Salzner v. Jos. J. Snell Estate Corp.

16 P.2d 923, 81 Utah 111, 1932 Utah LEXIS 57
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 7, 1932
DocketNo. 4983.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 16 P.2d 923 (Salzner v. Jos. J. Snell Estate Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Salzner v. Jos. J. Snell Estate Corp., 16 P.2d 923, 81 Utah 111, 1932 Utah LEXIS 57 (Utah 1932).

Opinion

EPHRAIM HANSON, J.

The plaintiff and the defendant entered into an agreement in writing whereby plaintiff as a building contractor agreed to make certain changes and alterations in defendant’s building in Salt Lake City. The contract was a standard form of architects’ contracts and provided that the contractor, the plaintiff herein, should provide all the material and do all the work for the alterations on the building in question as shown on the drawings and described in the specifications prepared by the architect, which drawings and specifications became a part o'f the contract. The work was to be done under the direction of the architect and his decision as to the true construction and meaning of the drawings and specifications was to be final. Such additional drawings and explanations as might be necessary to detail and illustrate the work were to be furnished by the architect. The contract further provided:

*113 “Art. III. No alterations shall be made in the work except upon written order of the Architect; the amount to be paid by the Owner or allowed by the Contractor by virtue of such alterations to be stated in said order. Should the Owner and Contractor not agree as to amount to be paid or allowed, the work shall go on under the order required above, and in case of failure to agree, the determination of said amount shall be referred to arbitration, as provided for in Art. XII of this contract.
“Art. XII. In case the Owner and Contractor fail to agree in relation to matters of payment, allowance or loss referred to in Arts. Ill or VIII of this contract, or should either of them dissent from the decision of the Architect referred to in Art. VII of this contract, which dissent shall have been filed in writing with the Architect within ten days of the announcement of such decision, then the matter shall be referred to a Board of Arbitration to consist of one person selected by the Owner, and one person selected by the Contractor, these two to select a third. The decision of any two of this Board shall be final and binding on both parties hereto. Each party hereto shall pay one-half of the expense of such reference.”

The complaint alleged that during the course of the making of the alterations and improvements the defendant requested plaintiff to do certain additional alterations and improvements not included in the plans and specifications and not contemplated by the parties at the time of the making of the contract. Plaintiff alleged that there was an unpaid balance of $1,757.80 for the alterations and improvements, and prayed judgment against the defendant for same.

For convenience, the additional alterations and improvements are designated herein, as they were in the complaint and the court’s findings, as “extra work.”

The answer originally filed was a general denial of any balance due the plaintiff for this extra work. Afterwards an amendment to the answer was filed in which it was alleged that any amount which might be due plaintiff on account of the extra work was due him from Wolfe Bros., Inc., and not from the defendant; that prior to the commencing of the action a dispute arose between plaintiff on one side and the defendant and Wolfe Bros., Inc., on the other as to *114 what amount was due plaintiff on account of extras, and that, if defendant was indebted to the plaintiff in any amount on account of said extras, then the amount of such indebtedness would not exceed $468, and that defendant was willing to pay said sum in full satisfaction of plaintiff’s claim. Afterwards another amendment was filed in which the defendant alleged that it was entitled to certain credits in the sum of $200' and that it was entitled to an offset against said sum of $468, which it had admitted was due the plaintiff, in said sum of $200', and that, if defendant was indebted to the plaintiff in any sum it would not exceed the sum of $268 which defendant was willing to pay in full satisfaction of plaintiff’s claim.

It appears that Wolfe Bros., Inc., was the tenant of the building, and the alterations and improvements were being made by the owner for the convenience of his tenant.

A trial was had before the court sitting without a jury. At the conclusion of plaintiff’s evidence, the defendant moved for a nonsuit, except as to those amounts which the defendant admitted it owed the plaintiff, upon the ground and for the reason that there was no evidence that the defendant ever authorized, or approved any of the extras, and that it was provided in the contract that no change in the plans and specifications should be made unless in pursuance of a written order by the owner, signed or countersigned by the architect, or on a written order from the architect stating that the owner had authorized the change and that no claim for an addition to the contract sum should be valid unless so ordered. This motion was denied, and the defendant then proceeded with its evidence, at the conclusion of which the court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff for the sum of $1,374 for the extra work done. The court found that the extra work consisted of the following:

1. Enlarging two entrances at front of building and building brick wall around rear entrance.$ 84.00
2. New floor joists and foundations at rear and south, side of store building . 77.00
*115 3. Paid Western Iron & Bronze Works for safety devices on doors . 32.00
4. Paid C. A. Chindaren for hauling ashes and rubbish from basement . 35.00
5. Enlarging front and windows, cement stairs to basement.. 242.20 6. Removing floor in basement . 35.00
7. Remodeling front of second and third stories to top of building as per revised plans of architect. 1,111.00
$1,616.20

The court allowed the defendant a credit on this amount of $242.20, leaving the balance of $1,374 in favor of the plaintiff. The defendant appeals and requests this court to reverse the judgment of the lower court, and assigns as error the following: That the complaint does not state a cause of action for the reason that the contract which is made a part of the complaint provides that the parties are required to submit any dispute arising as to matters of payment, allowance, or loss to arbitration, and that the parties to said contract were to be bound by the award of said arbitration, and that it did not appear from the complaint that plaintiff ever submitted or offered to submit his claim to arbitration, or that any arbitration was ever had or any award ever made; that the finding of the court that defendant promised and agreed to pay plaintiff for the extra work was not supported by the evidence; that, inasmuch as no written order from the architect was ever made for the extra work, the same should not be allowed under the contract.

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Bluebook (online)
16 P.2d 923, 81 Utah 111, 1932 Utah LEXIS 57, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/salzner-v-jos-j-snell-estate-corp-utah-1932.