Pottenger v. Bond

142 N.E. 616, 81 Ind. App. 107, 1924 Ind. App. LEXIS 35
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 6, 1924
DocketNo. 11,691
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 142 N.E. 616 (Pottenger v. Bond) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pottenger v. Bond, 142 N.E. 616, 81 Ind. App. 107, 1924 Ind. App. LEXIS 35 (Ind. Ct. App. 1924).

Opinion

Batman, J.

This is an action by appellants against appellees, David H. Bond, board of trustees of the town of Worthington, Indiana, Hobart Hedden, as clerk, and Charles A. Pottenger, as treasurer, of said town, to set aside on the ground of fraud, the acceptance by said board of trustees of a sanitary sewer, constructed by said Bond under a contract with it; to set aside, as fraudulent and void, the assessment roll in favor of said Bond; to enjoin the collection of the assessments therefor, the issuing of certificates thereon, and further payments to said contractor on account thereof, and from taking any further steps in the matter of said improvement. The complaint is in a single paragraph. Appellee Bond filed an answer thereto in four paragraphs. The appellees, other than. Bond, filed a like answer. A reply in general denial having been filed to [110]*110the affirmative paragraphs of each of said answers, the cause was submitted to the court for trial, and,' on request, a special finding of facts was made, and conclusions of - law stated thereon. In the former, the court, after reciting the statutory proceedings taken by the board of trustees for the construction of the sewer, states that a contract therefor was made with said Bond, and sets out the provisions thereof. It is then found, in substance, among other things, that said contractor subsequently presented a report to the board of trustees in which he claimed to have completed the construction of said sewer in all things according to his contract therefor, and asked that the same be accepted; that said board then made an examination of said sewer, and attempted to become acquainted with its condition, and ascertain whether it had been completed according to contract; that said board thereafter entered an order accepting said sewer, and proceeded to make an assessment roll therefor, which included assessments against the real estate of appellants; that after notice and a hearing, as provided by law, said assessment roll was confirmed by said board; that the specifications for said sewer provide, among other things, as follows:

“Gaskets will be made of oakum or hemp twisted into strands of such size as will compress into joints, completely filling it all around so as to prevent the intrusion of mortar into the interior of the pipe. * * * Before cementing, the interior of the joints shall be carefully wiped smooth and the annular space must be completely cleaned of dirt, stones and water. A narrow gasket of oakum or hemp, dipped in cement grout shall be properly caulked into each joint, after which the cement mortar shall be introduced therein. Special care to properly fill the annular space at the bottom and sides as well as at the top of the joints with mortar [111]*111must be taken. The interior of the joint shall then be wiped clean of cement by a rubber disk or other improved device. ■ * * * The contractor may elect to be judge as to the best method of securing foundations for the sewer pipe in wet or unsuitable ground where extraordinary conditions exist. If he elects this method of procedure, the entire responsibility of securing satisfactory results must be assumed by the contractor.” It is further found that in different places in said sewer, the tile were laid in water bearing sand or soil, and that, in such cases, it was necessary to the efficiency and permanency of said sewer to use the gaskets of oakum, and to observe the methods of sealing and cementing the joints as specified; that in some of said water bearing sand or soil, said oakum was not used, and said specifications were not observed, with the result that said joints were left defective, leaving leaks therein, through which sand and water could enter into said sewer and obstruct the same, and through which sewage could leak; that, in the construction of said sewer, extraordinary conditions were found to exist in this, that wet or water bearing sand was encountered in many places in the trenches in which the pipes were to be laid, for a total distance of 2,300 feet; that the nature of the sand was such that the sewer pipe to be-laid therein, which were eighteen inches in diameter, required, in order to keep them from sinking and hold them secure, and to render said sewer lasting and efficient, that artificial foundations, either of timber or stone be used; that throughout said portions of said sewer trench, said contractor did not use or construct foundations of any kind whatever under the aforesaid 2,300 feet of said sewer pipe, but left the same without such foundation, because of which omission, said sewer line was liable to subside, break and part, and is yet liable to subside; break and part, and destroy entirely [112]*112the efficiency or usefulness of said sewer; that in two places along the course of that part of said sewer above mentioned, there have already been subsidences and a sinking and breaking, and a total stoppage of said sewer by reason of the lack of said foundation, and the proper closing of said joints; that the omissions of said foundations and the closing of said joints as before stated has rendered said sewer liable to sink, and it will probably do so in the future, in other places along said lines, and thereby wholly obstruct'and destroy its efficiency as a sanitary sewer; that, as shown by finding No. 9%, there was a failure to construct the manholes in said sewer of the size specified therefor, which resulted in a saving of fifteen per cent, of the amount it would have cost if they had been so constructed; that said contractor effected a further substantial saving of money by said other omissions in the construction of said sewer; that said sewer, because of the omissions of said contractor to follow the plans and specifications therefor, is left inefficient and insecure, and liable to sink and collapse at any point in-said water bearing sand formation, where foundations have not been laid, and will remain insecure and liable to collapse until said foundations are constructed under said sewer; that there was at no time any intent to defraud or actual fraud perpetrated upon the part of the contractor or engineer in charge, or said board, or any member thereof, or of any other officer of said town in the-construction of said sewer, or in the final acceptance of same, which was done in good faith;'that the said breaks in the sewer and subsidence caused thereby have been repaired, and that said sewer system is now working satisfactorily, and doing the work for which it was intended. The court stated the following conclusions of law on the facts found:
“(1) That the law is with the plaintiffs and that [113]*113the acceptance of said sewer by said town board, under the facts found in said findings, constitutes a constructive fraud for which said acceptance should be set aside, until conditions in conclusion No. 3 are complied with. (2) That said assessment roll, in so far as it affects the plaintiffs herein, should be set aside until conditions in conclusion No. 3 are complied with. (3) That the defendants, Board of Trustees of the Town of Worthington,' Hobart Hedden, as town clerk, and Charles A. Pottenger, as town treasurer of the town of Worthington, should be enjoined from taking any further steps to collect said assessments so set aside, and that said town board should be enjoined from making any new assessment roll or ordering any further acceptance of said sewer until, First, the contractor credits the original contract price with the difference in the cost of construction of manholes as specified in the plans and specifications and the manholes as actually constructed and referred to in Finding No.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
142 N.E. 616, 81 Ind. App. 107, 1924 Ind. App. LEXIS 35, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pottenger-v-bond-indctapp-1924.