Construction Industry

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Introduction. The San Antonio Court of Appeals has held that a property owner’s personal injury premises defect claim sounded in negligence rather than premises liability, even though the injuries were not caused by a contemporaneous activity of the contractor allegedly at fault. Arredondo v. Techserv Consulting & Training, Ltd., 567 S.W.3d 383 Tex. App.—San…

In Texas, a plaintiff filing a lawsuit pertaining to a construction project for damages arising out of the provision of services by licensed design professionals such as architects or engineers, must file an affidavit by a competent expert with the lawsuit supporting the claims against these professionals. Otherwise, the lawsuit will be dismissed.

This issue…

The Texas Supreme Court has finally put to rest the question of whether the implied warranty to repair or modify tangible goods or property in a good and workmanlike manner can only be brought by a consumer under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) or whether it can be brought under the common law…

Introduction. In Lyda Swinerton Builders, Inc. v. Oklahoma Sur. Co., 16-20195, 2018 WL 4113795 (5th Cir. Aug. 29, 2018), the United States Firth Circuit Court of Appeals had to decide whether a subcontractor’s commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance policy covered the defense of the general contractor named as an additional insured under the…

Is contractual privity required for an owner to sue a builder for defective workmanship?

Construction defect lawsuits often involve claims against multiple defendants since the typical construction project involves work performed for the owner by a general contractor who in turn hires multiple subcontractors to perform the work.  But what happens when the original owner…

Owners often require general contractors they hire to perform construction services to agree to waive their rights to recover delay damages.  General contractors in turn require their subcontractors to agree to the same.  When a contractor’s work is significantly delayed by others, this can result in catastrophic financial losses to the contractor.

Fortunately, the Texas…