Morrison Supply Co. v. M. W. Hamilton & Co.

411 S.W.2d 790, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2395
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 30, 1967
DocketNo. 7677
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 411 S.W.2d 790 (Morrison Supply Co. v. M. W. Hamilton & 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
Morrison Supply Co. v. M. W. Hamilton & Co., 411 S.W.2d 790, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2395 (Tex. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

CHAPMAN, Justice.

This is a summary judgment case based on the contention in the motion for such judgment that the pleadings on file of plaintiff below, Morrison Supply Company, and the exhibits attached thereto as a part thereof show no genuine issue of fact against either of the defendants-ap-pellees as a matter of law.

Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and James O. Reynolds d/b/a Reynolds Plumbing & Piping Company were original defendants along with M. W. Hamilton & [791]*791Company and Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company. The suit was severed and docketed separately as to the first two named defendants, who are not appellees here.

On July 21, 1964, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, owners of Lots 8, 9 and 10, Block No. 138, Plemons Addition to the City of Amarillo, Potter County, Texas, entered into a construction contract with M. W. Hamilton & Company for the construction of a district office building on the named property. On the same day the construction company executed its performance and payment bond as principal, with Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company, as surety. It was agreed in the written contract that Hamilton would subcontract with James O. Reynolds d/b/a Reynolds Plumbing & Piping Company for the plumbing, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning, with the understanding that such subcontract had been approved by the telephone company.

To shorten this opinion and conform to the abbreviation designations of the parties, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company will be referred to hereafter as Telephone Company; M. W. Hamilton & Company as Hamilton; the bonding company as Hartford; James O. Reynolds d/b/a Reynolds Plumbing & Piping Company as Reynolds; and Morrison Supply Company as Morrison or appellant.

On August 13, 1964, under the requirement of Article 5472d, Vernon’s Ann. Texas Revised Civil Statutes, the contract and bond mentioned were filed for record with the county clerk of Potter County. On December 2, 1964, appellant, Morrison, sold some pipe, material and plumbing supplies to Reynolds for its part of the construction work in the building, which Morrison alleged totaled $7,537.69. It is for these materials Morrison seeks payment from Hamilton and Hartford.

On February 25, 1965, and April 8, 1965, Morrison for the first time notified Hamilton and Telephone Company respectively that Reynolds had not paid for the named materials. On the same date he notified Telephone Company; i. e., April 8, 1965, appellant filed an affidavit with the county clerk of Potter County claiming a lien on the building and land involved in the construction contract.

The only question before us is whether Morrison’s pleadings and the exhibits attached as part thereof raise a material fact issue, which, if found in its favor would entitle it to recover payment for the materials from Hamilton and Hartford.

The mechanic’s and material men’s lien laws applicable to this case may be found in Articles 5452, 5453 and 5472d, Chapter 382, S.B. 107, Page 863, titled “General and Special Laws of Texas 57th Legislature Regular Session 1961, First and Second Call Sessions 1961, and Volume 16 Vernon’s Ann. Texas Civil Statutes, Annotated at this writing in 1966 Cumulative Annual Pocket Part,” titled “Mechanics, Contractors and Material Men.” Article 5453, titled “Securing Lien” gives the requirements for perfecting a claim. Section 2 thereof provides the claim shall not be valid unless the claimant has complied with the applicable notice requirements thereafter set out, if such claimant is other than an original contractor, and that such notices shall be conditions precedent to the validity of such claims.

Subsection (1) under Section 2b provides if the claim consists of a lien claim arising from a subcontractor incurred debt, written notice by the claimant of the unpaid balance of such claim shall be made to the original subcontractor not later than 36 days after the 10th day of the month next following each month in which claimant’s material was delivered, except the instances of re-tainages provided in 2b “ * * * for which notices have been given in accordance with the preceding subparagraph,” which is 2a of Article 5453. Such notices are required to be sent “ * * * by certified or registered mail addressed to the owner, and where required by this article, to the orig[792]*792inal contractor, at their last known business or residence address.”

Hamilton and Hartford executed a payment bond as principal and surety respectively to protect Telephone Company’s lots from claims for labor or materials, as specified in Article 5472d. An examination of that article shows Morrison was required to give the same notices required in Article 5453. Section 1 thereof provides that where a written contract exists between the owner and original contractor and the contractor has furnished a bond in favor of the owner in a penal sum of not less than the total of the contract amount executed by the original contractor as principal, and a corporate surety (as here) conditioned for the prompt payment of materials, approved by the owner and filed in the office of the county clerk, such payment bond shall innure solely to all claimants either giving and filing the applicable notices and claims under Article 5453, or making claims provided for in Paragraph 4 of Article 5472d. (Emphasis added).

Section 4a provides for giving the original contractor all applicable notices of claims required by Article 5453, or to the corporate surety in lieu thereof.

It may thus be seen that both Articles 5453 and 5472d required that if Morrison furnished materials to anyone other than Hamilton, written notice in the manner provided must have been given to Hamilton (the original contractor) not later than 36 days after the 10th day of the month next following the month in which the materials were delivered. Since Morrison’s pleadings allege they were sold and delivered on December 2, 1964, to Reynolds, Morrison’s last day for giving notice to Hamilton was February 15, 1965, 36 days after January 10, 1965. Since such notice was not given until February 25, 1965, it was 10 days too late if Reynolds was a subcontractor of Hamilton under the pleadings and exhibits forming a part of Morrison’s pleadings.

Appellant contends its pleadings raise a genuine issue of a material fact as to whether Reynolds was something other than a subcontractor; i. e., he was a general contractor of Telephone Company with respect to the plumbing, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning; and that Hamilton was acting as Reynolds’ agent in executing the original contract with Telephone Company.

Article 5452, subd. 2, par. f, as amended Acts 1961, 57th Legislature defines a subcontractor as “ * * * any person or persons, firm or corporation who has furnished labor or materials or both as defined above to fulfill an obligation to an original contractor or to a subcontractor to perform all or part of the work required by an original contract.”

Appellant’s exhibit attached as part of its pleadings recites the construction contract is between Telephone Company and Hamilton as contractor. The contract form appears to be “The American Institute of Architects Standard Form Of Agreement Between Owner And Contractor” and is divided into articles covering different subjects in the contract.

Article 1, titled “Scope of the Work” requires the contractor to furnish all the materials and perform all the work shown on the drawings and described in the specifications.

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411 S.W.2d 790, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morrison-supply-co-v-m-w-hamilton-co-texapp-1967.