Ohio Mechanic's Liens

posted by Michael Fortney  |  Dec 16, 2009 9:40 PM in Construction Law

Our Ohio mechanic's lien practice assists contractors and builders, subcontractors, suppliers, and owners in pursuing and defending mechanic's lien claims in all types of commercial construction disputes.

Ohio's mechanic's lien law provides protection to contractors, subcontractors, materialman, and laborers on construction projects in the event of non-payment. Liens may be placed on property that the lien claimant worked on or supplied materials for. Therefore, the mechanic's lien law permits a contractor to reach beyond its contract, and make a claim against the owner, even without a contract with the owner.

Consequently, an owner (or a general contractor with an indemnification clause in the contract with the owner) may be required to pay for improvements to property twice -- once by contract to those he contracted with, and once by statute to those lower tier subcontractors or materialmen that didn't get paid in the process.

Courts do not like to do this (because of the inherent unfairness to the owner or contractor); thus, strict compliance with the mechanic's lien laws is of the utmost importance. For a description of our practice, or for an index of articles available on the web, select a link.