Jason Cagle -
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
An appeals court recently agreed with an insurance company that coverage was properly denied because its policyholder did not present enough evidence showing how much damage occurred during the period covered by its insurance policy. This opinion could have broader implications for project owners and contractors, who may need to make insurance claims for damage […]
...read moreJason Cagle -
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
The First District Court of Appeals in Houston recently enforced a liquidated-damage provision. The opinion analyzes whether the liquidated damages constituted an unenforceable “penalty” under Texas law. A liquidated-damage provision permits a party enforcing a contract to recover damages based on an amount or formula agreed upon in advance. However, the breaching party may invalidate […]
...read moreJason Cagle -
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
The Texas Supreme Court recently declined to look beyond an agreement’s clear language to trigger one party’s obligations. This was despite the other party’s insistence that pre-contract negotiations proved that the obligations had to be triggered. As a result, the other party did not get the performance that it thought was included in its bargain. […]
...read moreIan Fullington -
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
In Texas, the 85th Legislature enacted several important pieces of legislation relevant to construction. Overall, only 18.3% or 1,211 total bills, passed the Texas Legislature and 50 bills were vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Among other budgetary items, funding for schools was reduced by approximately $1.1 billion and about $2 billion was taken from highway […]
...read moreAaron Capps -
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
In Thomas v. Miller, the lack of a written contract became the focal point of the dispute. Leorris Thomas verbally agreed to sell two acres of land to the Millers in exchange for payment of the amount remaining on Thomas’s mortgage. The Millers paid Thomas’s mortgage from 2004 to 2010 and made improvements to the […]
...read moreKeith Heath -
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Construction contracts often “incorporate by reference” other documents that provide additional terms or further define a party’s obligations. However, the specificity required when describing the document differs depending on whether the document has been executed by the parties. As discussed in a recent case, if the parties execute the document to be incorporated, courts apply […]
...read moreIan Fullington -
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
A construction project’s owner sued the general contractor for breach of contract after the four-year limitations period expired. The owner claimed that it had discovered issues with the contractor’s work, including improperly installed interior doors at exterior locations and the use of incorrect flooring materials. The owner argued that the “discovery rule” tolled the limitations […]
...read moreJP Neyland -
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
The parties to a dispute entered into an informal written settlement agreement, which contemplated execution of a more-formal settlement agreement later. The informal settlement agreement stated that “any disagreement result[ing] from negotiation and completion of this documentation” would be submitted to arbitration. One party argued the informal settlement agreement was wholly unenforceable because it was […]
...read moreJP Neyland -
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
An employee had a dispute with his employer arising out of personal injuries on a worksite. The employer’s written Dispute Resolution Policy contained an arbitration provision. The employee asserted the arbitration provision was unenforceable because the employer was permitted to modify or terminate Dispute Resolution Policy at its sole discretion. As a result, the employee […]
...read moreNick Brooks -
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
The president of a builder signed a contract, but (1) neglected to put the full legal name of his business in the signature block and (2) a provision of the contract stated that “the obligations under this agreement are also a personal obligation of the builder representative signing below.” After the builder defaulted, the owner […]
...read more