State ex rel. P. W. Finger Roofing Co. v. Koch

272 S.W.2d 22, 1954 Mo. App. LEXIS 380
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 4, 1954
DocketNo. 22050
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 272 S.W.2d 22 (State ex rel. P. W. Finger Roofing Co. v. Koch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. P. W. Finger Roofing Co. v. Koch, 272 S.W.2d 22, 1954 Mo. App. LEXIS 380 (Mo. Ct. App. 1954).

Opinion

DEW, Judge.

The appellant, referred to hereinafter as plaintiff, brought this suit to recover upon two contracts for furnishing of labor and material for roofs on buildings at the State Hospital No. 1 at Fulton, Missouri. The action was brought in two counts. The first count was based on plaintiff’s subcontract for roofing of the power plant on which plaintiff claims a balance due of $925.05, with interest. The second count was based on plaintiff’s subcontract for roofing of other buildings of the institution, claiming a balance due thereon of $7,000, plus $2,500 extra labor and materials claimed, with interest. The respondents here were defendants Koch and Schroeder, a co-partnership, doing business as the Koch-Schroeder Construction Company, hereinafter called the “Construction Company”, the general contractor, and defendant Western Surety Company, the surety on the job. The defendants pleaded a setoff as to each count. On Count I, the jury found against plaintiff on the petition and for defendants on their setoff in the sum of $925.05, and on Count II, the jury found for plaintiff on its claim in the amount of $4,390, and for defendants on their setoff in the amount of $2,610. The plaintiff has appealed.

The defendant Construction Company entered into a general or main contract with the State of Missouri on August 25, 1950, to build an addition to the power plant at State Hospital No. 1 at Fulton. On the same date the Construction Company entered into a general contract with xhe State of Missouri for certain repairs to other buildings which were a part of the hospital assembly of buildings. Under the terms of both general contracts, their performance was required in accordance with plans and specifications referred to and in evidence. Among the provisions of each subcontract the subcontractor agreed to comply with the terms of the general contract with respect to work and materials, fixed time limits for completion, and required bonds to be furnished.

According to the plaintiff’s evidence on-Count I, the subcontract for the roofing on the power plant called for a price of $1,750; that defendants were entitled to a credit for substitutions in the amount of $824.95, leaving a balance due plaintiff of $925.05, with interest; that the work was duly accepted and approved by the state authorities. Further, the plaintiff’s evidence was that the ventilator on the roof of the power plant had been set before the composition roofing was laid, instead of afterward ; that it was placed upon the concrete curb provided for it and the Construction Company had placed over two inches of Zonolite concrete around the base and therefore it became impossible for plaintiff to-flash around the ventilator as required by the specifications to prevent leaks; that this was called to the attention of defendants’ superintendent in charge, who ordered the plaintiff to complete the roofing regardless of the situation. The result was that, upon inspection, the work was disapproved, by the state, and the Construction Company hired others to reset the ventilator and to-complete the counter flashing, as required by the plans and specifications, after which the work was approved. For this work defendants’ evidence tended to show that the Construction Company paid $518.90 and paid additional expenses made necessary thereby in the sum of $475, plus $37 for-cleaning the downspouts after plaintiff left the job, or a total of $1,030.90. Plaintiff furnished no bond for this work.

According to plaintiff’s evidence, under the second subcontract, a portion of the-work thereunder was deleted by the state amounting to $2,610. This was, therefore,, not paid to plaintiff, but was paid to the Construction Company in return for extra work claimed by it. The state paid the Construction Company the whole original. [25]*25contract price in settlement. The jury-found there was $4,390 unpaid on the plaintiff’s second subcontract, but allowed defendants’ setoff of $2,610.

As to plaintiff’s claim for extras, there was evidence that tended to show that when the gutters and metal valleys were removed, nothing remained to protect the building from rain other than the bare sheathing boards; that the attention of defendants’ superintendent was called to that situation and that the plaintiff’s contract did not include “papering” the valleys and guttering, but the superintendent ordered plaintiff to “paper” them, which cost the plaintiff $2,608. Under, the contract plaintiff was required to give a week’s notice in writing of any extras claimed under instructions. No such notice was given by the plaintiff. No claim for such extras was made in plaintiff’s final notice before suit. Plaintiff’s evidence was that the claim was orally made to defendants’ superintendent on the job. The court withdrew from the jury the plaintiff’s claim for extras.

Under the plaintiff’s allegations of error and points of authorities, its Points I, IV and VI are as follows:

“I. The court erred in overruling plaintiff’s motion for directed verdicts on defendants’ setoffs to Counts One and Two of plaintiff’s petition.
“(a) Testimony is without probative force when a mere guess or based on hearsay. (Two citations.)”
“IV. The verdicts on both Counts One and Two is not supported by the evidence and is against the law and the evidence. (Citation.)”
“VI. The verdict should be set aside because under any view of the evidence it is apparent that the jury made a mistake in arriving at their verdict on each count. (Two citations.)”

These allegations do not conform to Supreme Court Rule 1.08, 42 V.A.M.S., and present nothing for our review. That rule required plaintiff’s brief to contain “the points relied on, which shall specify the allegations of error, and citation of authorities thereunder”. The only specification of error under plaintiff’s Point I is a mere abstract statement of the law. Point IV does not set out wherein the verdicts are not supported by the evidence or against the law and the evidence. Point VI specifies no mistake made by the jury in arriving at their verdict. Ambrose v. M. F. A. Coop. Ass’n, Mo, 266 S.W.2d 647.

Plaintiff’s Point II is that the court erred in admitting, over objection, the oral testimony of defendant Schroeder because it was not the best evidence, and that the books and records were the best evidence. This evidently has reference to his testimony regarding the setoffs. Defendant Schroeder was asked by his counsel to explain defendants’ setoff, of $475 in Count II. He said the charges were for the additional services of a superintendent while plaintiff was still on the job and for expenses to Jefferson City to arrange for others to complete the work under the subcontract and which had been rej ected. The witness consulted a memorandum. Plaintiff’s counsel objected to the reading from it. The objection was sustained. After it developed that the writing had been prepared by witness and after he testified he was merely refreshing his memory as to the figures, the court allowed his testimony as to the expenses and values mentioned. Since the matters in question were of the witness’ own knowledge, the fact that he had made a memorandum thereof did not render his oral testimony inadmissible. Schwartz v. Mercantile Trust Co., Mo.App, 279 S.W. 253, 256; 32 C.J.S, Evidence, § 786, page 711. We find no prejudicial error in the final ruling admitting the testimony of witness Schwartz described.

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Bluebook (online)
272 S.W.2d 22, 1954 Mo. App. LEXIS 380, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-p-w-finger-roofing-co-v-koch-moctapp-1954.