State ex rel. Miller v. Peacock

405 S.W.2d 478, 56 Tenn. App. 109, 1965 Tenn. App. LEXIS 289
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedApril 27, 1965
StatusPublished

This text of 405 S.W.2d 478 (State ex rel. Miller v. Peacock) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Miller v. Peacock, 405 S.W.2d 478, 56 Tenn. App. 109, 1965 Tenn. App. LEXIS 289 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

CARNEY, J.

The complainants below, Carl S. Miller, Samuel Wyatt, Rev. Glynn Harwood, Fred A. Wortman, Billy Shaw, P. E. Leonard, Prank S. Taylor, Carmel Callis, Jackie Wyatt, Ramel Naifeh, William B. Aeree, J. G. Riley, Dalton Smith, and R. D. Argo, all citizens, residents and taxpayers of Lake County, Tennessee, filed their original bill in the name of the State of Tennessee [111]*111and the Honorable Fleming Hodges, Attorney General for the fourteenth judicial district, against defendant, E. A. Peacock, Jr., Frank S. Markham, Billy Donnell, John Schenk, Olay Wynn, Paul E. Willingham, William D. Keizer as members of the Lake County Board of Education, against Jaek F. Haynes, Trustee of Lake County, and against McAdoo Builders Supply Company of Union City, Tennessee, and W. F. Jameson Construction Company of Memphis, Tennessee.

The original bill sought to have declared void contracts executed by the defendant Lake County Board of Education with the W. F. Jameson Construction Company of Memphis, Tennessee, and McAdoo Builders Supply Company of Union City, Tennessee, for the construction and improvement of two school buildings in Tiptonville, Tennessee. The contract with McAdoo Builders Supply Company for additions to the Lincoln School building at a price of $112,817 was approved by the Board of Education on August 20, 1962. The contract with W. F. Jameson Construction Company for the new Lake County High School at a price of $650,914 was approved by the Board of Education of date August 30, .1962. Complainants, as taxpayers of Lake County, filed their original hill on September 7, 1962, to declare the contracts void.

The gravamen of the complaint is that the County Quarterly Court of Lake County had been induced by the defendant Board of Education to authorize the issuance of $840,000 in bonds for school purposes under the authority of T.C.A. Sections 5-1101 — -1125; that the electorate of Lake County had approved the issuance of the bonds by referendum upon representations by the defendant Board of Education that it would expend the [112]*112proceeds from said school bonds on six separate school buildings located both at Tiptonville and at Ridgley; that the school projects and the cost of the same were to be as follows:

(1) Ridg-ely Colored Elementary— Cafeteria and Lunchroom.$ 15,984.00
(2) Lincoln Colored School — Tiptonville ■ — 4 Classrooms, Cafeteria, Lunchroom, Toilet Facilities. 65,706.75
(3) New Building for Tiptonville High School. 526,435.00
(4) Margaret Newton School — 8 Classroom Addition. 84,542.00
(5) Lara Kendall Elementary School— 7 Classrooms and Cafeteria Addition 76,710.60
(6) Ridgely Gymnasium Alterations and Additions . 17,280.00
(7) Estimated Additional Expense. 53,341.65
TOTAL.$840,000.00

Further, the complainants averred that after the bonds had been approved in a referendum, issued by the proper county officials, sold and the proceeds made available to the Lake County Board of Education, the Lake County Board of Education acted arbitrarily and capriciously and in effect misappropriated said funds by seeking to expend nearly all of the $840,000 school bond money on two school buildings in the town of Tiptonville to the detriment of the other buildings which also were to be improved.

The bill charges that the Board of Education had practiced fraud upon the people of Lake County and [113]*113particularly the residents of Ridgely, Tennessee, by consolidating the high school at Ridgely with the high school at Tiptonville. The bill prayed for a declaration that the contracts were void and for an injunction prohibiting the Board of Education from continuing with the contracts and enjoining the Trustee from paying out the proceeds of the bond issue under said contracts. No preliminary injunction was sought or issued.

After demurrers were overruled and the defendants answered, a trial was held before the Chancellor on November 18, 1963. At the time of the trial MeAdoo Builders Supply Company had completed the Lincoln School Building. It had been accepted by the Board of Education and MeAdoo had been paid in full for its contract. Wiseman, Bland & Poster, Architects, of Memphis, Tennessee, had been paid their commissions and fees of $32,000. The Lake County Consolidated High School was under construction by W. P. Jameson Construction Company but was not completed.

The Chancellor held that the actions of the Board of Education of Lake County in awarding the contracts were legal and proper and that the complainants and relators were not entitled to any relief against any of the defendants and dismissed the original bill. From this decree the complainants-relators have appealed.

The defendant Board of Education admitted a change in its original plans for improvement of the sis separate school buildings as above set out but justified such change in plans on the grounds that the architects’ estimation of the cost of the improvements were short by approximately 25 percent and that when the bids were received it was obvious that all of the improvements [114]*114could not be made. The Board of Education felt the Quarterly County Court would not approve an additional bond issue at that time because it had previously turned down a request for one million two hundred fifty thousand dollars to improve the school building’s of Lake County.

Defendants stated that they re-examined the school buildings of Lake County and came to the conclusion that the best interests of the people of Lake County and particularly the children of high school age of Lake County could be served by consolidating the high schools at Ridgely and Tiptonville into a new Lake County Consolidated High School to be built at Tiptonville. This contract was awarded to W. F. Jameson Construction Company at $650,914 instead of $525,435 as earlier planned. They increased the size of the Lincoln School which housed colored students from four classrooms to six including a cafeteria, lunchroom and toilet facilities. This contract was awarded to McAdoo Builders Supply Company at $112,817 instead of $65,706.75 as earlier planned.

After consolidation of grades nine through twelve from Ridgely into the new high school at Tiptonville the Board of Education then routed grades seven and eight from Tiptonville by bus down to Ridgely where they used the old Ridgely High School building. One member of the school board testified that after the issuance of the $840,000 in school bonds the County Quarterly Court had approved another $50,000 school bond issue and that the members of the school board hoped eventually to make still further improvements in the several school buildings of the county as the money became available.

[115]*115The chronological sequence of events leading' up to the issuance of the school bonds is as follows: On May 17, 1961, a special session of the Quarterly County Court of Lake County was called by the chairman, Mr. Paul N. Algee, to deliberate and consider school improvement and construction and a bond issue, if necessary. The following resolution was adopted by the special session of the Quarterly County Court:

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Bluebook (online)
405 S.W.2d 478, 56 Tenn. App. 109, 1965 Tenn. App. LEXIS 289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-miller-v-peacock-tennctapp-1965.