The case concerns whether and to what extent architects performing contract or construction administration are responsible to third injured guests by purely construction defects.

Allensworth & Porter drafted an amicus brief in the Austin Court of Appeals on behalf of the Texas Society of Architects and the Texas Council of Engineering Companies, Inc.

Although a three-judge panel of the Austin Court of Appeals initially held that the architect owed a duty to a house guest injured by a construction defect, the entire Court later reversed itself on rehearing, holding that the architect owed no such duty.

If the Supreme Court hears the case, it will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the extent of the legal duties owed by design professionals to the public.

The new statute prohibits broad-form indemnity agreements on construction contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2012.

Under the old statute, construction indemnitor could agree to indemnify each other even for those damages arising solely out of the negligence of the indemnitee.

Under the new statute, such agreements are unenforceable, with some exceptions, the most notable being that construction participants may still agree to indemnify others for any injuries or death to the indemnitor’s employees.

The new clause will fundamentally change the way risk is allocated on construction projects, and construction industry participants are encouraged to discuss with their attorneys how to best protect themselves in this shifting legal environment.

Questions?  Contact Will Allensworth.

The amendment removed a controversial provision which permitted plaintiffs to join defendants to law suits even after the applicable statute of limitations had expired.  The new provision, however, prohibits defendants from naming any responsible third parties that the defendant has not timely disclosed to the plaintiff.

The new statute therefore imposes on the defendant the responsibility to identify, potentially early in the litigation, parties who may be liable to the plaintiff; failure to comply will preclude the defendant from submitting to the jury the comparative fault of any potentially responsible third parties.

Clients who have been sued on or after September 1, 2011 should discuss with their attorneys practices and procedures for timely disclosing any responsible or potentially-responsible third parties.

Questions? Contact Will Allensworth.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers magazines and in leading city and regional magazines across the country. Super Lawyers magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, go to superlawyers.com.

The first Super Lawyers list was published in 1991 and by 2009 the rating service had expanded nationwide. In February 2010 Super Lawyers was acquired by Thomson Reuters the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business and professionals.   For more information, please visit www.superlawyers.com.

Prior to joining Allensworth & Porter, Ms. May served as the staff attorney for the Texas Civil Justice League, and was responsible for drafting, analyzing, and tracking civil justice and business-related legislation during the 82nd Legislative Session.  In her position at the TCJL, she also drafted and submitted an amicus brief to the Texas Supreme Court and worked on legislation for clients in neighboring states.  In addition, Ms. May worked with probate, oil and gas, and real property law issues as a clerk for the law office of Harry M. Whittington.

Ms. May received her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in May 2010.  She served as an Executive Member of the Appellate Moot Court Board and competed in various moot court competitions, earning a Best Brief award in the Paul A. McLennon Constitutional Law tournament.  In 2005, Ms. May received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with distinction.

While in law school, Ms. May clerked for Walsh McKean Furcolo L.L.P., where she gained valuable experience in insurance defense, construction defect, and professional liability litigation.  She was also an extern for the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and a clerk for the U.S. Attorney’s office.  Before entering law school, Ms. May spent two years in Washington D.C as Coordinator for Senior Executive Actions at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Michael Chertoff.

A native of Austin, Ms. May is licensed by the State Bar of Texas and is a member of the Austin Bar Association and Austin Young Lawyers Association.  She also volunteers her time to provide pro bono legal services to Austin’s Volunteer Legal Services.  William Allensworth, founder of Allensworth & Porter, L.L.P., said “We are delighted to have Whitney join our firm, and we are confident she will be an excellent addition to our team, bringing value to our clients throughout the construction industry.”

About Allensworth & Porter, L.L.P.

Founded by William R. Allensworth in 1995, Allensworth & Porter, L.L.P., is one of the leading construction law firms in Texas, representing clients in all facets of the construction industry, including architects, engineers, contractors, owners, developers, municipalities, utilities, subcontractors, and suppliers.  Based in Austin, Allensworth & Porter’s attorneys have extensive experience in serving the legal and business needs of their clients, with an emphasis on cost-efficient solutions and personal relationships.  For more information, please visit www.aaplaw.com.

Nothing attracts a Bisnow reporter like a party with Tito’s being served. So we crashed the housewarming party for construction law firm Allensworth & Porter, which moved into new digs at 100 Congress Ave this fall. There, we snapped attorneys Joe Basham, Chad Simon (a new addition to the firm), and founding partner William Allensworth as they showed guests their new home. William was recently named Austin Construction Lawyer of the Year for 2012 in peer review pub Best Lawyers.   Full Story>>

This is an extraordinary achievement for Allensworth & Porter. U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers® 2011-2012 “Best Law Firms” national first-tier rankings showcase 9,633 different law firms ranked nationally in one or more of 75 major legal practice areas and in metropolitan or state rankings in one or more of 119 major legal practice areas. The national first-tier rankings are featured in U.S.News & World Report’s November 15, 2011 issue and the national and metropolitan first-tier rankings are featured in the “Best Law Firms” standalone publication, distributed to 30,000 general counsel and 58,000 private practice lawyers worldwide. 

“We are extremely honored to have been selected…” noted Willam Allensworth, Founder and Managing Partner, “… and believe it reflects our commitment to serving one of the most vital construction markets in the country”.

After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate William R. Allensworth on being selected as the ‘Austin Best Lawyers Construction Law Lawyer of the Year’ for 2012.”

A graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, Mr. Simon served as the Executive Editor of the Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal after graduating summa cum laude from Union College. Mr. Simon is a member of the Association of Commercial Finance Attorneys, the Garden State Credit Association, the Turnaround Management Association of New Jersey, and the New York and New Jersey State Bar Associations.

“We’re looking forward to Chad’s contributions to the firm,” says Founder and Managing Partner William Allensworth. “His experience with complex commercial litigation will be invaluable to the firm team, and to our clients,” he continues. “His reputation precedes him, and we’re happy to welcome him back home to Austin.”

About Allensworth & Porter, L.L.P.
Founded by William R. Allensworth in 1995, Allensworth & Porter, L.L.P., is one of the leading construction law firms in Texas, representing clients in all facets of the construction industry, including architects, engineers, contractors, owners, developers, municipalities, utilities, subcontractors, and suppliers. Based in Austin, Allensworth & Porter’s attorneys have extensive experience in serving the legal and business needs of their clients, with an emphasis on cost-efficient solutions and personal relationships. For more information, please visit www.aaplaw.com.

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Work ground to a halt in July when Wiser Construction, the contractor the state hired for the job, went bankrupt. And we might be seeing more contractors doing that in the months and years ahead.

Up to now, cases like Wiser’s have been few and far between, said John Hurt, spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation.

“I never recall this happening in my career, but there’s always the possibility that it can,” Hurt told KUT News.

Wiser was about 60 percent done with the job when one day its workers just stopped showing up. Wiser, which had put in a lower-than-expected bid for the job, had run out of money.

Hurt says the low bid didn’t raise any red flags at TxDOT. In a bad economy, low bids are par for the course.

“It’s not unusual to see a bidder bid lower than we estimate,” he said. “Because of the business climate, we’ll have people bid a really low job because they can get work.”

But precisely because of all those low bids, local and state governments–and even the feds–might be seeing more bankruptcies like Wiser’s.

“Contractors that are working on projects that they bid a couple of years ago, maybe over-optimistically, are now going to be struggling with how to make ends meet,” William Allensworth, who practices construction law, told KUT News.

Allensworth teaches construction law at the University of Texas at Austin. He says a whole industry, the surety bond business, is built around insuring those construction contracts.

Steve Nelson with SureTec Insurance has been in that business for 10 years.

“Our challenge is sometimes dealing with the contractor who was in great shape two or three years ago, when we issued bonds on the long-term project, who is now succumbing to the economic situation,” Nelson told KUT News.

The surety company that held the bond for the Mopac/290 project didn’t return calls for comment.

Because the flyover project was bonded, Hurt said, “We still get the money, we don’t lose money on the project, and neither does the taxpayer.”

But as Allensworth points out, there are many ways the public does pay when a state construction deal falls through.

“If you were sitting in traffic on South Mopac, you may not be out of pocket any money, but there’s a cost,” he said. “There’s a reason we want those projects done on time.”

After the groundbreaking ceremony for the project last year, the city of Austin estimated that the flyover would save 400 hours of travel time daily, and 44,000 gallons of gasoline and 340 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

TxDOT says the job, originally due to be finish this December, won’t be complete until next spring at the earliest.

KUT News