Dallas Austin

Texas law has recently changed regarding the notices a homeowners association (HOA) must provide to its member homeowners of a lien relating to unpaid assessments. Find out how the law has changed and how those changes may impact the timing of HOAs contracting with design professionals and contractors for property improvements. Most everyone has dealt with a HOAs in one way or another. HOAs often deliver services that are commonly reserved for local government entities like trash pickup, street paving, and lighting. Depending on the community, an HOA may also maintain swimming pools, tennis co

On the heels of many tech industry leaders voicing concern about the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI) and the singularity of AI, President Biden recently signed an Executive Order creating some ground rules for the development, testing and use of AI. The October 30, 2023, Executive Order creates reporting requirements, seeks to protect Americans’ privacy, and seeks to prevent AI from being used for discriminatory purposes. On the reporting side, for example, the Order requires American companies developing any foundation model that poses a serious risk to national se

A jury recently awarded $2.6 million in damages to a highly decorated police officer because of discriminatory behavior premised on her gender and sexual orientation.  How did this happen? Stacey Yerkes, who identifies as gay, filed suit against her employer, the Ohio State Highway Patrol (“OSHP”), where she worked from 1994 to 2018, and four of her direct supervisors. During her employment with OSHP, Yerkes was promoted to Criminal Interdiction Training Sergeant, a special role created for her and her work partner. In this role, Yerkes was tasked with representing OSHP by training law en

Is a city liable for destroying a private residence in the process of releasing a hostage and preventing her captor from inflicting harm to others?  Citing case law from 1788, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held, no. On July 25, 2020, Deanna Cook, was staying at house of her mother, Vicki Baker, in McKinney, Texas, preparing the house for sale.  Baker’s dog was also present at the home. That morning, Cook saw a Facebook post that Wesley Little was on the run with a 15-year-old female “runaway.” Cook recognized Little because he has worked on Baker’s

In August 2023, a California jury awarded $9.5 million for disparate treatment of an employee due to mental health disability. How did this happen? Lowry McCray was initially hired by WestRock Services, a global packaging manufacturer, in 1994. According to McCray, he received positive performance reviews and customer feedback throughout his employment at WestRock. By 2017, when WestRock transferred McCray to its La Mirada warehouse that was operated by a third party company, McCray was a distribution specialist coordinator for the company’s Beverage division. In January 2020, WestRock’s c

On September 23, 2023, a new statute came into effect that will impact general contractors and subcontractors related to a contractor’s right to stop work in the absence of a written change order.  Under Texas Property Code 28.0091, a contractor can decide not to follow an owners or contractor’s construction directive, if: 1.    the contractor or subcontractor has not received a written, fully executed change order for the owner-directed additional work; and 2.    the aggregate actual or anticipated value of the additional work plus any previous owner-directed additional work for whic

Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) insurance policies are the backbone to any contractor’s risk management plan.  One endorsement with a significantly reduced sublimit that is finding its way into more CGL policies issued in Texas is worth a closer look and careful monitoring. Several CGL insurers have begun including endorsements that make coverage subject to having lower tier subcontractors fulfill certain insurance requirements.  In one such endorsement that we recently reviewed for a general contractor, the following subcontractor insurance requirements were listed as conditions