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March 19, 2021 marks one year since Governor Abbott’s first Emergency Order relating to social distancing and business shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. To say a lot has happened over the last 12 months may be the understatement of the very young decade . Add an historic snow and ice storm that impacted the entire State in mid-February, 2021 and you can get the feeling we are reenacting the story of Exodus, ten plagues and all. However, for members involved in the design and construction industry, the exodus has largely been to, not from, Texas.  While some Texas-based or Texas-he

Since his inauguration on January 21, 2021, President Joe Biden has signed over 30 executive orders.  Of particular note, President Biden signed two important COVID-19-related orders within a day of being sworn into office.  Those orders were issued to try to curb the spread of COVID-19 by mandating mask-wearing on Federal property, airports, planes, buses, and trains. The first of the two orders, Executive Order 13991, requires all heads of executive departments and agencies to require compliance with CDC guidelines regarding nose/mouth coverings, maintaining physical distances, and other p

Britney Spears probably did not envision that title of her most famous song would apply with equal vigor to love (her interpretation) and contract provisions requiring mediation as a condition precedent to filing arbitration (our interpretation).  A recent case from the Houston Court of Appeals styled Mark S. Burke, et al. v. J.B. Roberson, Jr., et al. shows how many times a party may have to do it (arbitration) again when it fails to fulfill a mediation condition precedent in the contract. A “binding dispute resolution” clause is found in most standard form construction contracts.  It o

One day after he was inaugurated, President Joe Biden followed through on a campaign promise to labor unions by ordering the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to begin the process of developing COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for employers. OSHA responded by issuing new non-binding guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. Any potential ETS that OSHA deems necessary must be adopted by March 15th. If OSHA chooses to issue ETS, the standards would take effect immediately and last no longer than six months, unless they are event

Developers, owners, designers, contractors, and every other member of the construction industry spend enormous amounts of time negotiating risk transfer mechanisms.  Endless hours and pixels are dedicated to lengthy indemnity, additional insured, and waiver of subrogation provisions.  And while those clauses are an important part of most every contract in the industry, they only go so far.  An equally important and often overlooked risk transfer mechanism is a properly drafted scope of work.  This includes not just what’s in, but also what’s out. A.    You’re either in… Scopes of

Payment – often one of the most negotiated provisions in prime contracts and subcontracts and therefore a common claim in litigation. Getting paid and paid timely is of critical significance to contractors. If a project owner does not pay its general contractor timely, it will have massive consequences to project morale and may end up creating payment claims that might substantially delay the project. If the parties cannot reach resolution and depending on the payment provisions of the prime contract or subcontract – including any withholding or offset provisions, contractors can seek reco

Several pieces of legislation were passed and signed into law at the end of 2020 as part of the second round of COVID-19 stimulus relief. One of those laws was the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA 2021) which extends some of the relief offered under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). While not as extensive as FFCRA, employers can offer some additional benefits to employees while still receiving the tax benefits allowed under FFCRA. There are limitations on time and scope that employers should study before deciding whether to offer the additional benefits allowed under CCA