Ohio Mechanics Lien Law Attorney | Columbus OH Lawyer Construction Law Lawyer

Owners, Investors and Entrepreneurs

Anthony Law represents owners, investors and entrepreneurs in all aspects of business and commercial law, contracts and negotiations, business litigation and commercial real estate.

The lawyers at Anthony Law provide professional, responsive and aggressive representation for sole proprietors, limited liability companies, partnerships, and corporations. Legal strategies are designed with the clients best interest in mind.

Anthony Law provides the following services:

Negotiating and drafting all types of construction contracts, including owner-construction manager contracts, owner-contractor contracts, subcontracts, supply agreements, and lease agreements.
Analyzing delay and impact claims.
Filing mechanic’s liens and surety bond claims.
Mediating and arbitrating payment and performance disputes.
Litigating payment and performance disputes at the trial.
Enforcing judgments and engaging in collecting efforts.
Creating formal business relationships, including joint ventures and partnerships

Ohio construction companies need to protect themselves by understanding Ohio’s mechanics lien law.

Ohio Mechanics Lien Law and Concepts:

Ohio mechanics lien law provides that anyone who performs work or labor or furnishes material in furtherance of an improvement pursuant to contract has a lien to secure the payment therefor upon the improvement and all interests that the owner, part owner, or lessee may have or subsequently acquire in the land or leasehold to which the improvement was made or removed. However, one mechanics lien must be perfected in order to foreclose.

Notice of commencement--Content

Ohio law requires the owner, part owner, or lessee who contracts for an improvement to record a notice of commencement with the recorder of the county in which the improved property is located, and to post a copy of that notice on the job site. This notice is to be recorded and posted prior to the performance of any labor or work or the furnishing of any materials, and takes the form of an affidavit containing the following information:

A legal description of the property;
A brief description of the improvement which is specific enough to permit lien claimants to identify the improvement;
The name, address, and capacity of the owner, part owner, or lessee contracting for the improvement;
The name and address of the fee owner if the person contracting for the improvement is a land contract vendee or lessee;
The name and address of any party designated to receive notice on behalf of the contracting owner, part owner, or lessee;
The names and addresses of all original contractors;
Date the owner, part owner, or lessee first executed a contract with an original contractor for the improvement;
The names and addresses of all lenders providing financing for the project;
The names and addresses of all sureties on any bond which guarantees payment of the original contractor's obligations under the contract;
The following statement:
To Lien Claimants and Subsequent Purchasers: Take notice that labor or work is about to begin on or materials are about to be furnished for an improvement to the real property described in this instrument. A person having a mechanics' lien may preserve the lien by providing a notice of furnishing to the above-named designee and his original contractor, if any, and by timely recording an affidavit pursuant to section 1311.06 of the Revised Code. A copy of this notice may be obtained upon making a written request by certified mail to the above-named owner, part owner, lessee, designee, or the person with whom you have contracted.
and
The name and address of the person preparing the notice.

Recording the Notice of Commencement

Ohio law requires the notice of commencement be recorded in the office of the county recorder for each county in which the real property to be improved is located prior to performance of any labor or work or the furnishing of any materials for an improvement.

Requirements of Owner after filing of Notice of Commencement

Ohio law requires the owner to (i) serve the original contractor; (ii) post a copy of the notice of commencement in a conspicuous place on the real property described in the notice during the course of actual physical improvement to the real property; (iii) serve all subtrades within ten days after the date a subcontractor, material supplier, or laborer serves a written request upon the owner or designee for a copy of it.

Notice of Furnishing – Subcontractor must serve Owner

Under Ohio law, if a notice of commencement has been prepared and recorded, the law requires a subcontractor or material supplier to serve a notice of furnishing in order to preserve its lien rights. The notice of furnishing is a simple form intended to put the owner and original contractor on notice of a subcontractor's or material supplier's involvement in a project so that its claim can be taken into account when payments are made. In the absence of a recorded notice of commencement, a notice of furnishing is not required.

Failure to Serve Notice of Furnishing

Under Ohio law, mechanics lien rights may be lost if a Notice of Furnishing is not served timely on the Owner, after the recordation of a Notice of Commencement.

Affidavit for lien

Under Ohio law, in order to perfect a claim to a mechanics' lien one must execute and file with the recorder of the county in which the improved property is located an affidavit that sets forth the following:

The amount due over and above all legal setoffs;
A description of the property to be charged with the lien;
The name and address of the person to or for whom the labor or work was performed or material was furnished;
The name of the owner, part owner, or lessee, if known;
The name and address of the lien claimant; and
The first and last dates that the lien claimant performed any labor or work or furnished any material to the improvement giving rise to the lien.

Timeliness of the filing of the lien & Service on Owner

Ohio law sets certain time limits in which to file the affidavit of lien and to serve the owner.

If you need legal representation and counsel, contact the attorneys and lawyers at Anthony Law for a free consultation.

The professionals of Anthony Law work with each client on an individual basis tailoring strategies to arrive at customized solutions that mitigate risk and enhance profitability.

If you are looking for a reliable business partner, contact the attorneys and lawyers at Anthony Law for free consultation.

The Columbus, Ohio boutique law firm provides education, strategies and solutions to the small business and commercial client. See the firm's mission statement.

Anthony Law, represents small to medium size businesses in Columbus, Ohio, and the surrounding communities of Dublin, Powell, Westerville, Worthington, Hilliard, New Albany, Gahanna, Grove City, Upper Arlington, and Bexley and the counties of Delaware, Licking, and Fairfield. Anthony Law also represents clients throughout all of Ohio including Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio and throughout the United States of America.

Construction Law