Cobb v. H. C. Burt & Co.

241 S.W. 185, 1922 Tex. App. LEXIS 799
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 24, 1922
DocketNo. 809.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 241 S.W. 185 (Cobb v. H. C. Burt & 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
Cobb v. H. C. Burt & Co., 241 S.W. 185, 1922 Tex. App. LEXIS 799 (Tex. Ct. App. 1922).

Opinion

O’QUINN, J.

This controversy grew out of a contract between appellant and Gaines county, Tex., for the building of a courthouse and jail for said county. Believing that a full statement of the pleadings of the parties is necessary to an understanding of the rulings of the trial court and judgment of said court, we here adopt the statement of the nature and result of the suit taken from appellees’ briefs to wit:

“This suit was filed in the district court of Harris county, Tex., December 6, 1920, against H. C. Burt and E. D. Stebbins, residing and doing business in Harris county, Texas, under the firm name of H. C. Burt & Co., and against T. O. Stark; county judge of Gaines county, and T. I. Harwell, J. E. Hughes, W. B. Eu-banks, and J. H. Lohman, county commissioners of said county, composing the county commissioners’ court of Gaines county, Tex.
“The plaintiff alleged that heretofore, to wit, on the 17th day of May, 1919, he entered into a contract with Gaines county, Tex., through said county judge and commissioners’ court, for the construction of the courthouse and jail in and for said county, as set forth in a written contract and supplemental contract of that date, and that by the terms of said contract the plaintiff undertook to provide all the material and to perform all work shown by the drawings and described in the specifications for said building, dated May 1, 1919, prepared by Sanguinette and Staats, including plumbing, heating, wiring, cellwork, etc., to be completed by May 17, 1920, agreeing to pay or allow the owner as and for agreed liquidated damages the sum of $20 for each day thereafter, Sundays and legal holidays not included; that the work remained uncompleted, and the owner, to wit, Gaines county, agreed to pay plaintiff for the construction of said courthouse and jail in current funds the sum of $84,000, subject to additions and deductions as provided in the general conditions of the contract, payments to be made on the certificate of the architect as follows: In Gaines county, Tex., warrants to be dated June 10, 1919, and to bear interest from date until paid at 6 per cent, per annum, evidenced by coupon warrants attached, interest payable the 1st days of October and April of each year, beginning with the 1st days of October and April of each year, beginning with the 1st day of April, 1920, said debt and interest payable in installments as follows: Two warrants for $1,000 each April 1, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, and 1925, and three warrants of $1,000 each April 1, 1926, 1927, 192S, 1929, 1930, 1931, and on down to and including 1949. .
“It was further provided in said contract that said warrants should be delivered to the plaintiff upon monthly estimates of said architect of 90 per cent, of the cost of labor and material incorporated in the work and all material delivered on the premises (considered suitable and not perishable by said architect), balance *187 to be delivered to plaintiff -when the work was completed and accepted, and at the option of the owner might be withheld 30 days thereafter, and it was further agreed that the judge of said commissioners’ court might deliver to plaintiff warrants to the extent of 90 per cent, of the actual cost of the material paid for by him and delivered on the premises pending the estimate of the architect, such payments to be deducted from the next succeeding payment on the architect’s estimate.
“It was further provided in said contract that the warrants delivered to the plaintiff should be accepted by him at their par value and the accrued interest, but that said county guaranteed that the aggregate sum realized on said warrants should be $84,000, and any amount exceeding $84,000 should be retained by the. county. And it was further agreed that the plaintiff should have the right to sell, assign, and transfer to any person, firm, or corporation any and all of the warrants and coupon warrants issued by said county to plaintiff, as aforesaid, with the qualification that the price for which they were to be sold should be approved by a majority of said commissioners’ court.
“Plaintiff also alleged that on the 28th day of May, 1919, a written agreement was entered into by the defendant H. O. Burt & Co. and Gaines county, represented by said T. O. Stark and plaintiff, Dan Cobb, by the terms of which H. C. Burt & Co. purchased said warrants. at a price of par and the accrued interest to date of delivery, with the understanding and agreement that H. C. Burt & Co. was to receive a commission of 3 per cent, of the par value of the warrants to cover cost of printing and attorney’s fees. By the terms of this agreement the warrants, when ready for delivery on monthly estimates as the work progressed, were to be delivered to the First National Bank, of Houston, Tex., and were to be shipped by said bank to the Northern Bank correspondent of H. C. Burt & Co. for payment. shipping charges from Houston to be paid by H. C. Burt & Co.
“Plaintiff alleged that the construction placed on the contract for the construction of said courthouse and jail by, said county and its county judge and commissioners’ court and plaintiff, from the beginning, was that the plaintiff was to receive in money the full amount of such monthly estimates of the architect, and that the guaranty of said county was to be made good as the work progressed; that he undertook the construction of the building on this understanding and on this interpretation of the contract.
“He further alleged that when said contract was entered into a railroad was in operation from Midland, Tex., to Seminole, Tex., the county seat of Gaines county, Tex., and it was contemplated by the officials of said county and plaintiff in entering into said contract that said railroad would continue to be operated between said two points, thus making connection with the markets and with other railroads for the transportation of the material required in said building; tiñere being no other railroad connecting Seminole with the outside world, and it being necessary to transport practically all the material used in the construction of said building, which was to be of reinforced concrete and brick, and a great amount of cement was required, which had to be carried several hundred miles by rail.
“Plaintiff alleged that he entered upon the construction of said building as soon as he reasonably could after entering into said contract, and used diligence in the prosecution of same, but was hindered and delayed and prevented from completing same by the time specified in said contract because said railroad ceased to be operated within a few months after he undertook the construction of said building, and thus he was prevented from having the materia] delivered on the ground, and the same was left standing in ears at Midland, at which point he had shipped it, whence he had expected to transport it to Seminole, a distance of about 70 miles. That the supply of cement ,necessary for the construction of buildings in this country failed, and he was wholly unable to obtain the necessary quantity of cement and other material to complete said building within the time specified, and he was thus delayed in the completion of the work by causes beyond his control, and also by acts of the said commissioners’ court and county judge as hereinafter shown.

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Bluebook (online)
241 S.W. 185, 1922 Tex. App. LEXIS 799, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cobb-v-h-c-burt-co-texapp-1922.