/criteria engineer and for the design builder, as required by the Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code for a public school construction project; prepared resolutions to document the process and selection of the design build firm determined to provide the best value and the agreement with the design build firm selected, which included a GMP for the work; prepared the notice of commencement and other required documents.

Assisted with the selection of a design professional following the statutory process, preparation of the agreement for design services, preparation of construction contract documents, assistance with the statutory bidding process applicable to the work, and preparation of the construction contract and related documents with the lowest responsible bidder.

Provided guidance with the selection of the energy services company for a H.B. 264 energy conservation project, prepared the required resolutions to document the selection and other obligations for the project; prepared the agreement with the company selected to implement the approved energy conservation measures.

Provided guidance with the disposal of personal and real property no longer needed for school purposes.

Worked with public school district on the design and construction of new school facilities through a co-funded Ohio School Facilities Commission program overseen by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission; prepared professional agreements and resolutions required to documents approvals during the project; provided guidance on statutory bidding and procurement requirements; worked with the school district to address lien claims on the project.

Worked with district administrators to determine the application of the statutory bidding requirements for different improvements; prepared bidding and proposal package documents to solicit prices for the work; prepared contracts and related documents required with the contractor for the work; provided advise on quality of work, schedule, and other project issues during construction and after completion.

Worked with district administrators to explore options to procure work and items through available cooperative purchasing programs; prepared resolutions to document approval of the process and selection of a vendor for the items being purchased; prepared contract with the vendor for the work and related documents required for public school construction.

Worked with district administrators to determine scope and conditions for improvements to be funded and constructed by booster group and then donated to the school district; prepared resolutions to document the approvals and conditions for the donated work; prepared conditions for the project; prepared notice of commencement for the work

Assisted with drafting and negotiating design-build contract for a private hospital. Project value exceeded $320 million.

Assisted a private health care system in negotiating and preparing design professional and construction manager at risk agreements for the renovation of a recently-acquired medical campus. The project value exceeded $61 million.

Assisted a private health care system in negotiating and preparing design professional and construction manager at risk agreements for several ambulatory care projects. The project values ranged from $18 million to an anticipated $26 million.

Assisted a public health care system with its procurement processes and agreements for design professionals, owner's representative and construction manager at risk for a $400 million multiple-project transformation.

Represented a homeowner when new garage build over mismarked a high pressure gas transmission line.

Advised a public hospital regarding the evaluation of bids.

Represented a self-insured general contractor in a workers' compensation subrogation against a subcontractor responsible for an accident that caused death of an employee on a bridge construction project.

Represented a general contractor against payment claims from remote subcontractors and suppliers when a first tier subcontractor became insolvent.

Assisted in the completion of the first design-build infrastructure project performed by our client under the relatively new construction reform law in Ohio. The legal work required numerous meetings with dozens of client representatives who had disparate views and agendas, coordinating the city charter and ordinances with the applicable Ohio statutes, crafting custom documents in concert with the client, participating in the two-step RFQ/RFP process for selecting the design-builder, and guiding the client in resisting attempts by the design-builder to modify its obligations under the contract. The project was completed ahead of schedule and cost approximately $3.6 million less than the original cost estimate for the project using traditional procurement. 

Represented a county against a contractor when a rural sanitary sewer project was months late.

Represented a public owner in a lawsuit against a contractor when a $14 million surface water treatment plant was delivered over a year late and the contractor made claims for additional payment.

Advised a city regarding project delivery methods newly available to Ohio public entities for its new public services facility project. Created a streamlined procurement process for a design-build project, pursuant to the city’s Amended Charter and Codified Ordinances, and prepared the request for proposals and contract documents for the project.

Represented a heavy/highway contractor against a highway authority in connection with delay claims on the construction of a service plaza.

Represented a paving contractor in a trial against a city that refused to pay for a price increase caused by an upwards adjustment to the Asphalt Binder Index.

Represented the amici curiae in support of a village position that the enforceability of liquidated damages must be analyzed prospectively rather than based on the amount of total liquidated damages that ultimately accrued after significant delays and, additionally, that liquidated damages are equally appropriate for both new construction and improvements to existing infrastructure. 

Successfully assisted Oregon Clean Energy LLC in the acquisition of a certificate from the Ohio Power Siting Board in May 2013 to begin construction on the 799-megawatt Oregon Clean Energy Center, a natural gas-fired combined-cycle generating facility located in Oregon, Ohio. Our firm continues to provide significant tax, real estate and construction counsel on the project. Additionally, we are representing the project before the OPSB to amend its certificate to reflect changes in facility design.

Prepared request for qualifications, request for proposals and contract documents for municipal administration building design-build projects.

Served as construction counsel to a school district for its new K-12 school building, constructed through the Ohio School Facilities Commission’s Classroom Facilities Assistance Program. Masonry issues were identified in the completed building, and we assisted the district in determining its cause and developing a plan to correct the defect.

Represented an international construction manager in trial against a contractor’s claims of negligence, fraud and interference on a project for expanding the headquarters of an international manufacturer.

Prepared construction contract for new dentist's office project.

Prepared template architect/engineer, construction manager, contractor and other consultant agreements for both public and private hospitals to be used for different project delivery methods and with projects of varying sizes and scope.

Prepared criteria architect and design-build contracts for the design and construction of new township fire department facilities.

Represented school district in administration of statutory process relating to mechanic’s liens and addressed mechanics’ lien claims and related law suits for K-12 school projects.

Create template architect agreements, engineer agreements, bidding documents and owner-contractor agreements for public entities including cities and counties.

Prepared numerous water/wastewater bid package and contract documents.

Prepared architect, contractor and design-builder agreements for private developer.

Represented a city against a contractor’s claims of differing site conditions and defective plans on an upland reservoir that covered 100 acres.

Represented a county against a defunct sewer contractor and its surety, leading to a $3.5 million settlement because of defective and incomplete work.

Prepared design-build contract for private company's new office and manufacturing facility.

Provided outside legal consulting services and prepared wastewater bid packages and contract documents for Ohio's three largest wastewater treatment providers.

Prepared outreach and inclusion guidelines and incorporated them into the procurement process for a large public library system.

Created a manual comparing and contrasting available construction delivery models and providing guidance on statutory bidding and procurement requirements for counties.

Represented a school district client to address defective work.

Represented a city against an international manufacturer of large-scale wastewater treatment equipment when a tertiary filter did not meet performance expectations.

Organized a port authority's bid package and construction contract for a sanitary sewer extension project.

Represented a developer when a subcontractor was unable to complete a sanitary sewer due to soft ground conditions.

Counselled public hospital client through the negotiation of an architect agreement.

Defended a sitework contractor in a third-party complaint brought by an engineer after a stormwater collection, conveyance and storage system failed, damaging a parking lot.

Represented a public owner in a lawsuit against contractors, sureties and engineers after a roadway pavement subsided above a sanitary sewer installed over ten years prior.

Advised a county regarding project delivery methods and prepared a request for qualifications, request for proposals and contract documents for the courthouse's design-build renovation project.

Prepared school board resolutions and contracts related to bleacher and track renovation projects.

Facilitated and prepared a school district's contract for roof replacement, procured through a joint purchasing program.

Represented a K-12 school district regarding school bus warranty issues.

Served as owner's lead trial counsel on a 10-week federal jury trial resulting from multiple prime contractor jail construction project and a verdict in favor of the owners in excess of $14 million.

Facilitated economic incentives and new construction financings for commercial projects through several of Ohio’s port authorities, including exemptions from sales taxes for portions of the construction.