Doug Shevelow’s practice includes litigation and transactional law pertaining to heavy/highway and other construction issues for owners and contractors. Issues include differing site conditions, implied warranty of plans and specifications, underground utility protection, and bid disputes. He has prepared and negotiated numerous general contractor, construction manager-at-risk and design-build construction contracts for contractors and public and private owners, including a $500 million manufacturing plant, a $320 million hospital project and an $80 million wastewater treatment plant rehabilitation. He also serves as a mediator in construction matters, and has conducted numerous bench and jury trials arising out of construction defects, design defects, and contractor claims for additional payment. Doug has successfully represented construction project owners, contractors and design professionals regarding claims for faulty design, project delays, utility interferences and construction defects.

Doug also has significant experience representing clients against citations issued by OSHA and asserting defenses such as employee misconduct, inapplicability of the cited standard, greater hazard, and non-exposure to the hazard.

Doug is a registered professional engineer in the State of Ohio, having practiced engineering for over twelve years before becoming an attorney. This background helps him quickly understand the sorts of technical issues that often arise while practicing construction law.

Education

Capital University (J.D., summa cum laude, 2004); Order of the Curia

The Ohio State University (B.S., Civil Engineering, 1990)

Distinctions

Listed, The Best Lawyers in America® – Construction Law (2014–2025)

Columbus Lawyer of the Year, The Best Lawyers in America® – Construction Law (2025)

Recognized, ChambersUSA, Construction - Band 2, 2024; Band 3, 2021-2023; Band 4, 2015–2020

Listed, Ohio Super Lawyers (Construction Litigation: Business; Environmental), 2017–2021

Rising Star, Ohio Super Lawyers, 2012–2014

Listed, Legal 500

Recognized, The Ohio Society of Professional Engineers for achieving the highest grade in the state on the 1994 Environmental Engineering Examination for Professional Engineers

Professional Activities

Member, Columbus Bar Association; American Bar Association

Represented a city against an international manufacturer of large-scale wastewater treatment equipment when a tertiary filter did not meet performance expectations

Represented a county against a defunct sewer contractor and its surety, leading to a $3.5 million settlement because of defective and incomplete work

Represented a city against a contractor’s claims of differing site conditions and defective plans on an upland reservoir that covered 100 acres

Represented an international construction manager against a contractor’s claims of negligence, fraud and interference on a project for expanding the headquarters of an international manufacturer

Represented a paving contractor against a city that refused to pay for a price increase caused by an upwards adjustment to the Asphalt Binder Index

Represented a heavy/highway contractor against a highway authority in connection with delay claims on the construction of a service plaza

Defended a sitework contractor in a third-party complaint brought by an engineer after a stormwater collection, conveyance and storage system failed, damaging a parking lot

Represented a public owner in a lawsuit against contractors, sureties and engineers after a roadway pavement subsided above a sanitary sewer installed over ten years prior

Represented a contractor in an Ohio Court of Claims lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Transportation after payment was withheld when pavement rutted prematurely

Represented a public owner in a lawsuit against a contractor when a $14 million surface water treatment plant was delivered over a year late and the contractor made claims for additional payment

Represented a contractor in a lawsuit against a public owner when payment was withheld after a component of the landfill project failed

Represented a County engineer in a lawsuit against a bridge contractor when a dispute arose over the scope of work

Represented a landfill contractor in a lawsuit where the subcontractor made claims for delay damages

Represented an engineer in a matter where the general contractor failed to make payment for surveying and construction inspection services

Served as an arbitrator on several complex construction disputes

Represented a library in connection with faulty restoration design and construction that jeopardized an historic building

Represented a school district against an architect, general contractor and supplier in connection with the failure of a vented nail base roof system

Represented several contractors in bid disputes against public agencies, resulting in the issuance of several temporary restraining orders

Defended a village against a neighboring village's lawsuit regarding conflicting service area claims

News

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Additional Items

• Speaker, “Construction Contracting Pitfalls: Key Contract Terms and What They Mean,” OHA Education Summit (June 2024)