The Subrogation Strategist

In Westhoff Engineering, LLC v. Pratt, No. 05-26-00191-CV, 2026 Tex. App. LEXIS 9791 (Tex. App.—Dallas Oct. 26, 2026), the Court of Appeals of Texas (Court of Appeals), examined whether a certificate of merit under Section 150.002 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code was deficient because the affiant engineer did not attest to experience with the specific type of system at issue. The Court of Appeals held that the statute does not require practice in a particular sub-specialty and affirmed the denial of the engineering firm’s motion to dismiss.

Kenneth Pratt (Pratt ... Continue Reading

In Encotech Eng'g Consultants, Inc. v. Miramon, No. 15-25-00173-CV, 2026 Tex. App. LEXIS 9117, the Court of Appeals of Texas, Fifteenth District (Court of Appeals) the plaintiff filed suit against several engineering firms, including Encotech Engineering Consultants, Inc. (Encotech). Encotech filed a motion to dismiss. The Court of Appeals considered whether a certificate of merit filed against Encotech was deficient because it made collective assertions of negligence against all defendants. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s denial of Encotech’s motion ... Continue Reading

In Ryan Eng’g, Inc. v. Mond Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., No. 14-23-00960-CV, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 1681, the Court of Appeals of Texas (Court of Appeals) affirmed a trial court ruling denying the Motion to Dismiss of defendant Ryan Engineering Inc. (Ryan) with respect to the professional negligence claim asserted by the plaintiff, Mond Homeowners Association, Inc. (the Mond). Ryan argued that the Mond’s certificate of merit, filed pursuit to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 150.002(f), made “collective assertions” of negligence against Ryan and two other defendants. The ... Continue Reading

The purpose of certificate of merit (sometimes referred to as affidavit of merit) statutes is to identify frivolous claims before the court wastes time and resources during litigation. More common in medical malpractice cases, several states have enacted similar requirements for professional negligence claims dealing with construction-related issues. While a subrogation attorney should not be bringing a frivolous case to suit anyway, the requirement adds another step in the process that plaintiffs need to properly navigate.Continue Reading

In Eric L. Davis Eng’g, Inc. v. Hegemeyer, No. 14-22-00657-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 8899, the Court of Appeals of Texas (Court of Appeals) considered whether the plaintiffs’ certificate of merit, in support of their professional malpractice claim against the defendant engineers, adequately set forth the experience and qualifications of the expert who submitted the certificate. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the certificate of merit was inadequate because it failed to establish that the expert practiced in the same specific areas as the defendants in relation to the work at issue. The lower court denied the defendants’ motion. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision, finding that there was sufficient information for the lower court to have reasonably found that the plaintiffs’ expert practiced in the same area as the defendants.

In Hegemeyer, the plaintiffs sued Eric L. Davis Engineering, Inc. (Davis) and Kenneth L. Douglass (Douglass), alleging improper design of their home’s foundation. The plaintiffs retained Davis to design and engineer the home and Douglass prepared the plans for the home. The plans called for the installation of post-tension cables in the home’s foundation. The plaintiffs alleged that the foundation design was improper and brought professional malpractice claims against Davis and Douglass.Continue Reading