City of Amarillo v. W. L. Slayton Co.

208 S.W. 967, 1919 Tex. App. LEXIS 187
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 5, 1919
DocketNo. 1463.
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 208 S.W. 967 (City of Amarillo v. W. L. Slayton Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Amarillo v. W. L. Slayton Co., 208 S.W. 967, 1919 Tex. App. LEXIS 187 (Tex. Ct. App. 1919).

Opinion

HU'FE, C. J.

Prior to the 16th day of March, 1917, the city manager of the city of Amarillo published a notice that he would receive sealed bids for two separate paving bond issues, one for $10,000 and the other for $40,000, requiring the bidders to tender with their bids certified checks, one for $200 and the other for $800. Slayton & Co., of Toledo, Ohio, having learned of such notice, after considerable correspondence submitted the following proposition:

“M. C. Hardin, City Mgr., Amarillo, Texas.
“Dear Sir: Eor $10,000 paving bonds to be issued by the city of Amarillo, Texas, to bear date of March 14th, .1917, to mature as specified in the Notice to Bond Buyers, copy of which notice you have furnished us, to bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, payable annually, both principal and interest being payable at the city depository, Amarillo, Texas, or at some bank in the City of New York, N. Y., said bonds to be in the denomination of $1,000.00 each, we will pay you when delivered to us in Toledo, Ohio, the par value of said bonds, plus accrued interest to date of delivery, plus a premium of $15.70 on each $1,-000.00, or the total premium of $157.00.
“Eor $40,000 paving bonds to be issued by the City of Amarillo, Texas, to bear date of March 15, 1917, to mature as specified in the Notice to Bond Buyers, a copy of which notice you have furnished us, to bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, payable annually, both principal and interest being payable at the city depository, Amarillo, Texas, or some bank in the city of New York, N. X., we will pay you when delivered to us in Toledo, Ohio, the par value of said bonds plus accrued interest to date of delivery, plus a premium of $50.71 on each $1,000 of said bonds, or the total premium of $2,028.40.
“Prior to taking up and paying for said bonds, we are to be furnished with a full and complete certified transcript of the record of proceedings leading up to and culminating in their issuance and delivery to the satisfaction *of our attorneys.
“We inclose herewith resolution of award form, which kindly have adopted, and after it has been signed and sealed with the corporate seal, return to us.
“We inclose two certified checks for $200 and $800 respectively, to be held by you as a guaranty that we will carry out the terms of this bid, if it is accepted, and to be returned to us in the event of its rejection.
“In any event, kindly furnish us with a list of the bids and bidders, by means of the inclosed form.
“Very truly yours,
“W. B. Slayton & Company.”

Several other parties also placed bids with the city manager. Slayton. & Co., being the highest bidder, were awarded the issue of bonds. In compliance with his proposition he called for a transcript of the records of proceedings leading up to, and culminating in, the issues of the bonds, to be submitted to his attorney for examination and satisfaction. After some delay the transcript was procured, but was first submitted to the Attorney General’s Department of the state of Texas, who approved the issuance of the bonds, and gave his certificate to that effect, and 'the bonds were then registered with the Comptroller of the state of Texas, and the transcript, together with the certificate of the Attorney General, was forwarded to Slayton & Co., which it submitted to their attorney, I-I. E. Thurs-ton, who upon examination gave the following opinion:

“Harry E. Thurston, Attorney at Daw, Toledo, Ohio.
“April 24, 1917.
“W, D. Slayton & Co., Toledo, Ohio:
“Re $40,000 Amarillo, Texas, paving bonds.
“Re $10,000 Amarillo, Texas, paving bonds.
“Gentlemen: At your request I have examined the transcript of the record leading up to the issuance of the above bonds, one issue of $40,000 in denominations of $1,000 each, bearing interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per an-num, maturing serially one to forty years, and one issue $10,000, bearing interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, in denomination of $1,000 each, maturing one to ten years. The charter of the city of Amarillo, Texas, art. 4, section 1, provides that ‘due notice of such election shall be published once each week for three consecutive weeks in one or more newspapers published in Amarillo, which said notice shall state tha nature and purpose of said election.’ Notice of the election was published in the Daily Panhandle on the 15th, 22d, and 29th day of January. Said published notice provides that bonds amounting to $50,000, payable serially from one to forty years after date, shall be voted upon. Later by ordinance the $50,000 bonds were divided into two issues, one for $40,000 maturing serially one to forty years and the other for $10,000 maturing se *969 rially one to ten years. Such notice does not identify and legally describe these two issues, and it is my opinion that such notice should have definitely described these two issues as was provided later by ordinance. One issue of bonds was voted upon with one maturity, while two issues are now provided for, with two distinct maturities. For this reason I am therefore unable'to approve these bonds.
“Your attention is also called to the statement entitled, ‘Information Relative to Bond Issues,’ dated February 16, 1917, wherein the assessed valuation is set forth as $9,000,000. The statement is signed by M. H. Hardin, City Manager. The transcript states that the assessed valuation of said city is $8,827,506.
“Regretting that it is impossible to give you my approving opinion, I am¡
“Respectfully yours.”

Upon tlie disapproval of the transcript by Thurston, Slayton & Co. notified the city of such fact, and requested, the return of their two checks, one for $200 and the other for $SOO. This the city declined to do, and proceeded to collect the same; but by notice to the bank the appellee succeeded in stopping payment on the $200 check, but failed to stop payment on the $S0CN check, which appears to have been collected by the city; and this suit is by Slayt<m & Co. to recover that sum of money, together with interest. The city, by answer, set up the fact of the advertising for bids, the acceptance of Slayton’s bid, and the issuance of the bonds, and the fact that the Attorney General had approved the bonds as valid obligations against the city, and that the opinion of the attorney that they were invalid for the reason stated by him. was not made in good faith, but that it was arbitrary and unwarranted; and the city also sought to recover the $200, evidenced by the check upon which payment was stopped; and also sought to recover the difference between the bid made by Slayton on the bonds over and above the face value of the bonds, which bonds it was alleged they were subsequently forced to sell at such face value, the amount of which they claimed to be $2,185.40.

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

Related

Figg v. Cupit
401 So. 2d 722 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1981)
Smith v. McMillan
352 S.W.2d 871 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1961)
Campbell v. Hart
256 S.W.2d 255 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1953)
Mann v. City of Artesia
76 P.2d 941 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1938)
In Re Verde River Irr. Etc. Dist.
296 P. 804 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1931)
Verde River Irrigation & Power District v. Hitchcock
296 P. 801 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1931)
Bruner v. Commerce Loan Co.
21 S.W.2d 26 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1929)
People's State Bank of Tyler v. Monsey Oil Co.
11 S.W.2d 507 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1928)
Dixie Oil Co. v. McBurnett
6 S.W.2d 83 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1928)
People's State Bank v. Monsey Oil Co.
297 S.W. 885 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1927)
Heard v. Pearman
275 S.W. 271 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1925)
C. W. McNear & Co. v. City of Kaufman
270 S.W. 211 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1925)
Municipal Securities Corp. v. Buhl Highway District
208 P. 233 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1922)
Sweet v. Berry
236 S.W. 531 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1921)
Grant v. City of Mineral Wells
230 S.W. 854 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1921)
Lea v. Helgerson
228 S.W. 992 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1921)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
208 S.W. 967, 1919 Tex. App. LEXIS 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-amarillo-v-w-l-slayton-co-texapp-1919.