Legal Cloud Removed from Ohio’s School Building Program

Kegler Brown Construction Newsletter

On November 19, 2002, the Franklin County Court of Appeals ruled that the Tri-Village School District had acted properly in finding the low bidder Monarch Construction Company non-responsible and awarding the contract instead to the second low bidder, our client Peterson Construction Company. The Court of Appeals also ruled that all of the approximately 1,800 contracts issued state-wide by the Ohio School Facilities Commission were still of legal force and effect, removing any cloud hanging over the State's ambitious school construction building program. Monarch Constr. Co. v. Ohio School Facilities Comm., 2002 - Ohio - 6281.

The Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the trial court had erred when it ruled that there were flaws in the responsibility determination made by the Tri-Village School District with the assistance of its construction manager. The net result of this decision will be to encourage more meaningful responsibility investigations and discourage judicial "second guessing" of these determinations with 20/20 legal hindsight. The Ohio School Facilities Commission can now return to its primary function of facilitating Ohio's multi-billion dollar school construction building program and Peterson Construction Company will continue to faithfully construct the long-awaited school for the Tri-Village School District.