Construction Law & Litigation

For more than 29 years Hank has represented Texas owners, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, from the contract on which a job is based through the liens, bond claims, and lawsuits that recover payment when an owner or a contractor refuses to pay. Crews and suppliers furnish their labor and materials first and bill for them later, so a single missed deadline can cost you everything you're owed.

Hank drafts and negotiates the agreements that govern a project, owner to general contractor and general contractor to subcontractor, with the change orders, scope, and payment terms that determine who absorbs a delay or a cost overrun. A pay-when-paid clause, an indemnity provision, or a missing retainage term can impose tens of thousands of dollars in loss, so he writes them with the dispute in mind.

When an owner or a contractor withholds payment, Texas law provides strong remedies, but only when you meet the statutory deadlines that preserve your rights. Hank perfects the mechanic's and materialman's lien and serves pre-lien notices within the statutory window, when retained to do so. On public projects, where liens cannot attach to the property, he pursues the payment bond instead, and on both he enforces retainage, prompt payment penalties, and trust fund claims when a party diverts money owed to the people who built the project.

When a claim cannot be resolved, Hank handles it in the courthouse, having litigated and arbitrated numerous construction cases over nonpayment, defective work, delay, and breach of contract, for owners enforcing an agreement and for contractors collecting a balance. Every engagement works toward the same result, getting you paid for what you built, or making sure you pay only for what you received.