Category Archives: Construction Law

Jacob Thomas, a top-rated construction litigation attorney with Saunders, Walsh & Beard, weighs in on residential construction defect claims with Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Mr. Thomas has been recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers every year since 2015.

CAN I SUE MY HOME BUILDER FOR SHODDY WORKMANSHIP?
Construction liability when weather causes damage based on defects

By Super Lawyers staff
Whether you are building a brand new home or undertaking major renovations, you will be required to put a tremendous amount of faith into the hands of a construction company. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, contractors can fail to live up to their end of the bargain; in turn, poor workmanship and construction defects cause serious problems.

As stressful and frustrating as dealing with a construction defect is for a homeowner, there are legal options available. Yes, negligent construction companies can be held liable for property defects.

How to Hold a Builder Liable for Poor Workmanship

Under the Texas Residential Construction Liability Act (RCLA), home builders can be held legally liable for damage caused by shoddy workmanship or construction defects. The RCLA provides very important legal protections to homeowners, property owners and real estate developers. Among other things, it gives them the right to sue for poor workmanship.

“Anytime a potential client calls me that has anything to do with residential construction, it’s the first thing I consider,” says Jacob D. Thomas, a construction litigation attorney at Saunders, Walsh & Beard in McKinney. “It’s the carrot and the stick. From the contractor’s perspective, it’s supposed to prevent people from running to the courthouse and filing a lawsuit. It gives the contractor an opportunity to inspect and make an offer of settlement. For the homeowner, if the contractor is a stand-up guy and is going to follow the law, it gives them a basis on which to communicate. It benefits both parties.”

The RCLA establishes a number of different procedural requirements that plaintiffs must meet prior to initiating a defect construction claim. Before a Texas homeowner or other party can file a lawsuit against a contractor under the RCLA, they must give the defendant (the construction contractor) at least 60-days’ notice.

After receiving an official construction defect notice, the responsible contractor will then have 35 days to conduct an inspection of a homeowner’s property. And after completing their inspection, they can make a written settlement offer to the homeowner. A settlement could include an agreement to conduct repairs, financial compensation, or some combination of both. However, if no agreement can be reached, the homeowner will then have the right to file a lawsuit.

“I’m of the opinion that the RCLA is actually quite beneficial for the homeowner,” says Thomas. “It very clearly sets out what kind of efforts need to be taken in advance, what needs to be in the demand letter, how it needs to be sent to the contractor. It creates a map to guide you through the initial process.”

Construction Defect Claims are Subject to Strict Deadlines

If you discovered a possible construction defect in your home, it is imperative that you take immediate action to protect your rights. The sooner you discuss your case with a Texas construction law attorney, the better off you will be. One of the most challenging things about construction defect claims is navigating the filing deadlines. In most cases, construction defects are not obvious to the naked eye. It is often years before a homeowner even has a chance to recognize the problem.

In Texas, plaintiffs must deal with both the statute of limitations and the statute of repose. Under the statute of repose, all construction defect claims in Texas must be filed within ten years of the date that the work was ‘substantially completed’. However, that is not the only relevant legal deadline. The statute of limitations also requires Texas homeowners to file a poor workmanship claim within two years of the date that they knew or should have known about the defect.

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Original Post Found Here: https://www.superlawyers.com/texas/article/can-i-sue-my-home-builder-for-shoddy-workmanship/ad9e2621-1c98-49a4-94b0-ea96318e021f.html

 

 

I was honored to spend the day at the Texas State Capital on February 27, 2019 for Roofing Day. It was a great experience meeting with those who make our system of government work in Texas and spending time with so many of my hard-working friends in the roofing and restoration community–true professionals passionate about the contributions they make to their communities. I met with various representatives regarding the roofer registration bill proposed by RCAT and NTRCA this legislative session. S.B. No. 1168, submitted by Senator Zaffirini, and H.B. No. 2101, submitted by Representative Capriglione, both propose registration of reroofing contractors as a means of vetting restoration contractors seeking to sell their services following a hail or wind event. Please join us in supporting this consumer-friendly legislation. You can visit https://www.saferoofsovertexas.com/ for more information.

Texas Property Code 41.007 includes two important requirements for contractors who perform work on existing residential property, (i.e., repairs and remodels):
1. If you the contractor want to require a homestead property owner arbitrate their dispute with you, that requirement must be in 10 point bold font.
2. A residential renovation/remodeling contract must also contain the following provision, also in 10 point bold font: “IMPORTANT NOTICE: You and your contractor are responsible for meeting the terms and conditions of this contract. If you sign this contract and you fail to meet the terms and conditions of this contract, you may lose your legal ownership rights in your home. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND DUTIES UNDER THE LAW.”

Not sure if these provisions apply to you or whether you need to incorporate them in your own contract? Check with your attorney or reach out to one of the construction lawyers here at Saunders Walsh & Beard for help with this or any other construction-related questions you may have.

What are consequential damages and why do they matter? To understand consequential damages, you have to first understand direct damages. Direct damages are those that you’d typically think of as damages for breach of the duties one party owes another. On a breach of contract claim, they would include the cost to complete a project, to repair faulty work, and added supervision costs incurred because a project takes longer to complete. Or if you were in a car accident, direct damages would include repair costs to your car or medical bills for injuries sustained in the accident.

On the other hand, consequential damages (sometimes called special or indirect damages) are additional damages beyond those arising directly from the defendant’s actions or inactions. Direct damages are paid to reimburse a plaintiff for something the defendant was supposed to, but failed to do. Additional loss the plaintiff incurs as a result of the defendant’s breach, outside of plaintiff’s original duties to defendant, are consequential damages. For a breach of contract claim they might include the lost profits of unrelated Project B that you had to pass up because the defendant kept you from finishing Project A on time. Those lost profits—if you could prove them—would be consequential damages. In our car accident scenario, you might have been on your way to an interview for a great new job at a significantly higher salary you missed out on because of the accident. Again, if you could prove you would have been offered the job, you could potentially recover your lost wages.

In Texas, consequential damages are recoverable unless waived by the party who would otherwise have the right to assert them. These waivers can be one way. i.e. only one party to the agreement is waiving their right to consequentials, or they can be two-way waivers so that both parties are waiving their right to consequentials. Whether and how to construct the waiver is a decision that should be made with your attorney, although generally speaking, limiting one’s exposure to costly and a wide-ranging array of potential damages is a good thing.

There are good and bad people in most all fields, construction included. Occasionally hard lessons are learned regarding large upfront deposits and work not completed by unscrupulous contractors who take the money and run. Civil actions against them can be like pouring good money after bad. For those who get taken by unscrupulous contractors in Tarrant County, there may be another tool to seek justice.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2018/11/25/change-tarrant-county-prosecutors-going-after-home-contractors-dont-finish-job