ODOT’s Final Acceptance Precludes Defect Claim
Kegler Brown Construction Newsletter April 1, 2012
Based largely upon the trial court’s finding that ODOT’s own specifications required it to discover defects and reject the work prior to final acceptance of the work, the Franklin County Court of Appeals denied ODOT’s defective bridge painting claim because it was pursued post-completion. Beasley v. Monoko, Inc., 2011 WL 3557094 (Ohio App., 10th Dist. Aug. 11, 2011).
This case is somewhat at odds with typical practice in the industry which generally preserves post-completion latent defects per contract. The decision may have been largely driven by the fact that the government-drafted contract did not include a contractor warranty.