The Texas Supreme Court recently provided new guidance in interpreting force majeure language in an oil and gas drilling dispute. In Point Energy Partners Permian, LLC v. MRC Permian Company, the court held that the oil and...more
5/10/2023
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
New Guidance ,
Oil & Gas ,
TX Supreme Court
In Texas, many master service agreements (MSAs) related to the oil and gas industry typically contain provisions related to mandatory minimum insurance coverage and indemnity obligations. The Texas Supreme Court recently held...more
As of September 1, 2021, in a change to Texas caselaw that had been in place for over a century, Texas contractors now have protection in certain circumstances from liability for defective plans and specifications provided to...more
11/12/2021
/ Architects ,
Construction Project ,
Contractors ,
Design Defects ,
Engineering ,
New Legislation ,
Property Owners ,
Standard of Care ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Texas ,
TX Supreme Court
Suppliers of construction products and materials frequently find that their products and materials are used in projects located in states where the supplier may not have an office, factory, or production facility. Some...more
As an ever-increasing amount of contract negotiation and execution is done online, new legal issues have arisen from such transactions. Consider the following scenario:
You are a general/prime contractor. You have a...more
6/17/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Data Security ,
Dispute Resolution ,
E-Signatures ,
Electronic Communications ,
General Contractors ,
Online Contracts ,
Subcontractors
The next state in our series exploring non-compete agreements is the Magnolia State, Mississippi. Unlike Texas and Louisiana, Mississippi’s noncompete laws are purely creatures of the common law. Mississippi has no statutory...more
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed many of our personal and professional lives. This includes working from home and increased communication by email. During this time, many business decisions will be made through email,...more
In the words of Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr. of the Ninth Circuit, “[w]e have become an arbitration nation.” Nonetheless, arbitration is a creature of contract, and there are limits to what an arbitrator may do. In Aspic...more
7/31/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Arbitrators ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Litigation ,
Due Process ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Subcontractors ,
Vacated
In a 2017 opinion, Xia v. ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Company, the Washington State Supreme Court analyzed whether an insurer breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing in refusing to defend its contractor insured...more
During a construction project, circumstances may arise that lead a general contractor to consider termination of a subcontractor’s right to proceed under the subcontract. The Randy Kinder Excavating v. J.A. Manning...more
11/2/2018
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Damages ,
Delays ,
General Contractors ,
Materiality ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts ,
Suppliers ,
Termination for Default ,
Unpaid Wages ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Wrongful Termination
The Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) retained Merrick Construction, LLC (“Merrick”) to perform work on a hurricane protection levee near New Orleans, Louisiana. The contract between the Corps and Merrick contained...more
MT Højgaard A/S (Respondent) v E.ON Climate & Renewables UK Robin Rigg East Limited, involved the construction of foundation structures for an offshore wind farm. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom analyzed whether a...more