Gary Wayne Jaster v. Comet II Construction, Inc. Joe H. Schneider Laura H. Schneider And Austin Design Group, 382 S.W.3d 554

Jaster, a licensed professional engineer, is sued regarding foundation design/construction defects in a house.
Comet II Construction files a third-party complaint seeking contribution/indemnity from Jaster and ADG.
ADG files a cross-claim against Jaster seeking contribution/indemnity.
No party filed a certificate of merit with their original third-party/cross-claim complaints.
Dawoud (homeowner) is plaintiff in the main suit; Comet/ADG assert merits/indemnity against Jaster.
The trial court denied motions to dismiss for lack of a certificate of merit; the appellate court must resolve the statutory application.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether 150.002 requires certificates from third-party and cross-claimants	Comet/ADG must file certificates	Only plaintiff must file a certificate	No; statute targets the plaintiff only
Whether Comet/ADG may rely on plaintiff's certificate or must file their own	Relies on plaintiff's merit	Must file independent merit or rely on others'	Relying on plaintiff’s merit is not required here; issue moot regarding adequacy of Comet's certificate
Whether dismissal was proper given lack of initial certificates	Failure to file warrants dismissal	Not required for third-party/cross-claimants	Dismissal not required; denial affirmed

S & P Consulting Eng’rs, PLLC v. Baker, 334 S.W.3d 390 (Tex. App. Austin 2011) (certificate of merit required for professional-service claims including non-negligence actions)
CTL/Thompson Tex., LLC v. Morrison Homes & Sheffield Dev. Co., 337 S.W.3d 437 (Tex. App. Fort Worth 2011) (cross-claimants may rely on plaintiff's certificate; third-party plaintiffs must file if plaintiff did not sue the third party)
Consolidated Reinforcement, L.P. v. Carothers Executive Homes, Ltd., 271 S.W.3d 887 (Tex. App. Austin 2008) (non-negligence claims not always subject to certificate; later overruled by S&P Baker)