Construction disputes are claims among owners, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers over payment, scope, change orders and delays. On commercial projects in Texas, many are decided in arbitration under the contract, and a missed statutory notice deadline can decide a claim before anyone reaches the merits.
We represent contractors, subcontractors and owners in these disputes. Our construction industry page covers construction contracts. Many are resolved through negotiation or mediation before a final hearing, though that is never assured.
Unpaid progress payments, retainage and prompt payment interest.
Enforcing and challenging mechanic's liens and payment bond claims.
Disputes over extra work, unsigned change orders and pricing.
Claims for schedule delays, acceleration and the costs they cause.
Texas law sets payment deadlines and late-payment interest on private construction projects, and a separate law does the same for public ones.
Texas mechanic's lien law has been substantially revised, and which version applies can depend on when the original contract was signed. On a commercial project, a subcontractor or supplier generally must send notice of an unpaid claim and later file any lien affidavit, each by a strict deadline, and missing one can forfeit the lien. On public projects, the usual remedy is a claim on the prime contractor's payment bond.
Texas law limits pay-if-paid clauses on most commercial building projects. A general contractor can't rely on one when its own failure to perform caused the nonpayment or when enforcement would be unconscionable, and the clause can't defeat a valid lien. A subcontractor still unpaid a set period after a proper payment request can send a written objection. Once the objection takes effect, the clause can't be enforced for later work until the subcontractor is paid. Pay-when-paid clauses that only set a reasonable time for payment aren't restricted the same way.
On a private project, a contractor or subcontractor may decline owner-directed extra work without a fully signed change order once the unsigned work exceeds a set percentage of its original contract amount. Delay claims depend on the contract's notice requirements, any limits on delay damages and a schedule record tying each delay to its cause. We present these claims in court or in arbitration, whichever the contract requires.
Lien, bond and contract notice deadlines come first, since a missed one can forfeit a claim.
Contracts, change orders, pay applications, schedules and daily logs.
Notices go out in the form the statute or contract requires.
We present the claim in the forum the contract requires.
Have a question that isn't answered here? Call us at (817) 631-8842 or send a message.
Ask a QuestionTexas prompt payment law generally gives the owner a deadline to pay after receiving a properly submitted written payment request, and gives the contractor its own deadline to pay each subcontractor its share after being paid. Late payments accrue interest at a rate set by statute. An owner may withhold amounts that are in good-faith dispute.
On a private commercial project, a contractor or subcontractor that hasn't received an undisputed payment on time can suspend work after giving written notice to the owner, and sometimes the owner's lender, and waiting a set period. Public contracts carry a similar right. A suspension without proper notice can become a breach of contract claim.
Many contracts let the owner or general contractor hold back part of each payment until the work is finished. Separately, Texas lien law requires an owner on a private project to hold back part of the contract price for a set period after the work is completed. Unpaid retainage claims have their own short notice deadline.
Read the subcontract's payment and notice terms, then calendar the lien or bond notice deadlines, which run from when the work was done. If the general contractor relies on a pay-if-paid clause, send a written objection once the statute allows it.
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