Dallas Austin

The El Paso Court of Appeals recently broadened the horizon of liability for contractors who work with the Texas Department of Transportation (TexDOT) to construct or repair roads. In A.S. Horner v. Rafael Navarrette, the El Paso court took on an issue of first impression under Texas law: Does Texas law extinguish liability for TexDOT contractors only during the construction process, or does it limit their liability after construction is completed, too? The case arose from an accident which injured Navarrette, a fire-fighter and paramedic who responded to an accident one night in El Paso. Nava

The year of 2020 had employers learning and re-learning their protocol for safety in their offices and job environments. Unfortunately, it looks like 2021 will be similar. On June 4, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its guidance as to COVID-19 vaccine requirements in the work-place. EEOC provided clarification regarding employer-required mandatory vaccinations, employer and third-party provided vaccine incentives, and confidentiality of employees’ vaccination information. However, there are still questions surrounding employers offering employees vaccin

In landmark legislation that seeks to reverse over 100 years of Texas case-law, the 2021 Texas Legislature passed CSSB 219 which relieves construction contractors from having responsibility for defects caused by design professionals.  The Bill states, “A contractor is not responsible for the consequences of design defect in and may not warranty the accuracy, adequacy, sufficiency, or suitability of plans, specifications, or other design documents provided to the contractor…” The Bill also specifically prohibits the responsibility for the design of a project to be shifted from the design

The arbitration process is one that is commonly encouraged as a means to resolve disputes. It is touted as being less expensive and quicker than litigating in court and presided over by arbitrators who are experts in the area of law governing the dispute. Texas law favors arbitration.  However, a party seeking to compel another to arbitration must establish the existence of an agreement to arbitrate and show that the claims asserted fall within the scope of that agreement. As the Mainthia Technologies, Inc. v. Recruiting Force, LLC case out of the Third Court of Appeals shows, it is not enoug

The numbers are jaw-dropping. Steel mill prices have increased nearly 25% over the past 3 months.  Softwood lumber prices have increased nearly 100% over the past 12 months.  Manufacturers and suppliers have started increasing inventories of raw materials to moderate future price shocks, further constraining supply and increasing prices. Whether the increases in construction materials are due to disruptions in the supply chain arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the blockage of the Suez Canal, or old-fashioned price gauging, performing a fixed price contract when material prices surge can le

If you have not heard the term “smart contract” before, go ahead and add it to your list of technology buzzwords. In a similar vein to the technologies discussed in our recent blog on cryptocurrency, this is an emerging technology that is a sort of self-executing contract poised to increase overall project efficiency by cutting out the “middle man” (i.e., humans) upon completion of certain conditions. Before getting into more detail, perhaps the most important question is why should you care about smart contracts? Construction is an ever-changing, competitive industry whose players are

Can a policyholder sue its insurance company for negligently settling a claim when there is no judgment or settlement in excess of the policy limit? The short answer, based on the Supreme Court of Texas’s ruling in In Re Farmers Texas County Mutual Insurance Company, Realtor on April 23, 2021, is no. In In Re Farmers, Gary Gibson sued Cassandra Longoria, the policyholder, for personal injury and property damages resulting from a car accident that Longoria caused. Longoria’s insurance company, Farmers, hired an attorney to defend her in the lawsuit. Before trial, the case settled for $350,0