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Ohio Breach of Contract Statute of Limitations Shortened to 6 Years

Client Alert

On March 16, 2021, Governor DeWine signed into law S.B. 13 which shortens Ohio’s statute of limitations for filing lawsuits based on breach of contract.  A statute of limitation is the time period within which a party must file a lawsuit before its claim expires as a matter of law.

Specifically, the new law reduces the statute of limitations for breaches of written contracts from eight years to six (R.C. 2305.06); and reduces the statute of limitations for breaches of oral contracts from six years to four (R.C. 2305.07).  This change in law follows a 2012 amendment which reduced the statute of limitations for breach of written contract claims from fifteen years to eight.  The new law is set to take effect as of June 14, 2021.

Despite the change in Ohio law reducing the statutory time period to file a breach of contract claim, it is important for parties to know and understand the terms of their own contracts which may already contain language limiting the time period within which to file a claim.  If the parties’ contract reduces the time for filing a claim to something less than the statutory time period, the shorter contractual limitation will often control. 

For any questions, please contact Justin M. Alaburda at jmalaburda@bmdllc.com or by calling 330.253.9134.


The Ohio Board of Pharmacy’s Latest Batch of Rules: What Providers Should Know

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy released several new rules and proposed amendments to existing rules over the past month that will significantly impact pharmacy operations. Topics range from updates to the Terminal Distributor of Dangerous Drugs license to mobile clinics to mandatory rest breaks for pharmacists of outpatient pharmacies. A summary of the proposed changes is below, along with instructions for commenting on the rules. Your BMD healthcare attorney can help write comment letters and submit the comments on your behalf as well.

Employee or Independent Contractor? New Guidance Issued by the Department of Labor

On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-awaited final rule — effective March 11, 2024 — revising its prior interpretation of worker classifications under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new final rule rescinds the standard previously established in 2021, in turn, shifting the analysis of whether a worker is an employee (versus an independent contractor) of a business from a more streamlined “economic reality” test to a more complex “totality of the circumstances” standard.

Increased Medicaid Rates to Take Effect This Month for Ohio Providers

As required by House Bill 33, Ohio’s 2024-2025 operating budget bill, reimbursement rates paid by the Ohio Department of Medicaid will increase for a wide range of providers starting on January 1, 2024.

Corporate Transparency Act Update

The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), with an effective date of January 1, 2024, is set to impose strict reporting guidelines on business owners throughout the country. The following provides a brief update on two aspects of the CTA ahead of its effectiveness next week.

The Second Wave of UnitedHealthcare's Prior Authorization Cuts Started in November

In August 2023, UnitedHealthcare released its plan to eliminate roughly one-fifth of its then-current prior authorization requirements. The first round of prior authorization cuts took effect on September 1, 2023. In that round, UnitedHealthcare eliminated the necessity for some prior authorizations for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage, UnitedHealthcare commercial, UnitedHealthcare Oxford and UnitedHealthcare Individual Exchange plan members. The second and final round of prior authorization cuts began on November 1, 2023. The November 2023 Prior Authorization Cuts apply to the same plans as well as community plans (i.e., Medicaid managed care plans).