Texas Construction Law Blog | Construction Supplier Defense

What’s Ahead for the Construction Industry in the 86th Texas Legislative Session

By Jeff Leach on January 9th, 2019 Posted in Construction Legislation

For 140 days, starting on Jan. 8, 2019, the 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives and 31 members of the Texas Senate, under the leadership of Governor Greg Abbott, will gather for the 86th Texas Legislative Session. As is often said, when the Texas Legislature is in session – your life, liberty and property are at stake – as new laws, rules, regulations, taxes and fees will be proposed and will receive substantive debate and deliberation before Texas legislators ultimately vote on your behalf.

Most legislators agree that the main issues driving the agenda for the session are public education (including school finance, school safety, workforce development and teacher pay) and property tax relief. Additionally, there is no question that the legislature will spend considerable time on what is sure to be a complicated and challenging state budget cycle. With school finance, healthcare, infrastructure funding and Hurricane Harvey recovery looming large on the horizon, this legislative session will present unique fiscal challenges – and also great opportunities – to ensure Texas remains strong and prosperous.

In terms of “construction” legislation, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, owners, developers, lenders and lawyers all have reason to pay particularly close attention as several important issues have seemed to gain the attention of Texas Legislators. To name a few: Continue Reading

Series LLCs in the Construction Industry: Increasingly Popular Fortresses to Protect Contractor’s Assets

By J.P. Vogel on October 17th, 2018 Posted in Business Management

Originally published in Build Houston magazine.

Co-author: Catherine Chlebowski

The business of construction is a day to day adventure fraught with peril and liabilities dangerous enough to put many construction firms out of business. Given that reality, it is imperative that contractors properly structure the legal entities that provide the fortresses to protect their assets. While most are familiar with the limited liability company (LLC) and limited partnership (LP) set ups, many have no familiarity with series limited liability companies (Series LLC). Continue Reading

Anti-Poaching and Wage-Fixing Agreements: Drawing the Line Between Competitive and Criminal

By Gene Besen on August 5th, 2018 Posted in Business Management, Labor/Workforce

Originally published in Build Houston magazine.

In October 2016, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance identifying poaching agreements and wage-fixing agreements as primary antitrust enforcement targets. In April 2018, DOJ brought the Department’s first enforcement case over illegal anti-competitive employment related agreements.

In a market where skilled labor is in increasingly high demand, and the price of labor continues to rise, scrutiny of employment-related agreements is also on the rise. Industries facing skilled labor shortages are natural targets of DOJ scrutiny, the construction industry is no exception. Continue Reading

Fighting the Four Horsemen of the Workforce Apocalypse

By J.P. Vogel on June 27th, 2018 Posted in Labor/Workforce

Co-author: Michael Kelsheimer
Published in TEXO InFocus Magazine

Since at least 2008, Flood, Fire, Famine and Pestilence have ravaged the construction workforce across America. In the downturn, many workers left the industry never to return. Others left the U.S. and have not returned. Couple that with construction growth, a resistance to training workers who may leave for another dollar an hour, and seeming lack of interest in construction jobs by the current generation now entering the workforce, and you’ve got the makings of a big challenge.

Protect yourself on the contracting side before heading into the storm . . .

Establishing Personal Liability Without a Guaranty

By Joe Virene on June 1st, 2018 Posted in Collection, Construction Contracts

Co-author: Trevor Lawhorn
Published in Build Houston Magazine

When non-payment occurs, suppliers and service providers often first seek relief by suing for breach of contract. Unfortunately, many companies are undercapitalized or otherwise “judgment proof.” A personal guaranty might mitigate this risk by providing an additional target, but guarantees are often difficult to obtain. Even if one is signed, the guarantors may lack assets, perhaps deliberately so. Judgement proof debtors and guarantors are especially frustrating when the case involves misappropriations of construction project funds or wrongful transfers of assets. Texas law provides at least two statutory tort claims in these circumstances: the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (TUFTA) and the Texas Construction Trust Funds Act (the Trust Fund Statute). Continue Reading

Is Your Construction Business Prepared and Protected for ICE Undocumented Worker Audits?

By J.P. Vogel on May 29th, 2018 Posted in Labor/Workforce

Co-author: Michael Kelsheimer
Published on ForConstructionPros.com

Understand and navigate the government’s amplified focus on undocumented workers to protect your business from escalating fines, jail time, delay damages and back-charges

Whatever your political views, undocumented workers and the businesses that knowingly or unknowingly employ them have been under the microscope since President Trump took office in January 2017.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), between Oct. 1, 2017, and May 4, 2018, there were:

2,282 employer audits opened, nearly a 60% jump from the 1,360 audits opened between October 2016 and September 2017,
594 employers arrested on criminal immigration charges, up from 139 during the previous fiscal year, and
610 civil immigration charges, compared to 172 in the preceding 12 months

Section 232 Investigations: What Steel-Consuming Businesses Need to Know

By Alexis Foster on May 11th, 2018 Posted in Steel

In just the first four months of 2018, among a surge in trade complaints filed by domestic steel manufacturers against foreign rivals (a frequency not seen in over 15 years), and after a lengthy investigation by the Secretary of Commerce concluding “that the present quantities and circumstance of steel imports are ‘weakening our internal economy’ and threaten to impair the national security” of the United States, President Trump has issued two presidential proclamations—adjusting the imports of certain steel products by imposing a 25 percent ad valorem tariff (the “Tariffs”) on those steel products from all countries—granted a permanent extension to the Tariffs for South Korea, Argentina, Australia, and Brazil and has extended a final temporary 30 day exemption from the Tariffs to Canada, Mexico and the member countries of the European Union, the United States’ biggest trading partner. Continue Reading

The Storm After the Storm

By J.P. Vogel on March 7th, 2018 Posted in Collection, Construction Contracts

Co-authors: Russell Jumper and Tim Fandrey
Published in Cleaning & Restoration Magazine

Just as the Texas coast assessed the magnitude of Hurricane Harvey’s damage, Hurricane Irma was taking shape in the Atlantic. Fewer than two weeks later, Irma would crash into the Florida Keys. Estimates put Harvey and Irma’s combined impact in excess of $275 billion. No small part of that amount will be required for cleaning and restoration services. Before Irma made landfall, even as Harvey hovered over the Houston area, restoration professionals from around the country arrived along the Texas coast to kick-start Texas’ recovery. For the people who lost their homes, possessions, and even family or friends, the focus turned to recovery. For some of the restoration professionals who helped, and continue to help, a second storm is forming: owner and insurer payment disputes. Like boarding up windows and setting out sandbags, there are some steps cleaning and restoration professionals can take in an effort to minimize the damage from the approaching payment dispute storm. Continue Reading

Protecting Yourself in a Volatile Labor Market

By Joe Virene on February 7th, 2018 Posted in Labor/Workforce

Co-authors: JP Vogel and Tim Fandrey
Published in Build Houston Magazine

Texas is a hot-bed for construction. In 2016, according to the Virtual Builders Exchange, Texas was second only to New York in construction expenditures, spending $44.4 billion. And there is no sign that the proliferation of construction is slowing down. New housing starts are up in Texas as a result of an influx of new employees moving to the area. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that Texas has experienced the largest population growth of any state between 2010 and 2016. This, in turn, increases demand on civil infrastructure thus requiring more construction. This explosion of growth in construction spending has taken place without consideration given to the rebuilding efforts arising from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Continue Reading

A Myth About Delay – Revisited

By Vernon C. Howerton Jr. on November 15th, 2017 Posted in Construction Contracts, Delay Damages

Construction lawyers routinely deal with delay claims. I have presented or defended more of them than I can remember. That is why I was curious when, earlier this year, I received a series of email invitations to presentations on the use of “concurrent delay” as a defense to contractor or owner claims for delay damages on construction projects. I’ve written about the subject in the past and wondered what, if anything, had changed.