Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Construction Law CLE on Texas Payment Statutes

A little self-promotion from the Texas Construction Law Blogger:

On Thursday, February 5th at 12:00 noon, Walker M. Duke will be presenting the Continuing Legal Education program "Three Payment Statutes Every Construction Lawyer Should Know" to the Construction Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association at the Belo Mansion, 2101 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas.

The presentation will discuss three statutes that relate to payment issues in the construction industry. First is the Texas Prompt Payment to Contractors and Subcontractors Act. This Act is useful for attorneys to know because it provides some guidance to a common scenario—a subcontractor has not been paid on a job and does not know whether to walk off the job for nonpayment or continue and hope for the best.

The second statute is the Texas Construction Trust Fund Act. This statute covers how construction funds and loan receipts should be handled. Construction law attorneys should be aware of the requirements of this statute because failure to meet its requirements can result in criminal penalties, in addition to civil liability.

The third topic is Texas lien laws. Liens can be a powerful tool for builders and contractors to encourage payment for services rendered and goods provided. However, they are fairly technical and must meet the strict requirements of the Texas Property Code. Failure to comply with these requirements, including deadlines (that are often blown by contractors before they call their lawyer), prevents proper perfection of the lien, and could result in a sizeable liability for wrongfully filing a lien.

For more information, contact Walker Duke at (214) 891-8040 or the Dallas Bar Association at (214) 220-7400.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the information!