Gold Bros. Brick v. Grant County

168 N.W. 855, 40 S.D. 570, 1918 S.D. LEXIS 124
South Dakota Supreme Court·Decided July 22, 1918·No. File No. 4268·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

GATES, J.

Gr-a-nt County .-contracted -with -a con-structi-on- company for th-e ere'cti-o-ni o-f -a courthouse. The plaintiff 'has an unpaid bill o-f ,$1,162.33 for building material -delivered up'o-n th-e -courthouse grounds to the 'contractor, and which entered- into the construction of the building. The bond furnished' by tire contractor did not -contain tide 'clause providing fo'r 'the payment of all labor and material that entered into tire erection iasi required by section 1, c. 245, Lqiws 1909. In March, 1916, when the bui-ldi-nig -was -partially -completed', the -contractor abandoned- the contract. The county t-o'ok -over "the job, and at -the time of the trial of- this 'action it was nearing oampieltion. 'Section 2 of. said1 -act provides a liability on the -part of the county f'o-r -its failure tloi require the proper bond This action 'was brought ito enforce such liability against the county. Section 3 of said act limits the time -within which an action t-o recover upon such liability shall foe begun. The decision in thi-s case 'depends solely upon the meaning of said 'section 3.' The Ibuildbui-Ming material furnished ibyr- plaintiff iw-as delivered1 In- the latter part -of the year- 1915, the last of -it being received .and accepted by the coosibructiion -company -at 'sia-id court foo-us-e ground's for use in said building on January 4, -1916. • This 'action was -begun -o-n January 8, 1917. The trial -count concluded that the time of time acceptance of the material by the -contractor was the beginning of the 90-clay period- mentioned in section 3 of said act, and because the adtioni .was niot begun -within said period1 entered' judgment -dismissing the -action. From such judgment and an- order -denying a nelw trial, plaintiff appeals.

The language of -section 3 of said act is:

“That an action brought under -any of the provisions of this a-ct -shall' be commenced within ninety -days from 'the -acceptance of the wlork for -which the same shall be cl-aimed1.”

On the part of the respondent it is -claimed, -as fo-und by the trial count, that the acceptance by the contractor of the particular material upon- .which the -claim- -is- based is-the .acceptance referred to in said section, -or that in--any event ‘-the taking over of the job [573] ■by the county amounted to an acceptance of the 'building by the county.

[1, 2] Appellant-makes two contentions: First, that the word “work” in said section means “labor,” so that it would have -us hol'd that an action upon .the county’s liability for the value of labor that ‘entered -into the erection must be begun within, go day®, froto' the date of acceptance, while an -action1 upon its. liability for material need only be begun within six years after the cause of action accrued. A mere reading of the first three •sections' of the act shows that such contention is unwarranted. Appellant alternatively contends that the -word “work” is -used' as a synonym for the improvement icir .public work which is the subject of the contract. Respondent’s counsel contend that itbe words “flor which the same shall be .claimed” negative this construction' because they say those words “clearly show .that tire recovery can be had only for -that claim and that the action for such recovery shall be begun within 90 days from the ‘acceptance of the wlork,’ which in this instance would be Construed to be the material for which the recovery shall be claimed.” Respondent's counsel mis® the point. This action is not one upon contract, nor upon quantum meruit a® ordinarily unde nstcieid, nor is it one to enforce .a.mechanic’s lien. It is ‘an action based upon ;a statutory liability created! by the failure of the county to require and secure tire proper bond, although of .course 'the value of the labor or material .measures the amount of plaintiff’® recovery. Handelan v. Smee Sch. Dist., 38 S. D. 29, 159 N. W. 888. In Slagle v. Elk Point Ind. Con. Sch. Dist., 40. S. D. p. 73, 166 N. W. 234, we said:

“This statute creates a liability entirely distinct from any liability of the .district which might arise under a valid contract.”

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Gold Bros. Brick v. Grant County, 168 N.W. 855, 40 S.D. 570, 1918 S.D. LEXIS 124 (S.D. 1918).

168 N.W. 855 (Gold Bros. Brick v. Grant County) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Grant County v. McGowan Lumber Co.
172 N.W. 683 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1919)