Contracts end conflicts but also can start them  Fall has
arrived in the Coastal Bend, a time of change, not just the
cooler weather. New projects seem to be gaining momentum,
including a Westside outdoor mall that involves a tax incentive
plan with the city and an outlet mall that involves a land deal
with the county. Each transaction will require several
agreements and contracts.  Contracts are a way of resolving
disputes in advance. But sometimes contracts start, rather than
end, disagreements. I had to deal with one of those recently,
centering on the disputed interpretation of contractual
language. The project was a medical office complex and the
disagreement was between the developer and a physicians group
that commissioned the project. The issue was whether the
contracts obligated the developer to obtain pre-construction
environmental inspections of the property and whether the
failure to do so was a breach of contract allowing one or more
of the parties to void the contracts.  The developer asserted t