Dallas Austin

The Texas Legislature went into Session on January 14th until June 2nd.  There are numerous bills filed which have a general interest such as ad valorum tax revisions and school finance.  This review of recently filed bills will focus on potential legislation which could be of interest to the construction industry. Administrative Law  HB 606 – De Novo Review and Interpretation of State Laws and Agency Rules by Reviewing Court Judges Summary: HB 606, filed by Rep. Brian Harrison (R – Midlothian), would require a judge or administrative law judge (ALJ) to interpret a statute, rule, or ot

What if you or your company are arbitrating a dispute and the need arises to join parties or individuals who are not parties to the contract that got you into arbitration in the first place or have downstream contracts without arbitration provisions or otherwise conflicting dispute resolution provisions? Texas courts have addressed exactly how to join a non-signatory to an arbitration, though the likelihood of success depends. Generally, only the signatories to an arbitration agreement are bound by the agreement. A corporate relationship is generally not enough to bind a non-signatory to an ar

The California fires and the tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration, both occurring in the first quarter of 2025, will have profound impacts on the construction industry. How can you brace for the coming storm of highly variable costs for labor and materials? As Hurricane Katrina and the COVID-19 pandemic taught us, natural disasters can cause immense disruptions to the construction supply chains. In 2005, Katrina caused significant disruptions in the supply of petroleum-based products, drywall, and other construction materials. And, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a reduced work force and

In the ongoing interpretation of the Monroe factors that allow, under limited circumstances,  extrinsic evidence to be introduced in determining whether an insurer owes a duty to defend, yet another court has determined that such evidence was inadmissible under the specific facts of the case. In Hudson Excess Insurance Company v. Flipp Oilfield Services, LLC and Joshua Galatas, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas held that extrinsic evidence was not admissible in determining whether an insurer owed a duty to defend its insured in a lawsuit brought by the insure

Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which went into effect on January 1, 2024, many U.S. business owners are required to file corporate transparency reports with beneficial ownership information. But the CTA is currently on hold. Why and what impact does the pause have on you? The CTA, enacted by Congress in 2021, requires many companies formed or operating in the United States to report information about their beneficial owners to Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which will store this sensitive information in a secure, confidential database. The Department

Does the Texas Prompt Pay Act (PPA), requiring prompt payment of contractors involved in construction projects, apply to construction of a natural gas facility intended to extract propane, butane and other natural gas liquids (NGLs) in a midstream capture process? The Houston Court of Appeals, First District, in Arrow Field Services, LLC v. Linde Engineering North America, Inc, recently held, no. Arrow Field Services, LLC (Arrow) is a midstream company located in North Dakota which acquires and processes natural gas to extract NGLs. Linde Engineering North America, Inc. (Linde) provides constr

In November, 2024, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in Houston dismissed two lawsuits filed by several insurance companies against Zachry Holdings Inc. and its joint venture partners, ruling that the waiver of subrogation clause in the construction contract barred the lawsuits, robbing the insurers of standing to sue. Shortly after Zachry filed bankruptcy in May 2024, the insurers filed the lawsuits arising out of a June 2022 explosion at the LNG Freeport liquified natural gas facility located on the Gulf of Mexico. According to a report issued by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Admini