Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 1311.31 (2026)

Action by claimant to enforce payment

✓ current as of May 2026
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The public authority, upon the receipt of the affidavit referred to in section 1311.26 of the Revised Code shall, or the claimant or his agent, in the name of the public authority, may serve the principal contractor with a copy thereof, within five days after the public authority receives it, together with a notice that the principal contractor must give notice of his intention to dispute the claim within twenty days. If the claimant is not in privity of contract with the principal contractor, the notice of intention to dispute may state that the claimant failed to serve a notice of furnishing as required by division (A)(1) of section 1311.261 of the Revised Code. If the claimant performed the labor or work or furnished the material to a subcontractor of the principal contractor, the claimant shall, within twenty days after serving the affidavit to the public authority, furnish a copy of it to the subcontractor. If the claimant fails to furnish the copy to the subcontractor, the claimant forfeits his rights to a claim under sections 1311.25 to 1311.32 of the Revised Code. If the principal contractor fails within twenty days after receipt of the affidavit to serve to the public authority written notice of his intention to dispute the claim, he has assented to its correctness, provided that within twenty days after receipt by any subcontractor of a copy of the affidavit, the subcontractor may serve the notice of intention to dispute on behalf of the principal contractor. Thereupon, provided all affidavits filed on the same public improvement have been assented to, the amount detained from the principal contractor shall be applied by and payment made by the public authority, in the order of preference provided in section 1311.29 of the Revised Code, pro rata, upon the claims on which affidavits have been filed. Where more than one affidavit has been filed with respect to the same public improvement, and one or more of the affidavits has not been assented to, then the amount detained shall be applied pro rata among all the claimants in the order of preference prescribed in section 1311.29 of the Revised Code, payment being made in the amount of their pro rata shares to all claimants whose affidavits have been assented to, and the pro rata shares of claimants whose affidavits have not been assented to shall be detained by the public authority until the dispute with respect to any affidavit has been resolved in any manner provided by law, whereupon payment in whole or in part shall be made to claimants in whose favor the dispute is resolved and any remaining part of the pro rata shares shall be applied pro rata among and payment made to all claimants as provided in this section. Each subsequent payment falling due shall be applied among and payment made to the claimants as provided in this section.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases, 1961–2019 · leading case: Lee Turzillo Contracting Co. v. Cincinnati Metro. Hous. Auth., 225 N.E.2d 255 (Ohio 1967).
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Lee Turzillo Contracting Co. v. Cincinnati Metro. Hous. Auth., 225 N.E.2d 255 (Ohio 1967). · cites it 7× “” “Section 1311.31. The [public authority], .”
State ex rel. Gen. Elec. Supply Co. v. Jordano Elec. Co., 558 N.E.2d 1173 (Ohio 1990). · cites it 3× “” Once the principal contractor receives notification from the owner or lien claimant that a statement has been filed, R.C. 1311.31 gives the principal contractor ten days in which to “* * * give notice of his intention to dispute such claim * * *.”
Mid Am. Constr., L.L.C. v. Univ. of Akron, 2019 Ohio 3863 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “{¶ 16} MAC filed its complaint against the University asserting three claims, two breach of contract claims and an R.C. 1311.31 delay claim. The University filed an answer, counterclaim, and third-party complaint against Fidelity.”
State ex rel. Dinneen Excavating Co. v. Sykes, 531 N.E.2d 1309 (Ohio 1988). · cites it 10× “2 R.C. 1311.31 provides: “The owner, board, officer, or clerk, agent, or attorney thereof, upon the receipt of the statement referred to in section 1311.”
Wandling v. Ohio Dep't of Transp., 604 N.E.2d 825 (Ohio Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 2× “Section 1311.31 entitled appellee to an automatic ex parte order releasing funds to him.”
Poenisch v. Kingsley-Dunbar, Inc., 582 N.E.2d 1071 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990). “Notice is provided to the principal contractor pursuant to R.C. 1311.31. Finally, R.C. 1311.32 provides the lienholder with remedies to enforce the owner's duty to pay.”
L.E. Myers Co. v. Jordano Elec. Co., 547 N.E.2d 1014 (Ohio Ct. App. 1988). “R.C. 1311.31 requires that an owner shall, or a lien claimant may, furnish the principal contractor with a copy of the R.”
Akron Concrete Corp. v. Medina City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Edn., 2012 Ohio 2971 (Ohio Ct. App. 2012). “R.C. 1311.31. “If the principal contractor fails within twenty days after receipt of the affidavit to serve to the public authority written notice of his intention to dispute the claim, he has assented to its correctness .”
Inter-City Equip. Corp. v. Mardigian, 182 N.E.2d 873 (Ohio Ct. App. 1961). · cites it 10× “Section 1311.31, Revised Code, provides: “The owner, board, officer, or clerk, agent, or attorney thereof, upon the receipt of the statement referred to in Section 1311.”
City of Cincinnati v. Scheer & Scheer Dev., 862 N.E.2d 122 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “Additionally, under R.C. 1311.31, when Scheer & Scheer failed to dispute the amount of these claims, it assented to the correctness of the claims.”
Kirk Bros. Co., Inc. v. Trucraft Constr., L.L.C., 2017 Ohio 7281 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “R.C. 1311.31. The general contractor then has 20 days in which to dispute the claims set forth in the affidavit or else the general contractor has "assented to its correctness.”
Mid Am. Constr., L.L.C. v. Univ. of Akron, 2018 Ohio 4513 (Ohio Ct. Cl. 2018). · cites it 5× “FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND Third-Party Defendant {¶1} Plaintiff Mid American Construction, LLC (MAC) filed its complaint against defendant, University of Akron (the University), asserting three claims, two breach of contract claims and a claim under R.C. 1311.31.…”
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