Did Appellate Court Decision Essentially Rewrite Construction Contract's Application of Liquidated-Damages Clause?

Village of Piketon, Ohio v. Boone Coleman Construction, Inc., Case No. 2014-0978

Fourth District Court of Appeals (Pike)

ISSUES:

- Must a court analyze a liquidated-damages provision of a construction contract prospectively, based on the per-diem amount of the liquidated damages at the time the contract was executed? Or must the court analyze such a contract retrospectively, based on the total, actual liquidated damages that accrue?

- Are liquidated damages a penalty because no proof of actual damages is required to enforce a contract's liquidated-damages clause?