Temp Agencies covered by M and M Lien

Texas Supreme Court rules that Temp Agencies can qualify for M and M liens if they supply labor to a work site.

Yacht is not Homestead Property in Texas

Texas Supreme Court rules that a yacht, since it is not sufficiently attached to realty, is not subject to homestead protection even if used as a residence.

Service of Process on Banks

The new legislative session had an amendment to the manner in which the process server may serve on banks, which may have an impact on garnishment actions. The text of the bill is here. Basically, it can be served on the registered agent, but if there is not a valid registered agent, service may be completed on a president or any branch manager located within the state. For credit unions, it is the registered agent or president/VP if there is no registered agent. The previous process merely referred to an "officer" of the bank.

Pay if Paid Clauses: The Leg Speaks

An interesting bill was passed by the 80th Legislature dealing with pay-if-paid clauses...all collections lawyers and contractors should take a look at it. Basically, it deals with the situation in many contracts where general contractors state "we won't pay you, Mr. Subcontractor, unless we get paid." What I've seen happen frequently (and apparently this is a universal experience for subcontractors) is the reason the general contractor is not getting paid is because the general contractor screwed something up, which had nothing to do with that subcontractor's work. In these situations, there are, effective 9/1/2007, limitations set to this contractual provision set out by statute. There are some procedural requirements, so it is not a gimmie, but it is worth taking a look for it might provide some strength to a subcontractor that has not been paid in this situation.

First post

Just wanted to introduce clients of Cary & Lippincott, PLLC to the blog related to the law firm. We plan to discuss texas collection law topics and information relevant to Austin and Texas area collection managers.

If you'd like to be introduced to the firm, it is located at http://www.carylippincott.com . And the content of the blog is the responsibility of Marc Lippincott, managing partner of Cary & Lippincott, PLLC.

Enjoy!