Construction law is NOT boring, at least that’s what I tell my daughters. In these series of posts, I will explore some of the VERY interesting historical facts about construction law that can be used at your next motion hearing, family gathering, social event or fellow lawyer meeting. While these anecdotes may not keep your
Construction Developments
Out with Lonergan, In with Spearin: Texas Legislature Provides Contractors with Limited Protection for Defective Plans and Designs
As of September 1, 2021, in a change to Texas caselaw that had been in place for over a century, Texas contractors now have protection in certain circumstances from liability for defective plans and specifications provided to the contractor by someone else. In the 1907 Texas Supreme Court case Lonergan v. San Antonio Loan &…
You’ve Gotta Fight For Your Right To Get Paid: The Right To Stop Work
A contractor is halfway through the (timely) completion of a project and the owner’s payment is late. Days, weeks go by, and now the contractor is incurring all the costs of the work without any compensation. It might be tempting to simply walk off the job, but bear in mind that legally speaking, that might…
Texas’s Major Lien Law Makeover: What You Need to Know
Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code just received major updates for the first time in years. On June 15, 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law HB 2237. This bill makes many notable changes to Texas’s lien laws. The construction industry and construction lawyers should take note of these changes to the complex and…
Willful Misconduct Defined, How Broad Is That Exception to Your MSA?
In Texas, most Master Service Agreements related to the oil and gas industry provide indemnities based on who or what was injured rather than who caused the injury. For example, the standard knock-for-knock indemnity will provide that an operator will defend and indemnify the contractor for injury to the operator’s employees even if the injury…
Measuring the Long Arm of Texas Courts: When Is an Out-of-State Supplier Subject to Texas Jurisdiction?
Suppliers of construction products and materials frequently find that their products and materials are used in projects located in states where the supplier may not have an office, factory, or production facility. Some suppliers may believe that because they don’t have an office or factory in Texas, they cannot be sued in a Texas court.…
Expansion of Premises Liability for Construction Owners
A property owner is generally liable for hazards on the property that injure others. On construction projects, this presents a significant risk for owners because there are always multiple hazards present, and the owner, generally, has very little control or knowledge of all the work being performed. Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice and…
Quick Thoughts for Construction Contracting: Don’t Overlook the Entities – Part 1
Sometimes the best advice is the advice we already know, but a timely reminder makes all the difference. In this first blog post of the series, the advice is exactly that. Get the right entities on the dotted lines.
You’ve spent weeks negotiating the minutiae of change order procedures, hemming and hawing on completion dates,…
Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right: Unlicensed Contractors Can Pursue Designers for Negligence
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently determined that a builder who fails to comply with state licensing requirements may still pursue a negligence claim against design professionals. In Wright Construction Services, Inc. v. The Hard Art Studio, PLLC, the owner contracted with architecture firm Olive Architecture to develop plans for a mixed-use complex…
The Impact of the 2020 Tennessee Construction Legislation
After a number of controversial bills proposed from various industry groups over the last few years, the Tennessee construction community came together in 2020 to push through legislation intended to protect members of the construction industry. A cornerstone of that attempt was gaining lien priority – or at least parity – with construction lenders, further…