Co-author: Stephanie Snyder-Zuasnabar*
In James Construction Group, LLC v. Westlake Chemical Corporation, the Texas Supreme Court clarified the standard necessary to satisfy notice provisions in a construction contract. The Court’s opinion reached two key holdings: (1) substantial compliance is sufficient to satisfy a party’s obligation under a contractual notice requirement; (2) however, if the contract requires written notice, then the notice must be in writing to substantially comply even when there is actual notice. This opinion is important for the construction industry because it clarifies a gray area, and unequivocally enforces contract provisions requiring written notices. This opinion illustrates the importance of complying with notice provisions and the consequences of failing to do so. The owner’s failure to comply with notice provisions deprived it of more than one million dollars in damages awarded by a jury. Continue Reading Texas Supreme Court: Actual Notice Does Not Satisfy Written Notice Requirement
So you want to be a public construction contractor in Texas? First you need to know are the rules—and there are a lot of them. There are statutory procurement regimes for different types of public work, different agencies, and different project delivery methods. Different criteria and standards are used to evaluate all of them. 
Every company, no matter the industry, relies on its name and reputation to develop customers and generate revenue. Think about the brands that dominate American culture such as Nike, Wal-Mart, Amazon or McDonald’s, then imagine those businesses without the ability to adequately protect their names, slogans and logos. No doubt the vultures would circle and brand power would most likely become short lived or otherwise diluted to the point of non-existence. The construction industry is not exempt, and the industry leaders benefit from identifiable names and logos, built over years of reputation and brand building. While the tools necessary to protect your company’s brand exist at the state and federal level, many business owners or leaders are unfamiliar with the trademark process and unaware of the consequences of not utilizing those tools. 
One the most litigated or disputed issues in construction is that of the change order. Almost every experienced contractor has dealt with either defending against or pursing change orders relating to additional work, time and costs since owners asking for extra or changed work in the midst of a lump sum project is not an unusual occurrence. But, what happens when the owner thinks that the work is already within the scope of the project and won’t approve a change order to pay more? 
Since arriving in the United States the Coronavirus pandemic has taken a devastating toll on nearly every aspect of our economy. Industries such as construction have faced 
