Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
(1) Agency--The Texas
Veterans Commission.
(2) Claim--A
written demand for damages by the contractor that is based upon the agency's
alleged breach of the contract.
(3)
Contract--A written contract between the agency and a contractor, under the
terms of which the contractor agrees to either:
(A) provide goods or services, by sale or
lease, to or for the agency; or
(B)
perform a project as defined by Government Code, §
2166.001.
(4) Contractor--Independent
contractor who has entered into a contract directly with the agency. The term
does not include:
(A) the contractor's
subcontractor, officer, employee, agent, or other person who furnishes goods or
services to the contractor;
(B) an
employee of the agency; or
(C) a
student at an institution of higher education.
(5) Counterclaim--A demand by the agency that
is based upon the contractor's claim.
(6) Day--A calendar day. If an act is
required to occur on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, then the next working day
that is not one of these days is counted as the required day for the purpose of
this act.
(7) Event--An act or
omission, or a series of acts or omissions that give rise to a claim. The
following list contains illustrative examples of events, subject to the
specific terms of the contract:
(A) Examples
of events in the context of a contract for goods or services:
(i) the failure of the agency to timely pay
for the goods or services;
(ii) the
failure of the agency to pay the balance due and owing on the contract price,
including amounts that arose from orders for additional work, after deduction
of any amount that is owed to the agency for work that has not been performed
under the contract or in substantial compliance with the contract
terms;
(iii) the suspension,
cancellation, or termination of the contract;
(iv) final rejection wholly or partly of the
goods or services that the contractor has tendered;
(v) repudiation of the entire contract prior
to or at the outset of performance by the contractor;
(vi) withholding liquidated damages from
final payment to the contractor.
(B) Examples of events in the context of a
project:
(i) the failure of the agency to
timely pay the unpaid balance of the contract price following final acceptance
of the project;
(ii) the failure of
the agency to make timely progress payments as required under the
contract;
(iii) the failure of the
agency to pay the balance that is due and owing on the contract price,
including amounts that arose from orders for additional work, after deduction
of any amount that is owed the agency for work that has not been performed
under the contract or in substantial compliance with the contract
terms;
(iv) the failure to grant
time extensions to which the contractor is entitled under the terms of the
contract;
(v) the failure to
compensate the contractor for occurrences for which the contract provides a
remedy;
(vi) suspension,
cancellation or termination of the contract;
(vii) rejection by the agency, wholly or
partly, of the "work," as defined under the contract, that the contractor has
tendered;
(viii) repudiation of the
entire contract prior to or at the outset of performance by the
contractor;
(ix) withholding
liquidated damages from final payment to the contractor;
(x) refusal, in whole or in part, of a
written request that the contractor has made in compliance with the contract to
adjust the contract price, the contract time, or the scope of work.
(C) The lists in subparagraphs (A)
and (B) of this paragraph should not be considered exhaustive, but are merely
illustrative in nature and do not expand the limits of Chapter 2260 of the
Government Code.
(8)
Goods--Supplies, materials or equipment.
(9) Parties--The contractor that has entered
into a contract with the agency, in connection with which a claim of breach of
contract has been filed under this chapter.
(10) Project--A building construction project
as defined under Government Code, §
2166.001, that is
financed, wholly or partly, by a specific appropriation, bond issue, or federal
money, including the construction of:
(A) a
building, structure, or appurtenant facility or utility, including the
acquisition and installation of original equipment and original furnishing;
and
(B) an addition to, or
alteration, modification, rehabilitation, or repair of, an existing building,
structure, or appurtenant facility or utility.
(11) Services--The furnishing of skilled or
unskilled labor, or of consulting or professional work, or a combination
thereof, excluding the labor of an employee of the agency.
