City of Beaumont v. Masterson
City of Beaumont v. Masterson
Opinion of the Court
This is a second appeal of this case, See Ross et al. v. Beaumont Brick Company, 53 Tex. Civ. App. 469, 116 S. W. 643. The only facts necessary to be hpre stated, in order to understand the issues involved in this appeal, are the following:
On May 23, 1903, H. W. Downey & Co., a firm composed of H. W. Downey and George B. Kelley, entered into two contracts with the city of Beaumont, one for the construction of sewers, and the other for paving certain streets, wherein it was agreed that Downey & Co. should be paid for the work, as it progressed, upon estimates made by the city engineer, 15 per cent, of the amount due upon each estimate to be retained by the city to insure final completion in accordance with the specifications, and, upon final settlement, a sufficient amount should be reserved by the city out of any balance due on the contract to pay any outstanding claims against the contractor for labor or materials used in the work. On June 1, 1903, H. Masterson entered into a contract With Downey & Co., the exact nature of which need not be stated, further than to say that by its terms it was agreed that 'Masterson should receive certain profits growing out of the execution of the contract, and that the effect of said contract was to make Master-son a partner in the firm of Downey & Co. in the execution of said contracts. On or before September 30, 1903, Downey & Co. purchased certain brick from the Beaumont Brick Company, which were used in the construction of the work, upon which, after certain credits were applied, Downey & Co. owed to'the Brick Company $838.49. Prior *1080 to October S, 1903, Downey & Co. purchased certain brick from the J. R. Land Brick Company, to be used in the construction of said work, amounting in value to $1,248.
Subsequently to these purchases, Downey & Co. assigned their contract with the city to H. Masterson, who thereupon entered into a new contract with the city, by the terms of which he agreed to complete the work undertaken by Downey & Co. in accordance with their contract; and it was further stipulated that the “party of the second part [Masterson] agrees and binds himself to complete in all its parts, the sewerage contract entered into between the city of Beaumont and H. W. Downey & Company, upon the same terms and within the same time and for the same price as provided in said contract; and the party of the first part [city] agrees and binds itself to pay to the party of the second part for said work, the price stipulated in the bid of H. W. Downey & Company and at the time and in the manner provided in the specifications for said work attached to said contracts; all the terms, conditions and stipulations in said contract to be binding upon the parties hereto.” After certain work was completed by Masterson under his contract, he was released by the city from further performance. Pending final settlement, the Beaumont Brick Company and the Land Brick Company appeared before the city council, and requested that a sufficient sum of money be withheld to pay their claims. The city council, after hearing both sides, adopted a resolution to withhold for the Beaumont Brick Company and the Land Brick Company, out of the sum due on final settlement, the amount of their respective claims, aggregating $2,086.49, subject to the result of litigation between Masterson and said parties, and, said amount being accordingly withheld, this suit resulted as between Masterson and the Beaumont Brick Company and other persons who are not parties to this appeal. The J. R. Land Brick Company was not a party at the time of the first trial. On said first trial, the court rendered judgment on an instructed verdict in favor of the Beaumont Brick Company, and that judgment was reversed for reasons stated in our opinion, heretofore referred to.
As will be seen by reference to our former decision, the jury found on the first trial that the claim of the Beaumont Brick Company against Masterson personally, and as partner in the firm of Downey & Co., was barred by the statute of limitation, and judgment was accordingly rendered that it take nothing against him in his individual capacity by said suit. In reversing the former judgment, we say; “The effect of the judgment is to deny to Masterson a recovery of the fund which was withheld by the city in its final settlement with him. Whether this is correct depends on whether the funds so withheld accrued before or after the date of the contract made by Masterson with the city. On this point, the evidence is rather unsatisfactory, but rather leads to the conclusion that the funds withheld accrued after the Masterson contract was signed. If it is a fact that this fund accrued while Dow-ney & Co. were performing the work under the first contract, then the judgment is undoubtedly correct; but if subsequently to the time that Masterson assumed the contracts of Downey & Co. and executed a new contract with the city, then the funds accruing belonged to Masterson individually, and, plaintiff’s claim against him being barred by the statute of limitation, his right of recovery, in such case, is undoubted.” The correctness of our former opinion is neither attacked nor questioned on this appeal. It will be thus seen that the only issues left to be determined on the second trial was whether the' funds withheld were earned by Downey & Co., under their contract, prior to October 3, 1903, or by Masterson subsequently to that date,' after he took over Downey & Co.’s contract.
The ease was tried by the court, without a jury, and resulted in a judgment for Mas-terson for the sum of $2,086.49, being the amount withheld by the city, and from this judgment the city of Beaumont has appealed.
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H. Masterson testified as follows: “There was $59,690.17 total paving contract done by H. BY. Downey & Co. for the city of Beaumont up to October 2, 1903, and by H. Mas-terson under his contract with the city of Beaumont up to the final conclusion of the work. Of that $59,690.17, H. BY. Downey & Oo. were paid $23,683.82, being the full amount of their work done, and H. Blaster-son was paid $11,551.35 for work first done by him; and on final settlement with H. Blasterson by the city it was treated, both by the city and H. Masterson, in reaching the balance due H. Masterson of $24,455, that the entire amount earned by Downey & Co. had been paid, and that $11,551.35 that Blasterson earned has been paid, leaving the balance due Blasterson for services rendered by him of $24,455, which amount was settled with him by issuing voucher No. 78 for $22,368.51, and by the retention by the city of Beaumont, out of money due him for work under his contract, of $2,086.49, the money now in controversy, and no part of that $2,086.49 was due to Downey & Go., nor considered due to Downey & Oo. by the city council or by H. Blasterson, because, in reaching this balance due H. Blasterson, the whole amount earned by Downey & Oo. had been paid in full.”
He further testified: “At the date of my final settlement with the city, the city did not owe H. BY. Downey & Co. a cent. The whole amount of that had long since been paid. In that final settlement, there was a certain $2,086.49 retained. * * * It was retained out of the estimate shown to be due me. There was thirty-six thousand and some odd dollars shown to be due me by the city of Beaumont, under the estimates of the city engineer, for work done by me on pavement account after the transfer of Downey & Oo.’s contract to me on October 3, 1903. * * * That was all for work that I had done individually since the transfer of the contract to me on October 3, 1903. * * * I never did consent or agree that there was any money belonging to H. BY. Downey & Oo. I claimed it belonged to me, and H. W. Downey & Oo. had nothing to do with it. I had earned $36,000 since the contract came to me, and they had paid me approximately $11,000, and owed me for work that I had done a balance of $24,455, and they paid me by giving me a certificate for $22,368.51, and retaining $2,086.49 of my money.”
W. A. Smith testified: “I am familiar with the vouchers, payments, and estimates made by the city of Beaumont on this work with H. W. Downey & Co. and H. Master-son. I am thoroughly familiar with the whole matter from its beginning up to date. I have checked it numerous times in the city council and in our own office, and was here during the time of construction, and I have checked it until I almost know the transaction from memory. I audited the books of H. W. Downey & Co. in connection with the city engineer, checking up the various estimates on each month. * * *”
In speaking of the monthly statements,the witness said: “I have checked them over. I have checked them by our accounts, and know they are absolutely correct. I have examined the secretary’s books of the city of Beaumont; that is, pertaining to this transaction. Those books show that H. W. Downey & Oo. earned, during the life of their contract on paving account with the city of Beaumont, up to the 2d of October, 1903, when they sold to H. Masterson, $23,683.82. Q. Now state to the court whether or nat the entire amount earned, including the 15 per cent, cut back by H. BY. Downey & Oo., was paid to him, or his order, prior to the final settlement with H. Masterson? A. It was. As to how I know that, I have handled all the vouchers when they were issued to H. W. Downey & Oo., and kept accurate account of them, and know the dates they were issued, and for what account they were issued, and I know the amounts that were paid and the day of payment. * * * The full amount earned by H. BY. Downey & Co. was paid to H. BY. Downey & Co., or their order, by the city of Beaumont on or prior to December 2, 1903. * * * After December 2, 1903, H. BY. Downey & Oo. had nothing of the cut back, or anything else, coming to them; they had been paid in full at that date. * * * On September 1st, warrant No. 78 was issued for $6,120.84; October 7th, warrant No. 66 for $10,616.22. On November 9th, warrant No. 70 for $6,937.16-was issued. These three warrants aggregate $23,674.22. On December 2d, warrant No. 71 was issued for $3,666.60, of which it required $9.60 to eliminate the $23,683.82 earned by H. BY. Downey Co. * * * Q. Now, do you know whether or not those vouchers-were'paid in numerical order that were issued by the city of Beaumont to H. BY. Downey & Oo. for work done and performed under the paving contract? A. I do know they were paid in their numerical order. As to how I know that, we collected them through your [H. Blasterson’s] office, and I was in charge of your office in those days, and I know. * * * Q. State whether or not the vouchers issued, aggregating $23,-683.82, earned by H. BY. Downey & Co., were paid prior to the final settlement by the city of Beaumont with H. Blasterson? A. Yes, sir; they were. I know that. As stated in the last answer, the vouchers were collected through your [H. Masterson’s] office, and I had charge of your office in the collecting de *1082 partment.” This evidence warranted' the conclusion that must have been reached by the court that the money reserved by the city was a portion of that earned by and due to H. Masterson. The assignment is overruled.
We find no reversible error in the record, and the judgment of the court below is affirmed.
Affirmed.
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