Texas Construction Law Blog

While change orders are widely viewed as a mechanism to increase the contract price in a construction contract, sophisticated players understand that change orders can and should be used to manage claims. 

From the owner’s perspective, change orders are often used to finalize compensation and delay days for ...

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 ...

With material cost volatility in the current market, the topic of price escalation clauses is more prevalent. Some material costs are up and other costs are now down. Traditional lump sum contract structures do not take into account price escalation or de-escalation; whereas cost plus structures entirely and ...

Excluding consequential damages has become a regular part of negotiating engineering and construction contracts. A typical clause excludes recovery of indirect, exemplary, and consequential damages for both parties. Beyond these broad categories, there is often little negotiation as to the specific types of ...

On February 17, 2022, the Court of Appeals in El Paso, Texas reversed a summary judgment in favor of a mineral lien subcontractor claimant because, at the time the lien was filed, nothing further was owed under the prime agreement (Pearl Res. Operating Co. LLC v. Transcon Capital, LLC, No. 08-19-00288-CV, 2022 WL ...

Texas Senate Bill 219, which governs liability for construction defects due to flaws in design documents, goes into effect on September 1, 2021. With a few exceptions, the statute will effectively wipe out the Texas Supreme Court’s long-standing Lonergan holding that absent contractual language to the ...

Change orders can quickly become a source of contention on construction projects and are often the subject of major disputes.  As a result, it is important for stakeholders to carefully draft and negotiate the change order and related provisions pre-contract. 

The key portions in a change order clause beyond the ...

Texas law has certain peculiarities which must be followed when a project is located in Texas.  To avoid surprises and unanticipated liability on construction projects, the parties should modify contracts consistent with Texas law—or at least be aware of the limitations that are in place due to certain Texas ...

Owners of construction projects are often surprised to learn that they are required to withhold 10% retainage on private construction projects in Texas. Failure to withhold 10% can result in liability up to that amount.^[1]  Similarly, owners often continue to pay the general contractor after receiving a lien ...

As described by my colleague Sean McChristian in Part 1 of this two-part blog series, planning for hurricane season in Texas is a critical part of mitigating risk in the construction industry. In addition to reviewing force majeure provisions, owners and contractors need to have an understanding of the ...

A recent Texas case clarified that both disruption and delay claims are potentially recoverable against a county pursuant to Texas Local Government Code § 262.007. Under the statute, sovereign immunity is waived to a certain extent against a county in Texas when the county is a party to a construction contract. The ...