Ford v. City of Great Falls

127 P. 1004, 46 Mont. 292, 1912 Mont. LEXIS 120
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 11, 1912
DocketNo. 3,248
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 127 P. 1004 (Ford v. City of Great Falls) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ford v. City of Great Falls, 127 P. 1004, 46 Mont. 292, 1912 Mont. LEXIS 120 (Mo. 1912).

Opinion

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BRANTLY

delivered the opinion of the court.

The city council of the city of Great Falls, having determined that it was of public concern that a portion of one of its streets, designated as First avenue north, be paved, caused the city engineer to prepare plans and specifications for the proposed improvement, and also an estimate of its cost. This he did. The property abutting on the portion of the street to be paved is described as “embracing each and every lot in the south half of blocks 307, 308, 309, 310, and 311, and in the north half of blocks 312, 313, 314, and 315.” These include all lots fronting on the avenue from the west line of Park Drive to the east line of Sixth street. Lots 8 to 14, inclusive, in block 310, belong to the United States, being occupied by the federal building. The engineer’s specifications contained this paragraph: “Attention of all contractors is called to the agreement of Warren Brothers Company, filed with this city, in accordance with which agreement Warren Brothers Company agrees to license all contractors desiring to bid for the work to lay the bitulithic pavement in accordance with its patent and terms of said agreement.” The following is a copy of this agreement:

“Boston, July 6, 1911.
“To the Honorable Mayor and City Council of Great Falls, Montana—
“Gentlemen: Inasmuch as it is deemed advisable by the proper authorities that bids be received for the improvement of certain [300]*300streets in the city of Great Falls, state of Montana, with the bitulithic pavement; and inasmuch as the construction of said pavement requires the use of certain patented processes and compounds; and inasmuch as competitive bidding in the letting of contracts for street improvements is deemed advisable, in order to provide for such competitive bidding and at the same time secure the adoption of the bitulithic pavement as the kind of pavement to be constructed in such streets as may hereafter be determined, the undersigned Warren Brothers Company, as owners of all patents and processes covering the laying of said bitulithic pavement, hereby proposes and agrees for the consideration hereinafter named, to furnish to the city of' Great Falls, or to any bidder to whom a contract may be awarded to pave any street or streets in the city of Great Falls with bitulithic pavement at any time within one year after this date or at any time thereafter until this proposition is formally withdrawn, and who shall enter into a contract with such surety or sureties as may be required by-said city of Great Falls, the following material ready for use coupled with a free license to use any or all patents, trademarks, or trade names now owned or which may hereafter be owned by Warren Brothers Company necessary to lay said pavement:
“ (1) The necessary roadway mixture for the wearing surface having a thickness of two (2),inches after compression, prepared under the patent processes of Warren Brothers Company, and delivered hot in the wagons of the city or contractor at the bitulithic mixing plant, located in the city of Great Falls, said plant to be located within three (3) miles of the work .to be performed.
“(2) The right to use any and all patents, trademarks and trade names now owned or which may hereafter be owned or controlled by Warren Brothers Company, which are necessary to be used in the laying of such pavement.
“ (3) The bituminous flues coating cement, necessary for coating the wearing surfaces, delivered on wagons of the city or contractor at the bitulithic mixing plant, located as above. [301]*301“ (4) An expert who will give proper advice as to the building of such pavement will be furnished to the city or contractor, at the expense of Warren Brothers Company.
“(5) Two daily examinations of the mixture as delivered on the street will be made at the laboratory of Warren Brothers Company to determine if uniformity has been accomplished in the mixture and construction, and reports thereof will be made to the proper city authorities; said samples to be sent prepaid to the laboratory of Warren Brothers Company, Water street, East Cambridge, Mass., by the city or contractor.
“The price at which this service is offered to any and all contractors who made a bid on the bitulithie pavement in the city of Great Falls, state of Montana, is one and 50/100 dollars ($1.50) per square yard of finished pavement, at which price it is also agreed to furnish the mixture for making all repairs, if any, which may be necessary for the wearing surface, during the life of said patents, f. o. b. Great Falls, in barrels for reheating.
“The accepting of the bids by your city, and the letting of a contract for the same, is all that shall be necessary to bind Warren Brothers Company to this agreement.
“The above agreement made with the understanding that it applies only to contracts, work on which can be performed continuously, aggregating not less than ten thousand (10,000) square yards.”

The specifications included an estimate of the cost of the entire improvement in. case bitulithie pavement should be used, fixed at $40,000. Of this amount, $26,200 was apportioned to the abutting property, making the amounts assessable to each lot, excluding those belonging to the United States, $420. The remainder was charged to the city. Prior to any definite action by the council, a majority of the persons owning lots abutting on the portion of the avenue to be improved had by address to the council recommended that it require the use of bitulithie pavement. On September 16, 1912, the council passed a resolution for the pavement of the designated portion of the avenue, declaring that it was its intention to cause it to be paved, if on or before September 23 objection in writing should not be made- by [302]*302the owners of two-thirds of the property to be affected or benefited. The resolution adopted the plans and specifications of the engineer, ordered the work to be done in accordance therewith, fixed a day for hearing objections, and directed the clerk to give five days’ notice by publication in a daily newspaper published in the city. It specifically required bids to be made upon the basis of the use of the processes and compounds covered by the "Warren Bros, patent. It directed that $26,200 of the cost of the improvement be assessed against the abutting lots and be paid by the owners of them, excluding those owned by the United States, and that the cost of the portion in front of the latter, and at the intersection of cross-streets and alleys, be a charge against the city and paid out of its street fund. It required the amount assessed against each lot to be paid in a single installment and within one year from the completion of the improvement. The cost of the portion of the improvement in front of the lots owned by the United States government was made a charge against the street fund, under an ordinance of the city theretofore enacted as ordinance No. 362, which declares, in effect, that the cost of any improvement upon any street made under section 3386 of the Bevised Codes, in front of property belonging to the city, the state of Montana, or the United States, shall be a charge against the city.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
127 P. 1004, 46 Mont. 292, 1912 Mont. LEXIS 120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ford-v-city-of-great-falls-mont-1912.