In this article, KRCL construction lawyer Brian Stork discusses the recently passed Texas Senate Bill 219 that overrides the long-standing Lonergan Rule. Under the Lonergan Rule, Texas was one of the few states the placed responsibility for damages resulting from design errors on contractors, rather than the property owner, unless the applicable construction contract included specific language to the contrary. Effective September 1, 2021, Senate Bill 219 adopts the Spearin Doctrine, with certain delineated notice requirements and exceptions, and places Texas in line with the substantial majority of other jurisdictions placing the risk of loss for design errors on property owners.
Originally Published by Dallas Bar Association.
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