Here is an Ohio case confirming that a public entity can reject a bidder as not "responsible" if that bidder has previously pursued claims against that public owner.  

If contractors are looking for another reason why they must sign their contracts before they start work, they can  e-mail me for a copy of Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Illinois Nat'l. Ins. Co., (N.Y.Sup. Ct. Dec. 23, 2010), 2010 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 6332, where an excavation contractor learned the hard way that, because it started work before signing, it was not an "insured" at the time under the owner's OCIP. 

A contractor in Ohio got a similarly unpleasant reminder last November when the appeals court determined that it did not have an enforceable oral agreement. Send me an e-mail if you would like a copy of Busch Bros. Elevator Co., Inc. v. Unit Building Svcs., 190 Ohio App. 3d 413, 2010 Ohio 5320. 

In addition to speaking at the following events, my colleagues and I will be presenting in-house lectures on a variety of legal topics for our clients, trade associations, and other groups.  If you would like to schedule a seminar at your firm or for your group, please let me know.  

April 4, 2011   Commercial Collection Strategies (Toledo, OH)

My colleague Melissa Jones will be discussing litigation basics in a seminar dedicated to Commercial Collection Strategies sponsored by NBI.  Follow this link to learn more.

April 12, 2011    Construction Lien Law (Independence, OH)

My lecture on public project lien law is both entertaining and educational. Honest. If you do not think that's possible, come find out at this seminar sponsored by Lorman. If you do not want to pay full price to test me on that, then follow this link to get 20% off.  Enter priority code 15800 and discount code F2716129.

May 23, 2011  Labor & Employment Seminar (Cleveland, OH)

Our Labor & Employment Group will host its annual seminar for our clients in May.  If you are interested, e-mail me and I will provide additional information.

Here are links to primary sources of industry and economic data so you can form your own opinions about market trends.     

Residential Construction and Sales 

Data from the Census Bureau on housing permits, starts, and completions is available here. The NAHB's web site provides a wealth of other data from its research here. The monthly S&P/Case Shiller Housing Price Indices are available here.  And, the National Association of Realtor's Pending Home Sales Index is here.

Industry-wide Construction Data

Data from the Census Bureau on construction spending is available here. It will cost you a few bucks, but McGraw Hill's forward-looking market research is available here. 

Last month's article about the solar array at the Toledo Zoo referred to it as a $14.7 million project.  In fact, it was a $1.47 million project.