O. K. Butler Const. Co. v. Bentley

1951 OK 275, 237 P.2d 886, 205 Okla. 225, 1951 Okla. LEXIS 667
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 23, 1951
Docket34032
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 1951 OK 275 (O. K. Butler Const. Co. v. Bentley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
O. K. Butler Const. Co. v. Bentley, 1951 OK 275, 237 P.2d 886, 205 Okla. 225, 1951 Okla. LEXIS 667 (Okla. 1951).

Opinions

HALLEY, V. C. J.

The parties occupy the same positions as in the trial court, .and will be so referred to here.

This action was brought by the plaintiff against the defendants in the district court of Oklahoma county on January 17, 1948, to recover money due for construction work on certain highways in Pottawatomie county. The plaintiff alleged that a contract for this road work was let by the State Highway Commission to the defendants, R. H. Bentley and R. J. Wenthe, d/b/a Bentley & Wenthe, a copartnership. That pursuant to statute (61 O. S. 1941 §§1, 2, and 3) the contractors, Bentley and Wenthe, were required to give bond conditioned that they pay all indebtedness incurred for labor and materials furnished in the construction of said public building, or in making said improvements, and further providing that any person to whom there was due any sum for labor or materials furnished might bring an action against the partnership for the recovery of said indebtedness. In accordance with the statute, the defendants Bentley and Wenthe made a surety bond with the defendant National Automobile & Casualty Insurance Company, as surety, condition as aforesaid.

It was further alleged that the defendants Bentley and Wenthe then contracted with the plaintiff to do certain portions of said construction work, which work was duly performed by plaintiff in accordance with said contract, and that there was a balance due and unpaid from the defendants to the plaintiff in the sum of $2,742.62, with interest. Plaintiff further alleged that by reason of the contracts as aforesaid and the bond and statute covering such transactions, said insurance company and Bentley and Wenthe were all three liable jointly for said indebtedness; that by reason thereof the three defendants were sued jointly on the obligation.

[226]*226The record admittedly shows that defendant Bentley was a resident of Pottawatomie county and could be served therein; that the defendant Wenthe was a resident of and could be served in Cleveland county; and that the defendant National Automobile Casualty Insurance Company was a resident of and could be served in Oklahoma county; that since the action was transitory, suit could be brought upon the joint liability, which was done, and that it could be filed in either of the three counties and was accordingly filed in the district court of Oklahoma county. No question is raised in this appeal as to the indebtedness, the amount due thereon, the execution of the indemnity bond, or the right of the plaintiff to recover. Each of the three defendants was served with summons in his or its respective county, and each defendant filed a separate motion to quash the service. These motions were heard by the court on February 27, 1948, and each of the motions was overruled with exceptions, and each defendant was given five days thereafter in which to plead further or ten days in which to answer.

Thereafter, on March 3, 1948, and within the time allowed, each of the defendants filed a separate general demurrer to the petition.

From the record it appears that after filing of the petition and the issuance and service of summons, it was discovered by the plaintiff that there had been an error made in the name of the defendant National Automobile & Casualty Insurance Company. Its name was given as “National Automobile 8s Casualty Company”, whereas the word “Insurance” should have been inserted immediately after the word “Casualty”, so as to make the name read “National Automobile 8s Casualty Insurance Company.

The record further discloses that when the insurance company was served with summons bearing -this discrepancy in its name, it made no objection to the incorrect name, and, in its motion to quash, it used its correct name of “National Automobile 8s Casualty Insurance Company”; and likewise when it filed its demurrer it used its correct name.

Subsequent to the service of the original summons, the plaintiff, without permission of the court, caused a second summons to be issued and served upon the National Automobile 8s Casualty Insurance Company on March 3, 1948, bearing the correct name of the company.

On the 12th day of March, 1948, an order was made striking the three separate general demurrers from the motion docket and further ordering that the plaintiff be permitted, within five days, to amend its petition by inter-lineation of the date that the work was completed, and defendants were thereby given five days thereafter to plead, and in accordance therewith plaintiff amended its petition by inserting at the end of the second paragraph of the first cause of action the following:

“The plaintiff further alleges that the construction under the bond was not completed until on or about August 1, 1947.”

On March 15, 1948, upon oral presentation and ex parte proceeding, the court made and entered an order, the pertinent part reading:

“ ... it is ordered, adjudged and decreed that the plaintiff be permitted to amend by interlineation the petition, praecipe for summons, summons, and the return of summons, insofar as said instruments relate to the National Automobile and Casualty Insurance Company, by the substitution of the word ‘Insurance’ wherever said company is designated in the above mentioned pleading and process.”

Thereafter, on April 2, 1948, the company filed its special appearance and motion to quash the second summons, and on April 9, 1948, it was heard and sustained, at which time the court found and held that the same was issued without leave of the court and was therefore a nullity, but found and [227]*227again ordered that the plaintiff should he permitted to correct the name of the defendant National Automobile & Casualty Insurance Company, and granted leave to issue alias summons.

Thereafter, on May 26, 1948, the defendants Bentley and Wenthe each filed a special appearance and objection to the jurisdiction of the court, asserting therein that they were nonresidents of Oklahoma county, Oklahoma; that the court had never acquired jurisdiction of any resident defendant in Oklahoma county; that there was no joint cause of action pending against the movants or any other person resident or capable of being served in Oklahoma county.

These motions and demurrers of each of the defendants were before the court on the motion docket of May 28, 1948, at which time the demurrers were stricken from the docket, but the motions were continued until June 18, 1948, and were then overruled.

Thereafter, on July 23, 1948, a hearing was had on the three demurrers of the three separate defendants. Upon request of the parties, permission was granted them to submit briefs in support of their argument, and the cause was continued until September 3, 1948, and thereupon the court again considered the motions of the defendants, which had been overruled on June 18, 1948, and vacated the order of said date, which had overruled the objection to the jurisdiction of the court over defendants Bentley and Wenthe.

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

Related

Custom Radio Corp. v. Passenger Transportation Specialists, Inc.
2010 OK CIV APP 93 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 2010)
Cartwright v. Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc.
1981 OK 4 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1981)
Harting v. Benham Engineering Company
1971 OK 129 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1971)
Hickman v. Hygrade Packing Company
185 N.W.2d 801 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1971)
Harting v. Benham Engineering Company
1971 OK CIV APP 1 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1971)
Gragg v. James
1969 OK 58 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1969)
Guzman v. Montgomery Ward & Co.
450 P.2d 427 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1969)
O. K. Butler Const. Co. v. Bentley
1951 OK 275 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1951 OK 275, 237 P.2d 886, 205 Okla. 225, 1951 Okla. LEXIS 667, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/o-k-butler-const-co-v-bentley-okla-1951.