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How do I determine an exact project address and will change orders affect my Notice of Furnishing?

OhioChange Orders

Are written change orders a requirement in the state of OH? Also, am I required to send a second Notice of Furnishing when the contract value changes? A majority of our work is state/county projects that span across multiple locations, such as a freeway. How do we determine the exact physical address of the property and is my notice invalid if it is not precise?

1 reply

Apr 22, 2020

On projects with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), written change orders are actually required under ORC 5525.14. For other projects, written change orders typically aren't legally required by statute. Still, that doesn't automatically mean verbal change orders are fine. Whether or not unwritten change orders will be effective to modify non-ODOT contracts will still come down to the terms of the contract as well as the circumstances of the situation. With that being said, using formal, written change orders is always advisable. Written change orders will make it far easier to avoid payment disputes due to improved communication and transparency. Plus, if disputes still do arise, having everything easily available in writing can snuff out a disagreement before it snowballs out of control with legal or lien claims.

Do Notices of Furnishing need to be revised?

Ohio does not require that a Notice of Furnishing be updated when the price is increased. This follows the general rule nationwide that as long as a preliminary notice was sent in good faith at the start of the job, changes later on (to price, scope, etc.) typically won't require any additional Notice. Further discussion here: Is it OK to Send Revised Preliminary Notices? Does it Affect My Deadlines?

Pinning down a project address for work across multiple properties

When there isn't a specific address for the project, describing the project in some other way should be acceptable. As long as the description makes it clear to the reader where the project is located, that will usually work. For private projects - the Notice of Commencement must identify the project location (typically, with an address). So, using the information from the Notice of Commencement can help to clear up any confusion there. For public projects - there won't be a Notice of Commencement to go off of, but the statute calls for the "property description or address" to be included in the Notice of Furnishing (at ORC § 1311.261). So, describing the property in some other way is obviously acceptable. Asking the customer how they'd like it to be identified might be useful. If not, then using some combination of information - like coordinates, mile markers, cross streets, and nicknames - might make sense.

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