Answer:
Contractors
remain liable for defective construction work for a long time.
Claims for defective work can be asserted long after
the standard one (1) year
warranty period. Unless restricted by contract, construction defect claims
can be asserted until they expire under
the applicable Statute of Limitations or Statute of Repose.
Ohio’s written contract Statute of Limitations used
to be fifteen (15) years, but has now been shortened to eight (8) years. Ohio’s Statute of Repose
requires certain claims be
asserted within ten (10) years after substantial completion of the work.
Established the Spearin Doctrine in Ohio
We helped establish the Spearin
Doctrine in Ohio, which protects contractors from liability for the
consequences of defects in specifications or plans prepared by the owner.
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Third Appellate District Ruling = Good News for Contractor + Owner Covered by CGL Policy
This decision
from the Court of
Appeals of Ohio, Third Appellate District, found an owner,
contractor and subcontractor all sharing a common interest.
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Retroactive Application of Statute of Repose Found Unconstitutional
When a condominium complex was
finished in 1990, but defects were not discovered until 2003, the case goes all
the way to the Ohio Supreme Court.
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Contract Statute of Limitations Shortened From 15 to 8 Years
Many businesses were critical of Ohio’s
long-held 15-year statute of limitations for written contract claims, which
helped lower it to 8 years and relieved lengthy recordkeeping.
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