What to Do If You’re Sued for Breach of Contract in Construction
The Cromeens Law Firm
May 14, 2026
When a contractor is sued for breach of contract on a construction project, the first move is to file a written answer with the court within the deadline set by state rules.
In Texas, the deadline is 10:00 a.m. on the first Monday after 20 days have passed from the date you were served, under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 99(b).
Miss that deadline and the plaintiff can take a default judgment for the full amount in the petition, plus attorney’s fees and interest, without ever proving the case. The right response is to file a timely answer, preserve all records related to the project, and refer the case to a construction attorney before talking to anyone else.
If you have already been served, call our construction contract dispute attorneys at 713-804-6033 before you do anything else.
This guide is for general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers facing a breach of contract claim on a construction project. It covers:
A construction breach-of-contract suit in Texas usually begins with the plaintiff filing an “original petition” and the clerk issuing a “citation.” A process server or sheriff then hands those papers to you, your registered agent, or another authorized recipient. The date on the officer’s return of service starts the answer-deadline clock.
The Rule 99(b) mentioned above applies to Texas district and county courts. The justice court deadline is shorter: 14 days under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 502.5. If the case lands in federal court, you get 21 days under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(a)(1)(A)(i). If a deadline passes without an answer on file, the plaintiff can move for a default judgment under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 239.
A default judgment means the court automatically rules in favor of the party suing you because you failed to show up and defend yourself. The court will grant the plaintiff exactly what they asked for in their complaint. This could result in massive financial penalties, the seizure of business assets, or frozen bank accounts. The plaintiff will secure a victory without ever having to prove their case with concrete evidence.
By filing a timely, well-structured response, you force the opposing party to meet its burden of proof. You also preserve your right to present evidence, dispute false claims, and file counterclaims if the other party breached the contract first.
Defenses and counterclaims only work if you have the paperwork to back them up. The foundation of any strong legal defense in construction law is meticulous documentation. Courts and attorneys rely heavily on written records to establish timelines, clarify agreements, and determine liability.
Start with the contract itself. Pull the fully executed copy of every contract document, including the main agreement, all exhibits and addendums, the general conditions, the project schedule, and any bid documents that got incorporated by reference. This package is the baseline against which every claim in the lawsuit will be measured.
From there, pull everything else generated on the project:
Organize this information chronologically. Having a clear, well-documented project history will allow your legal counsel to quickly understand the dispute and identify inconsistencies in the plaintiff’s claims. The side with the better, more complete project file usually walks out ahead.
One thing not to do: delete anything. Once you’ve been sued, the law requires you to keep every document, email, and text message tied to the project. Deleting evidence gives the plaintiff a weapon. A judge can tell the jury to assume the deleted records would have helped the other side. If your phone or company server auto-deletes old messages or files, turn that off for anything related to the project before you do anything else.
With your file in order, the next question is who pays for the defense. Defending a construction lawsuit is expensive. The first place most contractors look is their commercial general liability (CGL) insurance carrier.
Tendering the claim to your CGL carrier is the right first step. It’s free, the carrier has to respond in writing, and any defense the carrier owes is a defense you do not have to pay for. The catch is that a standard CGL policy may not cover a breach-of-contract lawsuit.
A standard CGL policy covers accidents, not contract breaches. Most modern policies also include a specific “breach of contract” exclusion that removes any claim arising from the insured’s breach. Whether the carrier owes a defense in your case comes down to what the petition alleges and what your policy covers.
There is one exception worth knowing. CGL policies are designed to cover property damage, not breach of contract. So if the lawsuit also accuses you of damaging something else on the project, like the existing building, another trade’s work, or the owner’s other property, the carrier may still owe you a defense. A lawsuit that only says you broke the contract gets no coverage. A lawsuit that adds property damage usually does.
Tender the claim regardless. The carrier has a duty to investigate and respond. If the carrier accepts the defense, this can save your business a substantial amount of capital. If the carrier denies, you have a written denial you can challenge later. Regardless, you should have a construction attorney read the policy and the carrier’s response before you agree to anything.
The savings come at a cost. Any claim the carrier pays on your behalf will raise your premium at the next renewal. Not only that, but insurance carriers are in the business of managing risk, not vindicating you. Their job is to make the lawsuit go away as cheaply as possible. Once they take over the defense, they call the shots.
Even if your work was clean and you can prove the plaintiff’s claims are wrong, the carrier may still write a check to settle the case. Settling is usually cheaper than a full defense, so carriers tend to take that path. This means you can end up with a paid claim on your record when you did everything right. And a paid claim can appear to the next adjuster reviewing your policy renewal as an admission of fault.
The Cromeens Law Firm has spent more than 20 years defending contractors, subs, and suppliers in breach-of- contract lawsuits across Texas. We know how Texas construction law works, and we know how to push back before the other side gets the upper hand.
Before you make any decisions about your insurance, the lawsuit, or the other side, give us a call. Bring us the petition, your contract, and the records you have gathered. We will review the facts, lay out a defense plan, identify the claims you can file back, and tell you whether turning the case over to your insurance company is the right move for your situation.
At The Cromeens Law Firm, PLLC, we adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct and have a proven track record of achieving the best possible results in every case we work. We treat our clients like partners. You have a business to run, projects to finish, and crews to keep working. We handle the lawsuit so you can keep doing all of that.
Do not let a breach-of-contract lawsuit derail your construction business. Call The Cromeens Law Firm at 713-804-6033 today, and let our team build the defense you need.
In Texas district and county courts, you have to file a written answer by 10:00 a.m. on the first Monday after 20 days have passed from the date you were served, under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 99(b).
If your case is in justice court, the deadline is 14 days from the date of being served. Miss the deadline, and the plaintiff can ask the court for a default judgment, which means the court can rule in their favor for the full amount in the petition without ever hearing your side. File the answer on time and call a construction attorney the same day.
Do neither. Anything you say to the plaintiff, including a text message or a casual phone call, can be used as evidence at trial. The same goes for talking to their lawyer. Both will be looking for admissions or statements that hurt your defense. Send everything through your construction attorney. If the plaintiff or their lawyer contacts you, take the message and pass it on to your attorney without responding.
Yes. If the plaintiff owes you money on the project, has not paid you on time, misused construction trust funds, or breached the contract first, you can file those as counterclaims in the same lawsuit. Counterclaims change the math of the case. The plaintiff came expecting to collect from you and now has to worry about what they may owe you back. Bring everything to a construction attorney to figure out which claims fit your facts.
Karalynn Cromeens is the Owner and Managing Partner of The Cromeens Law Firm, PLLC, with over 17 years of experience in construction, real estate, and business law. A published author and passionate advocate for contractors, she has dedicated her career to protecting the businesses her clients have built. Karalynn is on a mission to educate subcontractors on their legal rights, which inspired her books Quit Getting Screwed and Quit Getting Stiffed, as well as her podcast and The Subcontractor Institute.
