Dallas Austin

Under Texas premises liability statute, Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, when does a property owner have “actual knowledge” of a danger or condition that causes damages for which it is liable? The Texas Supreme Court case recently provided some guidance. In John Paniagua, et. al. v. Weekley Homes, Weekley hired Leobardo Maravilla, an independent contractor, to install siding and perform cornice work on townhomes in a residential development in Dallas. Leobardo’s work crew included his brother Jose Camerino Maravilla and John Paniagua. The project worksite includ

In footnote 71 of the titular construction law case Zachry Construction Corp. v. Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, which primarily focused on the enforceability of no damages for delays clauses, the Texas Supreme Court wrote: “Delay damages are consequential damages.” The Court then left it at that, with no more discussion or analysis of why it considered delay damages to be consequential damages. Therefore, whether or not delay damages are actually consequential damages or are in fact direct damages is still less than clear. There are arguments going in both directions and given

What constitutes “property damage” that would invoke an insurer’s obligation to indemnify under a commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy? In TIG Ins. Co. v. Woodsboro Farmers Cooperative, the 5th Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals, looking to the Texas Supreme Court opinions in U.S. Metals and Lamar Homes, provided some guidance in construction defect disputes. Woodsboro Farmers Cooperative (Woodsboro) contracted with E.F. Erwin, Inc. (Erwin) to construct two, 105-foot diameter grain silos. Erwin hired a subcontractor, AJ Constructors, Inc. (AJC), to construct the silo

Who is entitled to protection, including overtime pay, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”)? In Guillermo Gray v. Killick Group, LLC, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals recently held that a welding inspector was properly characterized as an independent contractor and not entitled to overtime or any other protections or benefits of the FLSA. How did the Court reach its decision? Guillermo Gray, a welding inspector, sued Killick Group, LLC (“Killick”) alleging that Killick violated the FLSA by not paying him wages and overtime. The suit was originally brought in state court but

Artificial intelligence has made large inroads into various aspects of construction management, but has seemingly made less progress with on-site quality assurance and control measures. What research is being conducted on finding non-conformities or construction defects in real-time to avoid expensive, protected litigation after final completion? We take a deep dive. Reinforcing steel does not scream tech or AI, yet it has received a considerable amount of attention in recent research. To understand why, consider some of the factors and issues concerning installation of reinforcing steel. Stee

What impact does a claim for contractual indemnity have on a Stowers demand? Does paying for a portion of a judgment give standing to an insurer in a subrogation claim for the entirety of the judgment? On appeal of a case we previously reported on, the Fifth Circuit answered these questions in a somewhat surprising fashion. In 2008, Lake Texoma Highport LLC sued Insurance Alliance for failing to procure the requested blanket coverage to insure its marina, which was damaged by heavy rainfall. Insurance Alliance was insured with a $5 million per claim professional liability policy from Westport

Is a contract between an employer and employee to pay the employee a $100,000 bonus for delivering a healthy harvest of 1,400 pounds of recreational pot enforceable? The Houston Court of Appeals recently held, no. In BRCC Enterprises LLC v. Jesse Skie, Skie sued his employer, BRCC Enterprises LLC, for breach of an oral contract made in Houston under which BRCC agreed to pay Skie a $100,000 bonus upon the healthy harvest of 1,400 lbs. of dry cannabis crop. Skie moved from Houston to Oregon and obtained state licenses to work on a marijuana farm. Among other things, he fenced the two-acre plot,