Ruberoid Co. v. Scott

249 S.W.2d 256, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 2157
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 9, 1952
Docket14473
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 249 S.W.2d 256 (Ruberoid Co. v. Scott) 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
Ruberoid Co. v. Scott, 249 S.W.2d 256, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 2157 (Tex. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

CRAMER, Justice.

This cause had its inception in a contract between Harry Yates as contractor and The Ruberoid Company as owner. Yates agreed to repair and rebuild portions of an above ground concrete water tank located on Ruberoid’s land for a consideration of $9,573.44. Travelers Indemnity Company was surety on the performance bond, with Ruberoid, as well as all subcontractors, workmen, laborers, mechanics and materialmen who worked for, or furnished materials to, Yates in the performance of such contract, as their respective interests might appear, as obligees.

After Yates asserted he had substantially completed the work under the contract, Preston Scott filed this proceeding, as a subcontractor, against Ruberoid, its surety, and Yates on a claim for $3,100 due him by Yates and for foreclosure of his mechanic’s lien. Other laborers and material-men thereafter intervened. Ruberoid answered Scott and the interveners (all of whom claimed to be beneficiaries under the performance bond) by exceptions, general denial, and by answer setting up its contract with Yates, asserting that it (Ruber-oid)- had made partial payments to Yates on such contract in the sum of $8,767.73 prior to the time it had knowledge of any of the claims of materialmen, subcontractors, etc.; also that the work to be performed by Yates had not been completed in accordance with the contract; set out specifically the defects 'claimed; asserted that in its endeavor to repair such defects it spent an additional' $1,000, and therefore-’ it owed Yates’ subcontractors, material-men, etc., nothing.. By cross action, Rub-eroid sued Yates for $9,’573.44, asserting that the tank as builded was worthless for its purpose and that Yates had abandoned all work thereon; also that it would cost, an additional $8,573.44 to complete the job according to its original contract with Yates. Also sought judgment against Travelers, as surety for Yates, for its pro rata part of the principal amount of the performance bond.

Yates ’ answered Ruberoid’s pleading by general denial and asserted that Ruberoid, before their contract was executed, had employed the North Texas Concrete Company to build a certain two-compartment reinforced concrete water reservoir and after its completion such reservoir failed to hold, water. That he, Yates, then offered to contract to properly repair the tank, but that Ruberoid itself employed an engineering firm to prepare plans and specifications for it, covering the reconstruction and repair work to be done on such water reservoir. After the engineering firm so employed by Ruberoid completed the plans and specifications, etc., .that he, Yates, then contracted to reconstruct and repair the reservoir according to such engineer’s plans and specifications; that he fully complied with his final agreement and did repair, reconstruct, etc., the reservoir in question fully in accordance with such plans and specifications; also extra work for which he was paid $172; and in addition, worked on a sump pit on which he ex *258 pended $1,624.97 for labor and $136 for material; further that he spent $595 in cash for rental on a mixer and jet Crete gun necessary in connection with said work; and that he became liable for $219.37 for industrial insurance, social security, and bookkeeper; and that such extras amounted to $2,576.04. That Ruberoid also agreed to pay 15% on said sum, as his compensation for such extras, which amounted to $386.40, or an overall total to him of $2,962.44. He further alleged there was a 'balance due him on the original contract price of the repair job on the water reservoir of $974.-19 and prayed for a judgment against Ruberoid for a total sum of $3,936.63.

The Travelers Indemnity Company answered generally and impleaded all known claimants who might have a claim on the •bond on which it was surety, alleging that it is able and willing to discharge all claims up to the penal amount of its bond; further, that if claims be established against its principal in excess of the full penal sum of its bond, then that such penal •sum be prorated among the claimants equitably by the court; also for judgment over against Yates for any sum it should be, by final judgment, ordered to. pay to claimants under such bond.

After all interested parties were before the court, and trial on the merits by the court without a jury, judgment was entered in substance, as follows: (1) That Yates take nothing- on his cross action against Ruberoid; for Preston Scott against Yates and his surety, Travelers, and against Scott on his action against Ruberoid, and canceling Scott’s mechanic’s lien; (3) for Ruber-oid against Yates for $1,509.81; (4) for Blue Diamond Company, intervener, against Yates and Travelers for $1,067.95, and against Yates alone for $160.19; (5) for E. E. Farrow & Company, intervener, against Yates and Travelers for $159.50; (6) for Lewis & Lambert against Yates and Travelers $2,101.66 and against Yates alone for an additional sum of $315.25; (7) for Lofland Company against Yates and Travelers for $305.62 and against Yates alone for an additional $45.84, and against Lofland Company as against Ruberoid; (8) for Wamix, Inc., against Yates and Travelers for $302 and against Yates alone for an additional $30.30; (9) for Travelers over and against Yates for all sums recovered against Travelers as surety for Yates.

No findings of fact or conclusions of law were requested of, or filed by, the trial court.

From the judgment Ruberoid and Scott duly perfected this appeal.

Appellant Ruberoid briefs three points in substance: (1) Error in awarding it only $1,509.81; (2) error in failing to consider and in disregarding the evidence of Engineer Chappell as to the amount necessary to complete the job under the written contract, plans and specifications, Chappell’s testimony being the only evidence thereon; and (3) error in failing to award Ruberoid its actual damage for expenditures made by it in attempting to complete the improvements.

Scott, on his appeal, briefs one point, to wit: “Preston Scott perfected a valid lien against the Ruberoid Company;” and as a reply to Ruberoid’s appeal, one point, to wit: “It is presumed that the trial court found all facts necessary to support the judgment.”

Yates did not file a brief.

The Travelers Indemnity Company counters appellant’s points with five counter points in substance as follows: (1) Where the contract expressly provides that the owner is responsible for the adequacy of the design, sufficiency of the plans and specifications and the safety of the structure, such clause modified the requirement in the specifications themselves as to limitation on the amount of leakage allowable on completion; (2) where the original estimate submitted by Ruberoid’s engineer showed an item of $1,152 for “cement gun work of closing cracks, repairing broken east wall” and “if the entire inside wall of the tank is over coated with ½ inch of gunite, add the sum of * * * $1,075. And under the undisputed evidence all work called for by the contract had been satisfactorily completed except that the gunite had not been put on under proper pressure and would be removed and re *259

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
249 S.W.2d 256, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 2157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ruberoid-co-v-scott-texapp-1952.