If you have been around Texas construction in the past decade, you’ve no doubt heard about a foreman shopping his crew around. You’ve probably worried about a key superintendent or project manager taking his skills to your competitor. Maybe you have lost sleep over an estimator with a LinkedIn profile that says he is immediately
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
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
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 new hardships and challenges with workplace safety, material and supply chain logistics, labor shortages, communication and business development. As construction firms continue to weather the financial burdens
My law partner, David Gair, and I recently wrote a paper regarding the energy-efficient commercial building tax deduction (IRC § 179D). The upshot is that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 recently made this deduction permanent. As discussed in much more detail in the paper, 179D allows for a tax deduction of up to $1.80 per
The general prohibition against waiving lien rights under Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code has been written about extensively, and is well known throughout the industry. However, the Construction Trust Fund Act (Ch. 162 of the Texas Property Code) does not contain any such prohibition. From the Act itself, it is not clear whether
COVID-19 is now interrupting and, in some instances, cancelling contracts across the country. While the situation is highly fluid, these business disruptions appear likely to continue and perhaps even worsen in the immediate future. This will significantly affect and perhaps threaten businesses people have worked had to establish. And it will of course impact employees
Texas surety law contains obscure procedural rules that can have outsized consequences. Chapter 43 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code is an important example.
Applicability
This chapter applies to everything that is a “surety” as defined by the statute. The statute’s definition includes “an endorser, a guarantor, and a drawer of a draft that
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.
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.