TDIndustries, Inc. v. NCNB Texas National Bank

In TDIndustries, Inc. v. NCNB Texas National Bank. 837 S.W.2d 270 (Tex. App.-Eastland 1992, no writ), a subcontractor filed a retainage lien against the bank. The bank claimed that the lien had not been timely filed. The court of appeals, however, held that even though an architect certified completion at the beginning of January, the work was not actually completed until the end of February when a pocket door required under the original construction contract was finally installed. Because the term "completion" was both legislatively defined and unambiguous, the court of appeals literally construed the term "'actual completion,' . . . according to the rules of common usage." Installation of the pocket door was work required under the original contract, and therefore, the work was not actually completed until that pocket door was installed.