Kansas City ex rel. Kansas City Hydraulic Press Brick Co. v. Youmans

112 S.W. 225, 213 Mo. 151, 1908 Mo. LEXIS 176
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJune 26, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 112 S.W. 225 (Kansas City ex rel. Kansas City Hydraulic Press Brick Co. v. Youmans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kansas City ex rel. Kansas City Hydraulic Press Brick Co. v. Youmans, 112 S.W. 225, 213 Mo. 151, 1908 Mo. LEXIS 176 (Mo. 1908).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

This cause having been transferred to the Court in Banc and having been re-argued, the following opinion of Judge Graves, in Division No. One, is adopted as the opinion of the Court in Banc.

Gantt, G. J., Burgess, Fox and Woodson, JJ., concurring therein; Lamm, J., concurs in separate opinion; Valliant, J., dissents.

GRAVES, J.

Action by relators and intervening petitioners in the name of Kansas City on a contract entered into for the construction of a sewer in said city.

[158]*158By ordinance No. 19459, the city of Kansas City provided for the building of a sewer in Sewer District No. 218 of said city. Having been the lowest bidder for the work required by said ordinance, the defendant, F. 0. Youmans, was awarded the contract. He entered into such contract and one Geo. J. Baer, now deceased, and defendant United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company signed as his sureties or guarantors. In said contract, which is the contract sued upon herein, F'. C. Youmans is designated as party of the first part, these sureties or guarantors as parties of the second part, and the city of Kansas City as party of- the third part. By the contract the first party was to be paid for his work in taxbills against the property in the district. This contract was drawn in form as prescribed by section 20 of article 9 of the Kansas City charter, and this suit now before us was instituted in the'manner provided for in said section, so that we quote it in full, as follows:

“Contracts for making city improvements on streets, sidewalks, avenues or alleys, or for constructing sewers, let to the lowest bidder, shall contain a covenant on the part of the contractor or contractors with the city, to pay for the work and labor of all laborers and teamsters, teams and wagons employed on the job and for all materials used therein, and performance of such covenant to be guaranteed by two or more sureties signing the contract, whose sufficiency shall be approved as provided by ordinance, but who shall not be liable beyond the estimated cost of the materials used and labor done upon the job, to be stated in the contract: provided, that the city shall not be liable for the sufficiency of the contractors or sureties, nor for any failure to comply with or irregularity in complying with this provision. Laborers and teamsters and owners of teams and wagons who may do' work, and parties who may furnish materials, stipulated for by [159]*159any such contract, may recover in an action in the name of the city for their use, in which no costs shall be adjudged against the city, and all costs not adjudged against the defendant shall be adjudged according to equity against the persons for whose use the suit may be prosecuted, all money due them for labor and materials, or either, not exceeding the estimated cost of the labor and materials as stated in the contract; and such recovery may be had against the contractor and sureties, or either, as in chancery; but it shall not be necessary to file with the petition the original contract. Suit may be brought for the benefit of all laborers, teamsters and owners of teams and wagons on the job, and for materials used in the performance thereof; and the amount due them be ascertained by the court or referee, unless the court direct an issue as to the amount due one or more laborers or others, or for materials to be tried by a jury; pending the suit, laborers, teamsters and owners of teams and wagons, and parties who have furnished materials for the performance of the contract, not mentioned in the petition, whether they have done work or furnished materials before or after the commencement of the suit, may become parties to the proceedings by appearing and filing in the action a written statement of their demand. Such notice thereof as the court may direct shall be given to the defendants and reasonable opportunity to defend shall be given. The proceedings shall, as far as practicable, be governed by the rules and principles of courts of chancery, so as to afford speedy and adequate relief according to the spirit and letter of this section. Judgment shall be rendered for the estimated cost of labor and materials as stated in the contract, and execution be awarded and issued for the aggregate amount found due the laborers, teamsters, and owners of teams and wagons, and the parties who have furnished materials, not exceeding the estimated cost in the contract, which [160]*160shall he collected with the costs. The money shall, after paying costs, he divided and paid pro rata among those for whose use the judgment may be rendered. The court shall decide all questions as to distribution summarily on motion. No action shall he brought or prosecuted for the benefit of laborers, teamsters or owners of teams and wagons, or parties who have furnished materials on the contract, unless the suit be commenced within three months after the completion of the work to he done under the contract and acceptance thereof by the city, nor shall such action he brought before such completion and acceptance, unless the court find good cause therefor, according to the averments in the petition. Suits shall he brought in some court of competent jurisdiction in Jackson county, if jurisdiction of proper parties can be obtained in the county. ’ ’

The contract thus entered into was duly confirmed by the city in an ordinance numbered 19915. When this suit was originally instituted, the relators were the Kansas City Hydraulic Press Brick Company, Kansas City Paving Brick and Tile Company, the R. J. & W. M. Boyd Construction Company, corporations, and Lynch Watkins Lime & Cement Company, and the Builders Sand Company, co-partnerships, and John Kingston, an individual. Later, under the provisions of said section 20 of article 9 of the charter above quoted, intervening petitions in said suit were filed by Ashgrove White Lime Association, Richards & Con-over Hardware Company, and the Halliwell Cement Company, a corporation. Relators and intervening petitioners claimed to have furnished labor and material used in the construction of the sewer. By their petition and intervening petitions, they set out the items of their respective accounts and pleaded nonpayments as to certain balances due thereon, and they pray judgment for the full amount of the guarantee [161]*161contract, i. e., $83,540, to be satisfied upon tbe payment of their aggregate claims, which amonnt was something near $13,000. The contract sued upon provided for the mode and manner of and the time within which said sewer was to be constructed by Youmans, as it did also provide for the prices for the different kinds of work to be paid, full details of which contract are not necessary, but the contested and vital portion thereof is paragraph 29, which is as follows:

“29. (a) It is further agreed and stipulated by the said party of the first part, that in the construction of the sewer to be built under this contract, he will use only brick of Kansas City manufacture, unless otherwise authorized by permission in writing by the city engineer, on account of the insufficiency of brick made in Kansas City to meet the needs of this contract, or inability to obtain such brick at a price not greater than that to be paid for brick of foreign manufacture, and for such reasons only.

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Bluebook (online)
112 S.W. 225, 213 Mo. 151, 1908 Mo. LEXIS 176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kansas-city-ex-rel-kansas-city-hydraulic-press-brick-co-v-youmans-mo-1908.