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Very few people in the construction industry saw the novel coronavirus coming or reaching pandemic stage at the time they entered into their contracts.  Now that we are in full pandemic mode, with layers of federal, county and city guidelines or requirements for worksite safety, how does not seeing the pandemic impact your contractual obligations?  1.     Let’s Meet Texas, like most other states, requires proof of certain elements for a legally binding contract to exist.  One of the elements required for contract formation is a meeting of the minds of the contracting parties. What is

What happens when unanticipated delays hit an ongoing project, but the contract does not contain a force majeure clause or an escalation clause? There are times when circumstances frustrate performance to the point where giving up may seem like the only option.  The novel coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic present such circumstances. Frustration of performance, a case-law driven doctrine, may provide some relief.     1.    Finding Futility Frustration of performance is a form of rescission and provides legal excuse for not performing contractual obligations.  It is closely related to �

With the COVID-19 recession clouds gathering on the horizon, understanding your lien rights is more important than ever.  Unfortunately, Texas’ mechanic’s and materialman’s liens create a minefield of procedural and substantive requirements. Among the most commonly detonated mines are confusion over who is an “original contractor”, missing notice and filing deadlines, and failing to properly identify the property being liened.  Common Mistake #1: Confusing Original Contractor and General Contractor An original contractor is not always synonymous with a general contractor, at least

So, what exactly happens when you kiss today goodbye, figuratively of course, in a construction project with a liquidated damages provision?  Although the past few years of critical labor shortages in subcontractor trades have tested the ability to complete projects within the contract time and contract price, the COVID-19 pandemic presents a challenge on a completely different order of magnitude. As construction projects shut down due to illness, manpower shortage, or restrictions on travel, there are a few helpful things to know about liquidated damages clauses. 1.     Liquidated Damages

How do your contracts address delays and financial implications associated with the novel coronavirus and COVID-19?  Is additional time or additional compensation allowed?  Under what circumstances? These are just a few of the questions many professionals in the construction industry have begun asking this week as more counties and cities in Texas impose stay at-home and business cessation orders.  The COVID-19 page of our website contains all the current stay-at-home orders issued by counties and large cities in Texas. To find some answers, we will examine a few common contract provisions