Aldridge v. Burchfiel

1966 OK 198, 421 P.2d 655, 1966 Okla. LEXIS 520
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 11, 1966
DocketNo. 41481
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1966 OK 198 (Aldridge v. Burchfiel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aldridge v. Burchfiel, 1966 OK 198, 421 P.2d 655, 1966 Okla. LEXIS 520 (Okla. 1966).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Plaintiff in error will be referred to herein as “defendant” and the defendant in error as “plaintiff” as they appeared in the trial court. Defendant is a bridge erection contractor. Some time prior to April 12, 1963, he entered into a contract with the proper governmental agency to erect certain bridges and overpasses in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, as a part of the Eufaula Reservoir project, including a bridge described as the Gaines Creek Bridge which is the subject of the present litigation. On April 12, 1963, the defendant entered into a subcontract with plaintiff to transport from the railroad and erect the structural steel on the Gaines Creek Bridge at an agreed price of $33.50 per ton, or a total contract price of $6,365.00.

Plaintiff seeks recovery for the balance due on his contract plus certain amounts for extra expense and work not included in the contract. The total amount of his. demand is $9,843.74.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $9,000.00. Defendant appeals from the overruling of his motion for new trial.

The principal controversy herein involves, the claim of the plaintiff for extra expense and work not included in the contract.

The evidence is undisputed that soon after the erection of the steel was commenced, difficulties were encountered. The holes in the ends of the steel girders could not be fitted with the bolt heads on shoes or plates fastened to the piers on the bridge.

Plaintiff offered evidence that piers were improperly graded by the defendant causing the girders to be out of line, making it impossible to fit the holes in the girders with the bolt heads.

Defendant admits that it was their duty to properly erect and grade the piers of the bridge so that the holes in the girders would fit the bolts in the shoes or plates, installed by the defendant on top of the-piers.

Many methods were employed in an effort to complete the erection of the bridge. After two or three weeks of attempting to secure a proper grade, plaintiff was advised by the engineer for the defendant to. put the steel in place and weld it together. Defendant intended to attempt to secure the approval of this work by the U. S-Engineers. A U. S. Engineer inspected1 the completed portion of the bridge, and' rejected it. He testified that the steel' “moved like a bunch of wet noodles hanging up there”; that “the difficulty was due-evidently to failure of the piers to be at the right elevation”. After the steel erected' was rejected by the U. S. Engineer, it was-necessary to cut the welds with an acetylene torch, and continue attempting to properly assemble the steel.

[658]*658The U. S. Engineer testified that if defendant had made the grades and elevation properly, the steel could have been erected in three or four days, hut, because of the difficulties encountered, plaintiff was required to work on the project approximately a month before it was completed.

The extra work performed by the plaintiff included welding, steel cutting, moving and removing steel structure, hauling steel, filing, and many miscellaneous tasks.

Plaintiff’s ■ foreman and superintendent in charge of the steel erection project testified that the defendant agreed to pay for the extra work performed. Defendant’s superintendent admitted that the extra work was necessary, and that plaintiff performed it, but denied that defendant agreed to pay for the extra services. He also denied that the difficulties encountered were caused by the failure ,of defendants to grade the piers properly, contending that the difficulties were caused by the steel manufacturer in fabricating and processing the steel.

The assistant engineer for Hayden Steel Company, who furnished the steel, testified that it was all fabricated according to approved detailed plans.

These contested questions of fact were submitted to the, jury under proper instructions. The verdict of the jury in favor of the plaintiff is sustained by the evidence.

Defendant first contends that the trial court erred in overruling his motion to make more definite and certain, and then permitting the plaintiff to establish his case by the testimony of his agent, Russell Roberts. It is his contention that this amounted to a fatal variance. Plaintiff alleged in his petition that;

“3. Shortly after entering into the contract with said defendant, the plaintiff commenced erecting the -steel on the Gaines Creek project.as provided in said contract, but after he had proceeded to get the steel in place and attached to the piers of said bridge, it was learned that said defendant had made several errors in setting the grade on the piers and that it was necessary that plaintiff perform considerable extra work which was not covered in the written contract, before plaintiff could proceed to properly erect the steel. Plaintiff and defendant then conferred about the matter and defendant agreed to pay plaintiff for all the extra work.”

The pertinent portions of the motion to make more definite and certain filed by the defendant are as follows;

“Comes now the defendant, and respectfully requests that this plaintiff be required to make his petition more'definite and certain in that said plaintiff should be required to state that the allegations contained in paragraph three (3), as amended, wherein it refers to “defendant” that this reference is to R. G. Aldridge, personally, and not to any agent, supervisor, superintendent or employee of said R. G. Aldridge. That if the plaintiff intends to prove that any of the statements-, agreements, requests, directions, or contracts, were made by any person other than R. G. Aldridge, personally, that said plaintiff be required to state who such agents, supervisors, employees or superintendents were.
“That the plaintiff be required to make his petition more definite and certain in that if the plaintiff expects to prove that any of the acts alleged to have been performed by any agents, servant or employee of the plaintiff, that the plaintiff be required to state the name and identity of such agent, servant or employee.”

The trial court overruled the. motion. Defendant contends that., upon the overruling of the motion the issues to be presented should have been limited to dealings between the plaintiff and.the defendant personally and that admission of the testimony of Russell Roberts, superintendent and agent of the plaintiff, constituted a variance frpm. the issues presented by the pleadings. • „ ,

, - At the trial Roberts, over the objections of defendant,'.testified that Melviñ McDon-[659]*659aid, defendant’s superintendent, agreed that defendant would pay for the extra work.

In Brazelton’s Wholesale Cleaners & Dyers v. Cash, 182 Okl. 493, 78 P.2d 810, this court said:

“A motion to make more definite and certain is addressed largely to the discretion of the court; and its ruling thereon will not be reversed, except for the abuse of such discretion that results prejudicially to the complaining party. And where the facts sought by such motion are within the knowledge and possession of the movant, it is not error to overrule the same.”

Rule No. 5, Appendix to Chapter, Tit. 12 O.S.1961, p.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Western Nat. Bank of Casper v. ABC DRILL.
599 P.2d 942 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1979)
Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority v. Lindauer
1975 OK 58 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1966 OK 198, 421 P.2d 655, 1966 Okla. LEXIS 520, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aldridge-v-burchfiel-okla-1966.