A general contractor (Pate & Pate) hired subcontractor Caliber on a public works project in San Antonio. When Caliber breached the contract, Pate admitted in court that it owed Caliber a specific credit amount for work completed, but then claimed the breach excused it from paying. The Texas Court of Appeals ruled that by continuing to treat the contract as valid after the breach, Pate waived its right to use the breach as an excuse to avoid payment. Caliber won the right to collect the judicially admitted credit amount.
If a general contractor admits in court that it owes you money for work performed, it cannot later use your breach as an excuse to withhold that payment if it kept the contract active
Document all admissions of payment obligations in writing and get them on the record early—they become powerful legal evidence
Continuing to work or treat a contract as ongoing after a dispute weakens the other party's ability to claim breach excuses non-payment