Harshman v. Dunbar Township
Harshman v. Dunbar Township
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The Act of May 18, 1871, P. L. 1899, relative to public roads in South Union and Dunbar townships in the county of Fayette, provides for the election of road commissioners, one from the township of South Union and two from the township of Dunbar, increased to three by Act of April 10, 1873, P. L. 761, and prescribes the duties of the said commissioners and the mode in which they shall divide the roads and let them, for the purposes of repair and the opening of new roads, to the lowest bidder. The fourth section provides: “ That it shall be the duty of each purchaser to write Ms or their name, and the sum he or they are to receive for repairing his or their section or
Upon the trial of the case, the defendant asked for binding instructions which were refused, the refusal constituting the first assignment of error. The second assignment combines twelve distinct extracts from the general charge of the court, the assignment reading as follows: The court erred in charging the jury as follows: (parts of charge inclosed in brackets). This assignment is in violation of our Rule 15 in relation to-assignments of error, which requires that “ Each error relied on. must be assigned particularly and by itself. If any assignments embrace more than one point or refer to more than one. bill of exceptions or raise more than one distinct question, it,'
The defendant’s contention is, first, that the road commissioners having failed to meet for consultation and deliberation in regard to the employment of labor for the repairs upon the roads, the contract made with the plaintiff was illegal and, therefore, not binding upon the township, and, second, that, inasmuch as no notice was given to the original contractors for repairs to the roads upon which the plaintiff worked, in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of the act of 1871, supra, the township is not liable. The second of these reasons is more seriously insisted upon in the defendant’s argument than the other. As we have lately held in Machine Co. v. Washington Township, 9 Pa. Superior Ct. 105, and in Climax Co. v. Allegheny Township, 10 Pa. Superior Ct. 437, following a long line of well-considered cases in the Supreme Court, any action of road supervisors requiring consultation and deliberation must be had at a regular meeting duly called for that purpose, but'it has always been held that the acts of supervisors in making ordinary repairs to the roads is not such an act as requires deliberation and consultation’on the part of all the supervisors. As was said in Union Township v. Gibboney, 94 Pa. 534: “When damage is done to a road or bridge by a freshet or other accidental cause or when it needs repair from the natural progress of decay, there can be no objection to the necessary expenditure being authorized by less than a majority. This is an absolute duty which calls neither for deliberation nor consultation.” The repairs authorized by two of the commissioners and the employment of the plaintiff to make them and the subsequent ratification or approval of the remaining commissioner was sufficient employment to justify the plaintiff in doing the work and to warrant a recovery against the township for the same. See Jefferson Co. v. Slagle, 66 Pa. 202.
But it is alleged that the commissioners had not given the notice required by the 4th section of the Act of May 18, 1871, supra, and that, therefore, they had no authority to employ the
One or two minor questions commented upon by the court below in the general charge and included in the omnibus assignment of error, hereinbefore referred to, need not be considered. They do not affect the general principles governing the case, were not necessary to its consideration and were mere dicta which could not' in any way affect the main question as presented to the jury.
The township received the benefit of the plaintiff’s work and it would be unjust as well as illegal to take advantage thereof without compensation. Presuming that the commissioners
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Samuel Harshman v. Dunbar Township
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- Practice, Superior Court — Defective assignment — Appeal—Rules of court. An omnibus assignment of error containing twelve distinct extracts from the general charge will be disregarded as in violation of Rule 15. Public officers — Official act of supervisors — Repair of roads. While the law requires that any action of road supervisors requiring consultation and deliberation must be had at a regular meeting duly called for the purpose, it has always been held that the act of supervisors in making ordinary repairs to the road is not such an act as requires deliberation and consultation on the part of all of the supervisors. Road law — Repairs—Action of supervisors— Presumption of regularity. Plaintiff is entitled to recover for repairs to a road ordered upon default of the original contractor when employed to do the work by two road •commissioners, such authorization having been subsequently ratified by the third commissioner. The authority of the commissioners to order such repairs exists under the Act of May 18, 1871, P. L. 899, as amended by the Act of April 10, 1873, P. L. 761. The doctrine of omnia prtesumuntur rite esse acta applies, the township will not be permitted to say that their legally constituted officers omitted to comply with the legal requirement to give notice to the first contractor. The plaintiff had the right to presume that all preliminary acts necessary to enable the commissioners to enter into the contract had been performed by them. While he was bound to know the laws he was not bound to know the facts.