Warner Construction Co. v. Blue Diamond Co.

429 S.W.2d 912, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2275
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided April 19, 1968·No. No. 17073·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinions

DIXON, Chief Justice.

Appellant Warner Construction Company was the general contractor to make certain additions to Lake Highlands Elementary School and Lake Highlands Junior High School of the Richardson Independent School District. On January 18, 1963 appellant contracted with appellee Blue Diamond Company as a subcontractor to furnish and install in both schools certain vinyl asbestos tile for a consideration of $5,724.

Under the terms of the written contract the material to be furnished by Blue Diamond did not include the undercoating, that is, the floor surfaces on which the tile was. to be laid. However, the contract did provide that if the said surfaces or work to which the tile was to be affixed were found [913] to be unsatisfactory or unsuitable written notice should be given to appellant of such condition; otherwise no consideration would be given to claims for extra compensation or non-responsibility in connection therewith.

The contract also contained a provision that upon refusal of the subcontractor to make good defects in materials and workmanship, Warner should have the right to have such defects corrected at the expense of the subcontractor.

In connection with the contract appellee executed a written warranty for a period of one year from October 23, 1963 against defective materials or workmanship.

Within the period of the warranty humps or bubbles appeared under 20 or 30 tiles in the elementary school due to the presence under the tiles of a foreign substance which, according to some of the testimony, was probably a mixture of sand and cement. Anyway, the testimony is undisputed that the substance, whatever it was, should not have been there and was the cause of the humps.

Warner called on Blue Diamond to remedy the defect. Blue Diamond made a bid to do so for the sum of $2,090 but expressly excluded any warranties in respect to the repair job. Because of this exclusion as to warranties Warner would not let the repair contract to Blue Diamond. Instead it let the contract to Jeter-Millar Company, Inc. for a consideration of $2,411.90. The latter company did the repair job.

On August 20, 1965 appellant Warner filed this suit against Blue Diamond.* In an amended petition Warner sought judgment for $2,411.90, basing its claim on the one-year warranty for which Blue Diamond had contracted, and on the provision of the contract to the effect that if Blue Diamond refused to make good any defective workmanship, Warner would have the right to have the defects remedied at the expense of the subcontractor.

By way of answer Blue Diamond filed a general denial, and specially pleaded that all of its labor and materials were furnished and performed in a good and workmanlike manner and, further, that defective materials and structure used and erected by Warner constituted the sole cause of Warner’s loss.

A jury returned a verdict to the effect that (1) Blue Diamond failed to perform its work in a good and workmanlike manner; (2) the reasonable cost of the repairs was $2,411.90; (3) the bubbles or humps in the floor of the elementary school were present at the time Blue Diamond installed the tile; (4) the jury answered “No” as to whether it found from a preponderance of the evidence that the bubbles or humps were the result of the failure of Warner to comply with specifications for installation of underlayment; (5) the jury answered “No” as to whether it found from a preponderance of the evidence that the tile floor was capable of repair without damaging the remainder of the floor without humps; and (6) the reasonable and necessary cost to repair the tile floor which was defective was $2,411.90.

Both parties filed motions for judgment on the verdict. Both motions were overruled. Appellee also filed motions to disregard certain findings (as to each of the six special issues) and for judgment non obstante veredicto. The motions of appel-lee to disregard certain issues and for judgment non obstante veredicto were sustained. Judgment was accordingly rendered in favor of appellee.

[914] Appellant rests its appeal on nine points of error charging that the court erred in (1) overruling appellant’s motion for judgment on the verdict; (2) in granting appellee’s motions to disregard certain findings and (3) for judgment non obstante veredicto; (4) in holding that there was no issue presented that appellee failed to perform its work in good and workmanlike manner; (5) in holding there was no issue presented as to the reasonable cost for repairs of the tile in question; (6) in holding there was no evidence to raise a jury issue that appellee failed to perform its work in a good and workmanlike manner; (7) in holding that there was no evidence to raise a jury issue as to reasonable costs for the repairs of the tile floor in question; (8) in holding that there was insufficient evidence to raise a jury issue that appellee failed to perform its work in a good and workmanlike manner; and (9) in holding that there was insufficient evidence to raise a jury issue of the reasonable costs for the repairs to the tile floor in question.

We are of the opinion that appellant’s points are well taken.

The evidence is undisputed that the humps or bubbles were caused by foreign substances underneath the tiles on top of the surfaces to which the tiles were applied or affixed.

The evidence is also undisputed that ap-pellee did not give appellant any written notification, as provided in its contract, that it deemed the surfaces or work to which the tiles were to be applied or affixed were unsatisfactory or unsuitable.

There was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that Blue Diamond failed to perform work which it had contracted to do in a good and workmanlike manner. Mr. Millar of the Jeter-Millar Company testified that when his company took up the bulging tiles a white substance was found underneath which someone had used to prepare the floor; it was something added to the concrete floor after it was finished; it was fill material — whoever installed it.

John Dorsey, a consulting engineer, testified to finding a substance underneath the tile and on top of the cement floor surface which was relatively soft and which upon chemical analysis was found to be mostly cement and sand. It was his opinion that the substance which caused the humps had got there prior to the laying of the tile and that the humps in the under surface on which the tile was laid were there from the beginning. This fill had not been put in in a workmanlike manner; this defect in fill material was on the floor surface below the tile and mastic with which the tile was glued to the floor surface.

Clyde Caddell, Blue Diamond’s manager of its floor department, went to the elementary school after complaint was made of the humps. He took up several tiles and found the foreign substance underneath. It was his opinion that the substance was not there when the tile was laid. However, the only basis for his opinion was his confidence in his workmen — if the substance had been there they would have seen it and they would not have done such a thing as lay tile over the substance he found underneath the tiles.

Caddell admitted that if the tile was laid over the foreign substance it was not the usual and customary manner in laying tile and that if his men did it, the job of laying the tile was not done in a good and workmanlike manner.

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Warner Construction Co. v. Blue Diamond Co., 429 S.W.2d 912, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2275 (Tex. Ct. App. 1968).

429 S.W.2d 912 (Warner Construction Co. v. Blue Diamond Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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