Regardless of industry or company size, Ohio companies routinely enter into contracts in the course of conducting their business. These contracts may be with suppliers, vendors or customers and clients. Entering into these contracts also means that some of the time, conflicts may develop. When that happens it is important for business owners and contract participants to know what they can or should do.
One thing you may need to know is whether or not you can bring some sort of action against a contract participant. That depends in part upon the timing of when a problem develops. According to the Ohio Revised Code, there are very specific timeframes in which such actions must be commenced. For contracts relating to the sale of items, a breach of contract action must be initiated within 48 months of the date that the alleged breach occurred on. There are some exceptions to this, however.
Among the exceptions include breaches involving unwritten contracts. When no formally written contract exists, the statute of limitations extends to 72 months. Other exceptions may involve contracts in which the parties agree to different timing. It should be noted that any deviation from the standard 48-month statute of limitations can be no more than that 48 months nor no less than 12 months. Any such deviation must be agreed to by all parties.
This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give Ohio business owners and entrepreneurs some insight into the state’s statute of limitations on breach of contract lawsuits.
