Texas Construction Law Blog

On June 1, 2025, the Texas legislature passed HB 40, and Governor Greg Abbott signed it on June 21, 2025. The new law helps further define the jurisdiction of Texas’s Business Courts, originally established in 2023. This is an analysis of key changes in the bill, which will take effect on September 1, 2025. With ...

The Texas Legislature is currently in session and is scheduled to adjourn on June 2, 2025. Porter Hedges is actively monitoring any legislation that influences Texas construction law and impacts construction projects, contracts, and legal rights.

Senate Bill 929: Clarifies Lien Deadlines and Priority Dates for ...

Since February 2025, numerous tariffs affecting the construction industry have been announced, imposed, and paused. These tariffs present a problem for parties drafting and negotiating construction contracts—namely how to allocate and address double digit cost increases caused by tariffs. Tariffs may ...

Read our November 2025 Update here

The Texas Business Court is a statewide, specialized trial court created to resolve certain complex business disputes. Five of the planned eleven divisions began operating September 1, 2024, with two appointed judges in each division. Now that the Texas Business Court is up and ...

If you ask owners, general contractors, or subcontractors how long the warranty lasts that they received or gave on a construction project, they will often tell you that they have a “one year warranty.” However, if the parties used a standard construction contract form such as those from the American Institute ...

When entering into construction contracts, the question of which state’s laws will govern is a pivotal consideration. Choice of law has real-world implications for how construction disputes are resolved. Different states have varying laws on contract interpretation, remedies, and liability. For instance ...

While change orders are widely viewed as a mechanism to increase the contract price in a construction contract, sophisticated players understand that change orders can and should be used to manage claims. 

From the owner’s perspective, change orders are often used to finalize compensation and delay days for ...

In construction disputes, owners typically deal with defects within the scope of work of the subcontractor or vendor by pursuing claims directly against the general contractor. The owner, however, may consider pursuing claims directly against a subcontractor or vendor under certain circumstances.

Potential ...

Coordination between the Owner-Architect Agreement and the Owner-Contractor Agreement is crucial for any successful project. In particular, the parties may overlook the provisions related to an Initial Decision Maker (“IDM”). When the fight breaks out, there are usually conflicting claims whether the ...

The construction industry is a cornerstone of Texas’s robust economy, and timely payments are critical for maintaining the health of this sector. To ensure that contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers are paid promptly for their work, Texas has implemented the Texas Prompt Payment Act (“the Act”)