United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. George S. Schauer Co.
United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. George S. Schauer Co.
Opinion of the Court
The complaint in this cause avers in substance that appellant was a surety company and authorized to transact business in this state. On September 20, 1912, the Reliable Construction Company
“Indianapolis, Indiana, October 28, 1912.
“Whereas on September 20, 1912, a certain contract was entered into between the Reliable Construction Compány and the City of Indianapolis, by the terms of which the said Reliable Construction Company agreed to construct a local sewer in Cornelius Ave. from Maple Road to 44th Street under Improvement Resolution No. 6877 for the consideration and upon the conditions stated in said contract;
“And whereas the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company of Baltimore, Maryland, is .surety upon the bond given to secure the faithful performance of said contract, which bond is in the penal sum of eight thousand one hundred nineteen dollars forty cents, ($8,119.40) ;
“And whereas said Reliable Construction Com*173 pany has defaulted in.the performance of said contract and is unable to proceed with and complete the work covered thereby;
“And whereas said contract, for value received, has been assigned to George S. Schauer Company, which company has assumed all the obligations of said contract and has agreed to proceed with the construction of said sewer under the terms of said contract, and to complete the same with despatch;
“And whereas said George S. Schauer Company has requested said United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company to continue as surety upon the bond guaranteeing the performance of said contract, as aforesaid, which the said United States Fidelity Company has consented to do;
“Now therefore, in consideration thereof, the said George S. Schauer Company, as principal and Mary E. Zimmer, as surety, hereby indemnify and agree to save harmless the said United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company from any and all loss and damage and expense of whatsoever description, including court costs and attorneys’ fees, which the said United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company may sustain by reason of its continuance as surety upon said bond.
“And the said George S. Schauer Company, and Mary E. Zimmer, as surety, hereby agree to reimburse the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company for any and all loss and damage or expense of whatsoever description, including court costs and attorneys’ fees which the said United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company may sustain by reason of its continuance as surety upon said bond.
“George S. Schauer Company.
By George S. Schauer, Pres.
Mary E. Zimmer.”
Said Schauer company became indebted to divers persons and companies, for which indebtedness judgments were rendered in due course of law against said Schauer company and appellant, as its surety, in the total sum of $29,444.80, and appellant was compelled to, and did, pay the total amount of said judgments. That in the defense of the actions out of which said judgments
Appelleé Schauer company answered by general denial and made no contest, has not disputed the judgment taken against it, and is not resisting the present appeal. The defendant Mary E. Zimmer now represented by her executor, Joseph F. Zimmer, demurred to the complaint for want of facts, which presented the question as to whether there was any consideration for the indemnity bond sued on, in view of the then present liability of the appellant upon the bond given by it for the performance of the same contract by another obligor. This demurrer was overruled and thereupon said defendant answered in three paragraphs, the first being a general denial; the second, no consideration; and the third, that her signature to the bond' was procured by fraudulent representation.
The case was put at issue by a reply and denial. Thereafter and before trial, the defendant Mary E. Zimmer died, and appellee as her executor, was substituted. Change was taken from the Hon.'Linn D. Hay, of Marion Superior Court, and the cause was tried by a jury before the Hon. John J. Rochford, regular judge of such superior court. At the conclusion of the appellant’s evidence appellee Zimmer moved the court to direct a verdict in his favor, which motion was sustained, and the jury was instructed to return a verdict for the appellant as against appellee Schauer company in the sum of $4,050, and in favor of appellee Jos. F. Zimmer as against appellant. Judgment was rendered on the verdict, and, after motion for a new trial which was overruled, this appeal.
It is contended by appellee that the indemnifying bond was executed without consideration. He rests his contention upon the proposition that appellant’s agreement to continue on , the construction bond was a promise to do something which it was already bound to do, and as such it was no consideration for the indemnifying bond; and further, that the indemnity bond, not being contemporaneous with the original obligation and constituting the inducement thereto, was not binding for the guaranty of an obligation already contracted; that with no new consideration it was of no force. As it seems to us, appellee misapprehends the whole transaction. The city of Indianapolis contracted with the Reliable Construction Company for the construction of the sewer' involved, and the bond executed by appellant was for the faithful performance of that contract. When the original contractor failed to complete the work, it is true that appellant was bound as a surety to see that the same was completed according to the terms of the contract ; but it was not bound to accept the Schauer company as principal, nor was it bound for any loss that might be sustained by an assignment of the contract to
The verdict as directed by the court was not supported by sufficient evidence; hence the court erred in overruling the motion for a new trial. For this error the judgment is reversed, with instructions to grant a new trial.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.