Patrick Mulry -
Monday, May 24, 2021
On May 13, the Texas House passed the legislation commonly referred to as the “design defect bill.” The vote in the House was 113-27, again indicating broad bipartisan support for this fundamental change in Texas law. The design defect bill now goes to Governor Abbott for further action. He has the option to sign it, […]
...read morePATRICK MULRY -
Monday, April 12, 2021
The legislation commonly referred to as the “design defect bill” passed the Texas Senate on Thursday, April 8. The vote on Senate Bill 219 was 29-1, indicating that this fundamental change in Texas law has broad bipartisan support. The bill has been forwarded to the House and is expected to be voted on and passed […]
...read moreTatianna Brannen -
Friday, March 26, 2021
The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas recently affirmed that a contractor violates the Prompt Payment Act by paying themselves with funds intended to pay its subcontractors. In this case, the contractor subcontracted with a window supplier to provide windows for a hotel project. The window supplier provided the windows and sent the contractor […]
...read moreMichael Lilly -
Friday, October 23, 2020
You’ve negotiated your Agreement with the Owner and you’ve started to mobilize. The Owner is still trying to close on its construction financing – but they are “close.” You receive a call from the Owner’s representative, the representative says “closing is scheduled for tomorrow, the lender just needs you to sign a document before they […]
...read moreBen Warden -
Friday, April 10, 2020
Time is crucial in every construction project. Delay costs, liquidated damages, back charges, and additional labor hours for slow and untimely completion can ruin profit margins and lead to serious problems down the road. COVID-19, if it hasn’t already, will inevitably create costs and delays, none of which could have been negotiated or realized when […]
...read moreErin Fry -
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Good news for the construction industry in Texas. On March 31, 2020, Governor Abbott signed Executive Order GA 14 which clarifies what services are considered essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A copy of the Executive Order can be found here: https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-14_Statewide_Essential_Service_and_Activity_COVID-19_IMAGE_03-31-2020.pdf Fortunately, various construction activities are now included in the definition of essential services […]
...read moreJason Cagle -
Friday, March 27, 2020
The Texas Supreme Court recently clarified the law governing enforcement of liquidated-damage provisions in contracts. Even if the liquidated-damage provision was enforceable at the time the parties formed the contract, a court still may compare the actual damages suffered to the liquidated damages to determine whether the provision should still be enforced. A liquidated-damage provision […]
...read moreBen Warden -
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
On November 3, 2017, Gerardo Juarez began his first day of work for James Coon Construction. The next day Juarez fell from a roof he was repairing, suffering injuries which later proved fatal. Following the accident, James Coon, owner of Coon Construction, pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and workers’ compensation fraud and was sentenced to […]
...read moreBen Warden -
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Lying to the workers’ compensation authorities in order to reduce premiums can result in criminal charges. On September 5, 2019, Manhattan D.A. and other New York state investigators announced the indictment of unlicensed labor broker Salvador Almonte and insurance broker Steven Asvasadourian on multiple fraud charges after they were caught in a scheme which included […]
...read moreBen Warden -
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
The Supreme Court of Texas has extended protections for property owners to claims for negligent hiring. The case involved an oil field worker who died from injuries he sustained while working on a drill site. His estate sued Endeavor Energy Resources, property owner, claiming Endeavor negligently hired the injured person’s employer. Endeavor argued Chapter 95 […]
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