Turner Roofing & Supply Co. v. United Pacific Insurance Co.

289 S.W.2d 407, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2556
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 29, 1956
Docket12925
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 289 S.W.2d 407 (Turner Roofing & Supply Co. v. United Pacific Insurance Co.) 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
Turner Roofing & Supply Co. v. United Pacific Insurance Co., 289 S.W.2d 407, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2556 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinion

POPE, Justice.

This is an interpleader suit which the Edgewood Independent School District commenced against Cooley Construction Company, which contracted to build the Billy Mitchell School in San Antonio; United Pacific Insurance Company, as surety on the contractor’s performance bond; and the unpaid creditors who furnished labor and materials. The contractor defaulted on its contract and several claims against the surety were made under the provisions of Article 5160, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats. Turner Roofing and Supply Company, Inc., appealed because the trial court refused to grant judgment against United Pacific Insurance Company on its claim against the performance bond for labor and materials. The United Pacific Insurance Company separately appealed from judgment in favor of Rufus A. Walker & Co. We have two separate lawsuits.

The Turner Roofing and Supply Company, Inc. v. United Pacific Insurance Company

Turner Roofing and Supply Comr pany, Inc., under a subcontract with Cooley Construction Company, agreed to furnish roofing, sheet metal work and a gypsum roof deck for the Billy Mitchell School at a price of $3,832. It sued for an unpaid balance of $1,976.64, and sought recovery against the surety on the contractor’s bond. The essence of the trial court’s denial of the lien was that it was filed too late, except for a $26 item. The Roofing Company filed its lien on October 21, 1953. Article 5160 provides that a claim must be filed with the county clerk “within ninety days from the date of the delivery of said material and the performance of said work.” I-Ience a claim which antedates July 22, 1953, would be too late.

The Roofing Company’s pleadings state' the dates on which its materials were delivered to the school premises, and, under a separate itemized column, the “dates materials were conditioned and applied to said school building.” Those dates antedate July 22, 1953. The Roofing Company argues that it was a subcontractor and that it agreed to furnish all labor, material and' equipment, and to perform all its work in accordance with the plans and specifications. For that work it was to receive a lump sum of $3,832, and until it was all performed, its contract was not completed. The contract was completely performed on August 25, 1953, and the Roofing Company contends that the lien was not barred until ninety days from that date, rather than ninety days from the actual delivery of materials to the school and the performance of the work on the school.

We affirm the trial court, because the question has been decided adversely to the Roofing Company. Aetna Casualty Co. v. Hawn Lumber Co., Tex.Com.App., 128 Tex. 296, 97 S.W.2d 460, 462; Detroit Fidelity & Surety Co. v. Moberly, Tex.Civ.App., 52 S.W.2d 298, affirmed Detroit Fidelity & Surety Co. v. State, 124 Tex. 145, 76 S.W. 2d 492; National Surety Co. v. United Brick & Tile Co., Tex.Civ.App., 71 S.W.2d-937. The Aetna case says [128 Tex. 296, 97 S.W.2d 462]:

“This purpose of the statute certainly cannot be preserved if by virtue of a special contract between contractor and a subcontractor the filing of the claim may be deferred'for an indefinite time on the ground that the job, including labor and material, is to be done for a lump sum and paid for when completed. Certainly if such were allowed it would be unfair to others who might wish to extend credit to the contractor or to furnish him with labor and material during the progress of the • work.”

*409 United Pacific Insurance Company í v. Rufus A. Walker and Company

United Pacific Insurance Company is the appellant with respect to a claim asserted by Rufus A. Walker & Co., another subcontractor for the construction of the Billy Mitchell School. The trial court allowed the subcontractor’s claim against United Pacific Insurance Company as surety •on the performance bond and gave judgment for $1,596.13 plus interest. The attack upon the lien in this instance is not that it was filed too late, but that it was not sufficiently itemized.

The account was in this form:

‘'Material

209 Ctns. 12/" X 12 X 12 Cushiontone 35 lbs. Screws

“Labor Week Ending 7/9/53

2 carpenters & 2 helpers 8 hrs. each '32 man hours

(similarly itemized items of labor appear in the account)

Total 382 man hours

“The material above itemized was delivered to the site of installation in said school building between July 2, 1953, and August 6, 1953, being taken to the job as it was installed by the labor above itemized.”

The sworn itemized account further stated that the labor and material were furnished for the Billy Mitchell School. It stated that they were furnished by force of a subcontract which Rufus Walker & Co. had with the general contractor, and that the subcontract covered three school buildings; that the contract for the three buildings called' for a lump sum payment of $4,600 for the ■ materials and labor; that the contract as to two buildings was completed and all bills had been paid, but that a balance existed in the amount of $2,500 for the labor and materials furnished on the Billy Mitchell School.

Article 5160 provides that claims for labor and material furnished to the contractor shall be “itemized and sworn to as required by Statutes as to mechanic’s lien claims * * Article 5453 is pertinent, in that it states the steps required for the fixing of a lien by a subcontractor. It requires an itemized account. Article 5456 states the form of affidavit for such a claim. It provides that the account of the labor or material shall declare “the prices therefor as set forth in the annexed account are just and reasonable”.

The surety contends that the account is inadequate under Articles 5453 and 5456, since it omits an itemized account of the prices or values either for the materials or the labor. .The account stated a lump sum price for all labor and all material for the Billy Mitchell School, but did not itemize the prices or values for the items.

The mechanic’s lien statutes pertaining to subcontractors permit the fixing of a lien of an involuntary nature. Hardin v. McCarthy, Tex.Civ.App., 55 S.W.2d 1099. For that re.ason, the statutes require an itemized account so the labor and materials may be investigated by the owner, or, in this case, by the surety on the performance bond. The account does not disclose what charges were made for materials nor for labor, but groups all material and labor together for a total price. In our opinion that is not an itemized account.

Royal Indemnity Co. v. American District Steam Co., Tex.Civ.App., 88 S.W.2d 1091, is the basis for the trial court’s judgment that a lump sum price suffices.

In our opinion, this case is controlled by Meyers v. Wood, 95 Tex. 67, 65 S.W. 174, 176, which has never been overruled. The claimant in that case relied upon the following account:

“ ‘Bill of sash and doors, per contract, $640.00. Feb. 3rd.

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Bluebook (online)
289 S.W.2d 407, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 2556, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-roofing-supply-co-v-united-pacific-insurance-co-texapp-1956.