PJC Business

C ONTRACTS

PJC 101.50

PJC 101.50 Question on Prompt Payment to Contractors and Subcontractors QUESTION ______ Did Don Davis fail to pay Paul Payne promptly for [ properly performed work/suitably stored materials/specially fabricated materials ]? A payment is not prompt if it is not made by— [Insert the following if Don Davis is the owner.] the thirty-fifth day after the date Don Davis received a written payment request from Paul Payne . [Insert the following if Don Davis is the contractor.] the seventh day after the date Don Davis received payment from the owner. [Insert the following if Don Davis is a subcontractor.] the seventh day after the date Don Davis received payment from the contrac tor. Answer “Yes” or “No.” Answer: _______________ COMMENT When to use. PJC 101.50 submits the liability of a party to a construction con tract for the failure to promptly pay a contractor or subcontractor. PJC 101.50 is a basic question appropriate in cases brought under chapter 28 of the Texas Property Code. This question does not apply to any agreement for mineral development and oil field services. Tex. Prop. Code § 28.010. Alternative instructions. The instruction includes three separate fact scenarios in which a payment may not be prompt. Only one of the instructions should be used based on the relationship between the parties in a given case. Paul Payne should be submitted as the contractor when Don Davis is the owner, as the subcontractor when Don Davis is the contractor, and as the secondary subcontractor when Don Davis is the subcontractor. Use of statutory language. Jury questions on a statutory cause of action or defense “should track the language of the statute as closely as possible.” Railroad

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