Dallas Austin

Texas public policy has long favored freedom of contract. By in large, Texas courts will uphold what the parties bargained for in the contract. Of course, the parties negotiating the contract are in the best position to allocate risk as they see fit. However, there are several Texas statutes that cannot be waived or otherwise altered, thereby overriding, to some extent, the parties’ freedom of contract. A few notable examples of such “statutory overrides” impacting the construction industry are discussed below. Shortening the Statute of Limitations Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies

In a recent opinion, the Texas Supreme Court reaffirmed the law school warhorse of Hadley v. Baxendale, an 1865 case from England, holding that consequential damages must be foreseeable to be recoverable.  In Signature Industrial Services v. International Paper Co., the principal issue was whether Signature Industrial Services (Signature) was entitled to recover consequential damages for breach of a construction contract. Signature had a contract with International Paper (IP) to upgrade a slaker—a large vessel that recycles chemicals used to make paper—at IP’s paper mill in Orange, Texa

Change orders should be handled properly because they can result in payment disputes, can negatively impact a project’s schedule, and can potentially spark litigation. If you are dealing with change orders in your projects, it is important to properly follow the change order procedure if your construction contract specifies one. Failing to adhere to the process can result in you not getting paid and potentially, a costly lawsuit. Every year, there are numerous disputes that arise in connection with change orders. As with most disagreements, many of those disputes could have been avoided if a

What is the distinction between pay-if-paid and paid-when-paid clauses in construction contracts?  From both a payment and legal perspective, much larger than you might think. Often included in the payment provisions in construction contracts is a clause requiring payment only “if” the general contractor is paid or “when” the general contractor is paid.  The enforceability of pay-if-paid clauses, also called contingent payment clauses, in Florida was the subject of one of our recent blogs. If and when Contingent payment clauses in their simplest form are “if-then” commands.  If

What does a single trolley car lumbering down Main Street in 1907 have in common with a high speed rail travelling at 205 mph between Dallas and Houston 115 years later? When it comes to eminent domain rights in Texas, quite a bit. James Miles owns a 600 acre tract of land in Leon County. The property has been in his family for nearly 100 years. In 2015, Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure, Inc. and Integrated Texas Logistics, Inc. (collectively, “Texas Central”) requested permission to survey Miles’ property for purposes of obtaining a 100-foot right of way for a high-speed trai