State ex rel. Heimburger v. Wells

109 S.W. 758, 210 Mo. 601, 1908 Mo. LEXIS 77
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMarch 31, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 109 S.W. 758 (State ex rel. Heimburger v. Wells) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Heimburger v. Wells, 109 S.W. 758, 210 Mo. 601, 1908 Mo. LEXIS 77 (Mo. 1908).

Opinion

FOX, P. J. —

This cause is before this court upon appeal by the relator from the action of the circuit, court of the city of St. Louis in overruling his motion to quash certain proceedings instituted before the respondent as ma3mr of the city of St. Louis, to remove the relator, and a judgment in favor of respondent rendered on February 6, 1905.

This is a proceeding on a writ of certiorari issued by the circuit court of the city of St. Louis at the relation of George H. Heimburger, for a review of a pro-[605]*605needing had before the mayor of said city in the trial of relator for official incompetency and negligence as ■commissioner of public buildings. The charges were prepared and signed by James Gr. McConkey, who was the secretary to the mayor. The general charge was '“official incompetency and gross official negligence.”

Specification No. 1 was “respecting the poorhouse •contract, ’ ’ that is, it was charged concerning that subject that the relator (a) in approving and presenting to the board of public improvements plans which were palpably faulty in that the steel work required was far in excess of the proper amount, to-wit, about 63,000 pounds, thereby subjecting the city, to unnecessary expenses of from $1,500 to $2,000 for excessive steel, and about $600 additional for fire-proofing and plastering resulting therefrom; and all this after his attention was directly called thereto before completion of the plans and in ample time to have remedied the same, (b) In recommending a change, and inducing the contractors to expect a change, in the contract after the formal letting so as to substitute plans requiring 63,000 pounds of steel less than the contract called for, upon ■allowance to the city of an insufficient rebate; when said commissioner knew that any such change of a formally executed contract with or without rebate was 'unlawful and unauthorized, (c) Such proceedings resulted in unnecessarily delaying the completion of the steel work on said building.

Specification No! 2, “respecting workhouse contract,” The charge concerning this subject against relator was, (a) in directing a material alteration, for which there was no authority, of the contract after the letting thereof and commencement of work, said charge consisting in the substitution of concrete columns and Teams in place of iron, as called for by the contract; said concrete work being both inferior in quality and less in price by from $500 to $600 than the iron work [606]*606required by the contract, (b) In causing to be inserted in the contract an unusual and unlawful provision, to-wit: “Concrete Floors. . . . Contractors may propose for any system that is acceptable to the commissioners, but must furnish complete plans and specifications for the same and must conform in results to that herein specified. If the steel framing as laid out does not conform to the system adopted, it must be changed to suit such system . . .,” which had never been inserted in any other of the city contracts, and under which it became possible to claim (though erroneously) that authority existed in ' the commissioner to make the alteration, (c) In unnecessarily delaying and permitting the delay of the work so that it could not be completed in the time required by the contract.

Specification No. 3, “respecting city hospital contract.” The charge against relator concerning this subject, was (a) in directing an unauthorized alteration in the contract in that part providing for brass work and ordering the substitution, without authority, of enameled cast iron, a material of less value, to-wit, about $800, and not adapted for the purposes intended, (b) In unnecessarily delaying and permitting the delay of the work on said building specified as marble work, where the metal above referred to in specification (a) was to be used, so that the same could not be completed in the time required.

Specification No. 4, “respecting the repairs in court-house.” The charge against relator concerning this subject, was (a) in wilfully permitting a departure from contract in that part relating to “mill work” by allowing in place of veneered work called for solid wood-work of much less value, to-wit, $300, and further, after having unlawfully permitted said change, in neglecting to take steps to exact a rebate and in declining to recommend the acceptance of a rebate on [607]*607account of said inferior and cheaper work after his attention had been expressly directed thereto.

Specification No. 5, “respecting retention of unfit employee.” The charge against relator concerning this subject, was (a) in wilfully keeping in the employ of the commissioner of public buildings one Harry Hoel, after said commissioner knew that said Hoel was guilty of officially reprehensible and dishonest acts, and that his further retention was injurious to the city’s interest, to-wit: Said Hoel, on or about the 21st day of August! 1903, did present to John T. Henry (owner) or A. M. Baker (contractor) who was constructing a building for which the law required a permit, a notice under the seal of the building commissioner’s office, for the purpose of being shown to the police department, to the effect that no- permit was required to erect the building there being erected, when said act of Hoel was entirely outside the scope of his employment at that time, and was known by him to be unwarranted and was unlawful; said Hoel without warrant or authority having affixed the official seal of the building commissioner’s office to said notice.

Specification No. 6, “respecting failure to enforce insane asylum contract relating to painting and cleaning.” The charge against the relator concerning this subject,- was (a) in failing to enforce the provisions of contract requiring “all copper work of dome, gutters, down-spouts, etc., to be cleaned with acid and oiled with linseed oil, ’ ’ and in allowing the same to be painted instead of cleaned and oiled, as required by said contract, and in excusing, without authority, the contractor from cleaning the dome upon payment of an insufficient and inadequate rebate or allowance to the city, to-wit, the sum of $10, although the difference to be allowed (if any exemption were permissible) should have been much larger.

A copy of these charges and specifications was [608]*608■duly served upon relator, as shown by the abstract. The relator appeared both in person and by counsel at the hearing before the mayor; a large amount of testimony was heard both for and against him; witnesses were summoned in his behalf and testified for him, and the mayor, acting in official capacity, found the defendant guilty of charges and specification No. 1, clauses ;a, b and c; specification No. 2, clauses a, b and c; specification No. 3; specification No. 4 and specification No. 6, and thereupon made the following order: “And I therefore remove said George U. Heimburger from the office of Commissioner of Public Buildings •of the city of St. Louis.” And on the same day the mayor notified the relator of this action. On the next •day the relator sued out a writ of certiorari, in the petition for which'he asked the court to direct a transcript of the proceedings to be certified by the mayor; the writ, however, issued at his request, commanded not only a transcript of the proceedings, but also the evidence heard by the mayor. The respondent fully complied with the order of the court, and accompanied the transcript of the proceedings with a complete transcript of the evidence heard, objecting, however, to its introduction in evidence at the hearing.

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Bluebook (online)
109 S.W. 758, 210 Mo. 601, 1908 Mo. LEXIS 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-heimburger-v-wells-mo-1908.