Texas Construction Law Blog

The Owner and Architect of a Project may sometimes strongly disagree on who should or does own the designs, plans, and specifications that the Owner pays the Architect and its consultants to produce. The meaning of “ownership” is a core part of this argument. This article provides a very basic overview of the ...

Perfecting a performance bond claim in Texas requires careful attention to legal requirements and procedural details set forth on the face of the bond and under Texas law. Perfection of a performance bond claim is often intertwined and complicated by owner concerns over project delays that arise any time a ...

This blog post addresses: (1) steps to be taken, (2) issues to be aware of, and (3) recovery prospects when a general contractor files for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, from the owner’s perspective.

1. The Automatic Stay Prohibits Taking Immediate Adverse Action Against the ...

Although generally known as the “Texas Construction Anti-Indemnity Act,” the sweep of Subchapter C of Chapter 151 of the Texas Insurance Code (the “TCAIA”) is much broader than its name would seem to suggest.[1]  Notwithstanding that the TCAIA only applies where there is a “construction contract,” ...

The Texas legislature has passed House Bill 3485 that may limit owner-directed change orders for owner-directed work. The law takes effect September 1, 2023 for contracts entered into on or after September 1, 2023. The upshot of the bill is that private and governmental owners cannot issue owner-directives (or ...

When an arbitration tribunal issues an award, the first thing parties should do is calculate and calendar their deadlines to seek relief in court. This post discusses one such deadline—the one to file a motion to vacate or modify the award. Both the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and Texas Arbitration Act (TAA ...

Last week, the Texas Supreme Court issued an important case involving governmental immunity in construction contract disputes. The case, Pepper Lawson Horizon International Group LLC v. Texas Southern University, arose out of a project to construct student housing on TSU’s campus.

Background

The project ...

Bonds can play an essential role in protecting owners from the financial risk associated with liens and other contractor claims on Texas construction projects. Two types of commonly used surety bonds are (1) bonds to indemnify against liens, and (2) bonds to pay liens or claims. When and how to utilize these bonds are ...

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) offered several incentives for the construction industry, including an update of the deduction for energy efficient property installed at commercial buildings under Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).  The CHIPS Act of ...

Liquidated damages provisions are commonplace in construction contracts. One would think that given the strong Texas public policy favoring freedom of contract, bargained for liquidated damages would be easily enforceable in litigation. But Texas law on this issue is counterintuitive and can render a ...