Alonzo B. Hayden, Inc. v. Town of Covington

27 F.2d 354, 1926 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1800
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMarch 15, 1926
DocketNo. 17695
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 27 F.2d 354 (Alonzo B. Hayden, Inc. v. Town of Covington) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alonzo B. Hayden, Inc. v. Town of Covington, 27 F.2d 354, 1926 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1800 (E.D. La. 1926).

Opinion

BURNS, District Judge.

Plaintiff, contractor, a citizen of Mississippi, sues to restrain the town of Covington, St. Tammany parish, La., from paying out certain proceeds of a sale of bonds, and for recognition of its lien thereon up to the amount of its claim for a balance due and a retained percentage under its contract for the construction of a sewer system in said town. A money judgment is also prayed for, which is itemized as follows:

1. 15 por cent, of the amount due plaintiff for work done and material furnished, under estimate furnished by the Kramer Engineering Company, by the Town of Covington, under division No. 10 — total ...................$ 6,579.92

2. Amount retained by the town of Covington out of amount due plaintiff for the completion of the pump pit, division No. 11— total ....................... 730.88

3. Balance due on 6 manholes, $5 each, which should have been placed in estimate 18, which was never issued by the Kramer Engineering Company — total...... 30.00

4. Amount retained by the town of Covington, being balance due on contract price, exclusive of the 15 per cent, retained on estimate on division No. 10 — total 7,500.00

5. Actual expense and damage sustained on account of being called upon by the Kramer Engineer- « ing Company, the agents of the town of Covington, to make repairs in the outfall line, the responsibility of the repairs being indeterminable until the work had been practically completed, the agents of the town taking the position that the break in said outfall line was due to the fault of your petitioner, which was found not to be true, all of which will more fully appear by reference to the detailed and itemized statement hereto annexed and made part hereof, marked for identification as Plaintiff's Exhibit C — total.... 6,704.99

6. Amount paid to Rudolph Schultz, resident engineer of the town of Covington, by petitioner from September 1, 1923, to May 1, 1924, at $150 per month, which was not contemplated in the contract — total .............. 1,200.00

7. Amount of premium paid on bond of the Kramer Engineering Company in favor of the town of Covington, not included in contract — total........... 150.00 Grand total.................$22,895.79

The town’s answer is that the printed contract is the best evidence of its terms; that the town supplied double strength pipe, and not single strength, as alleged by plaintiff. It denies generally the allegations of the plaintiff, to the effect that the work was done in workmanlike manner, according to specifications, under the supervision of the Kramer Engineering Company. The answer alleges, in detail, a number of defects in workmanship. It alleges that an individual engineer, Xavier A. Kramer, and not the Kramer Engineering Company, was under contract to supervise the work for it; that after the plaintiff contractor had abandoned the work, and after notice to it and its surety, Xavier A. Kramer was discharged as engineer, and one J. L. Porter, an engineer of New Orleans, was employed in his stead; that, if the line had been properly constructed under the original specifications, these would have been sufficient for the purpose; but, “in order to avoid the possibility of a break in said outfall line, the specifications for the construction of same under the supervision of J. L. Porter, were changed in some respeets,” but the pipe used in the reconstruction was the same as that used previously by plaintiff. Further, the town admits making a new contract with Chambers & Bowers “for the completion of said sewer system for the sum of $19,000, and Porter, as engineer, supervised the work. It denies that plaintiff has an equitable lien on the proceeds of the bond sale, or that any except statutory liens can be recognized in Louisiana. Then, by way of counterclaim or cross-bill, it prays for judgment against the contractor and its surety in the sum of $30,407.40, which is itemized as follows:

To Chambers & Bowers, for reconstructing the line............... $19,500.00

To John L. Porter, engineer, for services and for supervising same 1,148.36

To Chambers & Bowers, for repairing other breaks................ 2,276.31

To Southern Sewer & Pipe Works for new pipe to replace pipe broken, and unfit for reconstruction, for freight thereon.............. 450.00

To James Murphy, and L. R. Lester, engineers, for supervising other reconstructions, “other than outfall line” .................. 500.00

For other expenses............... 736.64

For other costs to be proven at trial 5,000.00

Total .......................$30,407.50

These last three items, alleged in detail in the cross-bill, relate principally to manholes and constructions in other sections of the town, beyond the outfall line.

The Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland, surety, filed an answer, tracking [356]*356that of the plaintiff, its principal, and a special plea to the effect that, as surety, it was discharged of all liability for the reconstruction of the outfall line, by the changes made in the Porter specifications, and the failure of the town to obtain its consent, as surety, to sueh changes.

A restraining order issued on the bill. A motion to dismiss was denied, and an injunction pendente lite granted on May 25, 1925. Issue being joined, the cause came on to be heard in open court, being finally submitted on the merits February 10, 1926.

By popular election, in May, 1922, the town voted a bond issue of $50,000 to provide funds for the purpose of constructing a sewerage system, and borrowed $25,000 additional in November, 1923, to complete same. The Kramer Engineering Company prepared plans and specifications, and were employed and authorized by the town to supervise the construction.

Alonzo B. Hayden, Inc., plaintiff, was awarded a contract for the sewer line and its structures, complete. Under division 10 of the contract he was to furnish all labor and material (except vitrified sewer pipe, which item was to be furnished by the town) for $48,975.69. Under division No. 11, for two pumping units, constructing pump pit, and laying approximately 380 feet of six-inch pressure line complete, as per plans, he was to receive $4,500. The contract was signed November 23, 1922, but it was understood the work was to begin January 1,1923.

Division No. 10, which involves the main controversy, required the laying of a 15-ineh sewer pipe from the intersection of Jahneke avenue and Thompson street, and along this street to Tehefuneta river, a distance of some 10 city blocks, which was known as the outfall line, the deepest cut in which being between Second and Fifth avenues, where it was 15 to 18 feet deep. The work was completed in about seven months, and the cuts filled in to city street grade, when depressions began to appear on the ground surface, along the deep cuts, which indicated that the sewer line had sagged or given way below.

The town’s supervising engineers insisted that there was a buckle-in the pipe, and called on the contractor to repair and reconstruct. The contractor, insisting that the work had been done according to specifications, but “in order to avoid controversy,” exhumed the pipe in eight or nine such spots and replaced it. Meanwhile, other sueh depressions appeared, whereupon the contractor refused to repair or reconstruct any more, unless paid extra therefor..

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Related

Daniel Drewlen Wilkins v. Michael A. Cowell
51 F.3d 284 (Ninth Circuit, 1995)
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41 So. 2d 819 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1949)
Town of Covington v. Alonzo B. Hayden, Inc.
27 F.2d 360 (Fifth Circuit, 1928)

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Bluebook (online)
27 F.2d 354, 1926 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alonzo-b-hayden-inc-v-town-of-covington-laed-1926.