George C. Peterson Co. v. State

10 Ill. Ct. Cl. 673, 1939 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 55
CourtCourt of Claims of Illinois
DecidedJune 14, 1939
DocketNos. 1833-1834, Consolidated
StatusPublished

This text of 10 Ill. Ct. Cl. 673 (George C. Peterson Co. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Claims of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
George C. Peterson Co. v. State, 10 Ill. Ct. Cl. 673, 1939 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 55 (Ill. Super. Ct. 1939).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Yantis

delivered the opinion of the court:

The claimant in each of the above entitled cases is the same, the George C. Peterson Company being a corporation licensed under the laws of the State of Delaware with its principal offices in the City of Chicago. It is principally engaged in the business of buying, selling and dealing in petroleum products, wholesale and retail.

The declarations in both cases were filed at the same time, i. e. on November 19,1931. In the former case, No. 1833, claimant alleges that on the 15th day of August, 1929 it entered into a contract with the State of Illinois whereby it obligated itself to sell and deliver 350,000 gallons of gasoline at 11.9c per gallon to the State of Illinois, to be shipped to the Division of Waterways, Dresden Island Lock and Dam, near Divine, Illinois, and that the respondent by said contract obligated itself to purchase and receive said gasoline at the price above stated; that pursuant to said contract the State accepted delivery of 28,226 gallons of such gasoline, but in disregard of inquiries by claimant for further shipping orders covering the shipment of the balance of said gasoline which it was then and there ready and willing to deliver, the State thereafter failed to accept any part of such remainder. That due to the refusal of respondent to accept the balance of the gasoline under the terms of said contract, claimant had been damaged in the sum of Fifteen Thousand ($15,000.00) Dollars.

In the second complaint, i. e. No. 1834, claimant alleges that on the 7th day of May, 1929 it entered into a contract with the State of Illinois whereby the claimant contracted and obligated itself to sell and deliver gasoline, kerosene and other petroleum products to the State of Illinois to be shipped to the Division of Waterways Brandon Road Lock & Dam near Joliet, Illinois, and the State of Illinois by said contract obligated itself to purchase and receive the same in the quantity, quality and the price therein alleged. That after a small portion of the merchandise contracted for had been delivered, as set forth in the complaint, the respondent declined to accept the remainder of said petroleum products and that the plaintiff, by reason of such refusal of respondent to perform the terms of its agreement, has sustained damages in the sum of Five Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars.

A motion to dismiss the complaint was filed by respondent in each case, and on September 11, 1934 an order was entered that such motion would be taken with the case. Thereafter evidence was taken and certain stipulations entered into between the parties, the last of such stipulations being filed October 24, 1938. Final Statement, Brief and Argument was filed by claimant November 14,1938 in each case.

Respondent contends that the officer who purported to enter into the contracts on behalf of respondent had no authority to bind the latter; that respondent in and by such contracts did not agree to accept the amount of gasoline and petroleum products set forth in such contracts; that there was no appropriation at the time of the making of such contracts out of which payment could be made for the items contracted for; that the Court of Claims has no jurisdiction to determine the present claims upon their merits because of another forum to which such matter should have been submitted, and further that if an award was entered by the court the legislature could not make a valid appropriation in pay-meat thereof. In addition to the foregoing, counsel for respondent disagree with counsel for claimant as to the proper measure of damages for any loss suffered by claimant herein.

Photostatic copies of the specifications upon which the contracts in question rested, appear as part of the evidence, and by stipulation filed October 24, 1938, the parties herein agree that such photostatic copies are true copies of the original proposals submitted by the claimant, in answer to a notification from the respondent through its Division of Purchases and Supplies of the Department of Purchases and Construction that such respondent would receive sealed proposals for furnishing and delivering to the Division of Waterways, F. O. B. Dresden Island Lock & Dam site at Divine, Illinois, certain gasoline under the one contract and certain gasoline, grease and other oil products described in the second specifications ; that attached to the original proposals were copies of the articles, quantities and quality thereof taken from the respective notifications, together with the price per unit at which the articles specified in such notifications would be furnished by claimant; that the original notifications were received by claimant from respondent, and that there, was written on such notifications the price per unit at which said articles therein specified would be furnished by claimant at the location designated, and that the price therein stated was inserted as a bid price by authority and consent of the claimant ; that 0. L. Peterson was duly authorized by the claimant corporation to make the proposals in question. The stipulation further states that the items specified in such proposal were to be charged to the appropriation for the Illinois Waterway Fund Construction and were to be delivered by truck or wagon to the State of Illinois Division of Waterways Dresden Island Lock & Dam, Divine, Illinois. That the purchase order was delivered by the Division of Purchases and Supplies of said Department of Purchases and Construction to and was accepted by the claimant in response to said proposal.

The proposal by claimant company in each instance consists of a brief statement printed at the bottom of the State’s specifications, to the effect that the bidder proposed to furnish, in accordance with the terms of the specifications, the articles therein set forth, opposite to which the bidder had indicated a price. Such proposal contains the following statement:

“It is agreed that deliveries are to be made to the institutions in accordance with conditions on sheet No. 2.”

This proposal is directed to the “Division of Purchases and Supplies of the Department of Purchases and Construction.” The proposal and the specifications to which it refers is a printed form which is used in the general purchase of supplies for the various institutions of the State, and “Sheet No. 2” thereof contains a list of thirty-one State institutions with railroad delivery facilities indicated after the name of each. The specifications contained two additional typewritten sheets, the one in case No. 1833 containing the following paragraph, to-wit:

“Sealed proposals will be received in the office of the Division of Purchases and Supplies, Capitol Building, Springfield, Illinois, until 2 o’clock P. M., Tuesday, August 6, 1929, on 350,000 gallons of grade No. 1 gasoline. Necessary blanks and full information furnished upon application to the Division of Purchases and Supplies. The right is reserved to reject any and all bids.”

Beneath this paragraph claimant had noted a bid price for “350,000 gallons of grade No. 1 gasoline at a unit price of 11.9c per gallon.” Thereafter follows certain specifications as to color, corrosion, distillation range, acidity and sulphur. A further clause provides as follows:

“Bidder to furnish and install free of all extra cost to State, tank storage of 1000 gallons or more with pump or pumps for distribution.

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

Related

City of Chicago v. Peck
63 N.E. 711 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1902)
County of Schuyler v. Missouri Bridge & Iron Co.
100 N.E. 239 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1912)
Melluish v. City of Alton
230 Ill. App. 250 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1923)
Nestler v. Pure Silk Hosiery Mills
242 Ill. App. 151 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1926)
Warner Construction Co. v. Commissioners of Lincoln Park
278 Ill. App. 42 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1934)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 Ill. Ct. Cl. 673, 1939 Ill. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 55, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/george-c-peterson-co-v-state-ilclaimsct-1939.