By Stephen A. Dwyer, Associate Attorney A recent case from the Texas supreme court reaffirmed and clarified a general contractor’s liability to an independent contractor’s negligence claims called JLB Builders, L.L.C. v. Hernandez. The case reaffirmed the general rule in Texas when analyzing a negligence claim by an independent [...]
By Francis D. McWilliams, Senior Associate Attorney Under normal circumstances, the Texas House of Representatives meets for session at noon on the second Tuesday in January of odd numbered years through the last week of May. The governor may call additional “special sessions” that can last up to thirty [...]
By Anam R. Fazli, Associate Attorney In October 2020, the Houston First Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling that parents whose claims were brought on behalf of their minor children against a homebuilder accused of construction defects that caused mold growth are not subject to arbitration because [...]
By Bryce C. Reback, Attorney* The construction industry is one that unsurprisingly is ever changing. Whether it be the laws governing the erection of new structures, or a sub-contractors rights under a contract, the industry has always been one to adapt. This is even more true as it pertains [...]
By Francis D. McWilliams IV, Senior Associate Introduction This too shall pass. The first round of vaccinations to Covid-19 currently rolling out, bringing with them a cautious optimism among the legal community, and the public at large, that things may in the foreseeable future return to the way they [...]
West Mermis attorneys Joshua W. Mermis and Stephen A. Dwyer recently secured a complete summary judgment win for a national window manufacturer in the 295th District Court of Harris County, Texas. Years after the manufacturer’s windows were installed on a project, the owner sued the window manufacturer alleging the [...]
West Mermis and its general contractor client recently prevailed in a week-long virtual arbitration. In the end, the arbitrator awarded the general contractor, who happened to be the defendant, a monetary award after the arbitrator applied the prevailing party attorneys’ fee provision. It was a resounding victory for the [...]
San Diego, Texas – West Mermis, PLLC, a Houston-based law firm, secured a take-nothing defense verdict for its client, a national highway construction contractor, in South Texas. Plaintiffs’ counsel asked the jury to award $40 million to the decedent’s family. Following a two-week trial, the jury rendered a complete [...]
By Joshua W. Mermis and Justin W. Safady New courtroom technology requires the trial attorney to understand, now more than ever, the difference between “substantive evidence” and “demonstrative evidence.” On September 25, 2011, at an oil fracking well site in Atascosa County, Texas, just south of San Antonio, a [...]
Litigation boutique specializes in construction trial work HOUSTON – Construction and business litigation firm West Mermis, PLLC, has earned national recognition among the Best Law Firms in the country by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America. The firm was selected to the 2019 list of [...]