American National Bank v. Central Construction Co.

163 P.2d 369, 160 Kan. 400, 1945 Kan. LEXIS 198
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedNovember 10, 1945
DocketNo. 36,178
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 163 P.2d 369 (American National Bank v. Central Construction Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American National Bank v. Central Construction Co., 163 P.2d 369, 160 Kan. 400, 1945 Kan. LEXIS 198 (kan 1945).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Thiele, J.:

This was an action to determine the rights of plaintiff and of several of the defendants to a sum of money due under a contract for the construction of a railroad bridge in Wyandotte county.

For brevity in reference, the plaintiff will be referred to as the bank; the defendant The Central Construction Company as the contractor; the defendant Guy A. Thompson, Trustee for Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, as the carrier; the defendant Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Company as the bonding company; [402]*402and the names of other defendants will be set out later and then referred to by easily identifiable names.

In a preliminary way, it may be said that the carrier had entered into a contract with the contractor for the erection of a bridge, under which a portion of the moneys due the contractor was to be retained by the carrier until completion of the work. To finance its operations the contractor borrowed from the bank the sum of $3,000 and to secure payment thereof assigned to the bank its right in the retained moneys. Under the terms of the contract the contractor gave a bond, signed by the bonding company, the terms of which are more fully set out later, and in connection therewith the contractor executed to the bonding company an assignment of the retained moneys. In the performance of the contract the remaining defendants furnished materials and equipment under conditions more fully set forth later herein. When the bridge was completed the carrier had in its possession and unpaid to the contractor or some of the parties claiming to be entitled thereto, a sum now agreed to be $3,701.65. The bank brought an action against the contractor in the district court of Barton county, Kansas, and recovered a judgment of $3,000. None of the other parties herein were parties to that action. The bank then commenced the present action in the district court of Wyandotte county in order that the rights of the several parties in and to the above sum of $3,701.65, and the rights and liabilities of the bonding company, might be determined.

It is not necessary that we review in detail the petition of plaintiff, the answers, or answers and cross petitions of the several defendants, and the replies thereto. After the issues were joined, certain defendants moved the trial court to determine issues of law in advance of the trial. In a summary way, it may be said the trial court concluded that the carrier, having failed to take a statutory bond under G. S. 1935, 66-215, was directly liable to defendants, the Welborn Lumber Company, Funkhouser Equipment Company, The Victor L. Phillips Company, Barcus & Son, Electrical and Magneto Service Company, Inc., and L. B. Foster Company, Inc., on their claims totaling $3,690.70, and to other creditors, not made defendants, in the further sum of $384. The bank’s motion for a new trial and for revision of the judgment, and the motions for a new trial of the bonding company and the carrier, were denied and each of them perfected appeals to this court. Thereafter in the [403]*403trial court a stipulation of facts by all parties was filed and the cause was submitted to the court, which, in accordance- with the findings and conclusions of law previously made, rendered judg- ' ments in favor of the claimant defendants for the several amounts claimed against the contractor, the bonding company and the carrier; that the carrier pay into the court the $3,701.65 retained by it for application pro rata on the claims, and when it pays balances due, it have judgment over against the bonding company. The bank, the bonding company and the carrier each filed motions for a new trial, and these several motions being denied, they perfected an appeal to this court, the notice of appeal stating it was supplementary to and in enlargement of the first appeal. The specifications of error cover the matters hereafter discussed. No -point is made of it, but as will hereafter appear some of the individual claims involve less than $100. In view of the final judgment, however, .appellants are entitled to appeal as to these claims. See Shannon v. Abrams, 98 Kan. 26, 157 Pac. 449, Ann. Cas. 1918E 502.

Among other agreements the stipulation of facts shows the following: There is no controversy between the bank and the bonding company as to the priority of their respective assignments from the contractor of moneys retained by the carrier. The contractor is indebted to Barcus & Son in the sum of $150 for rental of two concrete mixers loaned by Barcus to the contractor, used in the work and then returned to Barcus. The contractor is indebted to Victor L. Phillips Company in the total sum of $860, made up of $358 purchase price of á pump used in the work and after completion removed by the contractor as part of its equipment, of $102.44 rental on equipment used and returned to Phillips, and of $399.56 being equipment and repairs to equipment. The contractor is indebted to Welborn Lumber Company in the sum of $21.84 for material used or consumed. Welborn asserts no claim to or interest in retained funds and asserts no claim against the carrier nor against the bonding company, and is entitled to judgment only against the construction company. (This item is mentioned for the reason it is included in the entire judgment.) At the trial, Welborn sought permission to amend its pleading to ask judgment against the bonding company. The amendment was permitted, the court stating if the stipulation provided Welborn got no benefits it would get none. We think under the stipulation Welborn was not entitled to any judgment except against the contractor. The contractor is indebted to the [404]*404Magneto Company in the sum of $28.88, being the net purchase price of a magneto installed on a crane used in the work and remaining a part of the crane after completion of the work. The contractor rented steel piling from the Foster Company. The rental due is $68.16. After the work was completed piling was pulled and left near the bridge. Foster paid $150 for hauling and charged $15 for inspection trips. Some piling disappeared, the value being $248.44. The claim as allowed covered these several items. The contractor is also indebted to Foster in the sum of $73.25, for reconditioning piling. The contractor is indebted to Smith and Hoffman Company in the sum of $50.78 for hauling the Funkhouser equipment to and from the work. The contractor is indebted to Funkhouser in the sum of $1,815.73, being the balance due for rental on equipment, for hauling it, and for repairs and repair parts to it. (It may here be noted that the trial court gave judgment for the several amounts as against the contractor, the bonding, company and the carrier.) Also included in the stipulation is the contract between the carrier and the contractor, and the bond given by the bonding company.

It may first be noted that the carrier did not take from the contractor and file with the register of deeds a bond conditioned that the contractor “shall pay all laborers, mechanics and materialmen, and persons who supply such contractor with provisions or goods of any kind, all just debts due to such persons . . . incurred in carrying on such work” as provided by G. S. 1935, 66-215, and under that statute it is liable to the persons mentioned for all debts covered thereby to the full extent thereof.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
163 P.2d 369, 160 Kan. 400, 1945 Kan. LEXIS 198, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-national-bank-v-central-construction-co-kan-1945.