Reuter v. Nixon State Bank
Reuter v. Nixon State Bank
Opinion of the Court
This is a suit by appellant, H. A. Reuter, against the Nixon State Bank to recover the agreed price stipulated in an oral contract for an architect’s professional services.
Special exceptions urged against several allegations in appellant’s first amended petition were sustained by the court and the cause dismissed.
It is contended in six assignments that there was error in sustaining the special exceptions, all of which present but one proposition for consideration, as suggested by counsel for appellant, which m'ay be fairly indicated by the two questions: Do the allegations of the petition clearly and fully state the complete contract made with appellant? Do the allegations show that- appellant fully performed his part of that contract?
The petition in three counts contains allegations concerning the contract. The first is that the Nixon State Bank acting through its president, D. N. Campbell, and its cashier, S. J. Elkins, engaged appellant’s services as an architect, and employed him to prepare preliminary sketches for a two-story brick building, and through its officers agreed and obligated itself to pay appellant for his professional services as architect 3% per cent, of the estimated cost of the building, agreed to be $17,500. The second is that, in pursuance of said employment, appellant prepared the preliminary sketches and submitted said sketches to the bank for its approval through its board of directors, which board approved and ratified the contract made with appellant by the president and cashier of the bank, and at the same meeting of the directors of the bank employed appellant to make plans and specifications for the bank building, and agreed and promised to pay appellant, as compensation therefor, the suin of 3% per cent, of -$17,500, which was the agreed estimated cost of the building; that the directors approved said preliminary sketches submitted by appellant with the exception of the “arrangement of the bank and the exterior and the exterior design,” with reference to which the directors indicated that they would probably want some changes made, but directed plaintiff to proceed with the complete and detailed plans and specifications for said building, with the exception of the “arrangement of the bank and the exterior and exterior design.” The third count alleges that, while appellant was preparing the complete plans and specifications for said building, Mr. S. J. Elkins, the cashier and a director of the bank, called at appellant’s office and stated to him that the directors of the bank had concluded not to make any changes in the “arrangement of the bank and the exterior and the exterior design,” but would leave same as shown on the preliminary sketches, and Mr. Elkins also directed appellant to complete the plans and specifications with the preliminary sketches theretofore sub *716 mitted to the hoard of directors and approved by them.
The above three counts contain all the statements of what the contract was and who made it, furnishing all the data from which to answer the first question of the proposition under consideration, “What was the complete contract?” From which data it appears that the first allegation is that the president and cashier for the bank requested appellant to make preliminary sketches of a bank building. In the second count the allegation is that portions of the sketches were approved by the board of directors and some portions of the sketches were not approved by the board of directors. The materiality of those portions of the sketches not approved by the board cannot be determined definitely from the petition, though they are described as “the arrangement of the bank and the exterior and the exterior design.” This may mean the entire building inside and out. Appellant in his brief refers to them as “minor” changes, while counsel for appellee calls them “important” changes.
“S. J. Elkins * * * stated to Mm (appellant) that the directors of said bank had concluded not to make any changes in the arrangement of the bank and the exterior and the exterior design, but would leave same as it had been sketched by plaintiff (appellant) in his preliminary sketches.”
The ambiguity and inconsistency mentioned are violations of the rules of pleading to which attention was called by special exceptions, sustained. The trial court properly sustained the special exceptions. Townes’ Tex. Pl. p. 426; Lemmon v. Hanley, 28 Tex. 220; Ry. v. Whitley, 77 Tex. 130, 13 S. W. 853; Hillebrant v. Booth, 7 Tex. 499.
Furthermore, the fact alleging that Elkins was a director does not warrant the inference that his statement of the board’s conclusion binds the board. There is no allegation that the board decided to accept the sketches previously rejected, nor is there any fact alleged by wMch the board or bank was estopped and bound by the statement made to appellant by one of the directors or by *717 benefits received as in the case of Merchants’ Ice Co. v. Scott & Dodson, 186 S. W. 418, and the authorities there cited.
The trial court properly sustained all of the special exceptions complained of in the six assignments, all of which are overruled.
The judgment is affirmed.
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Reference
- Full Case Name
- Reuter v. Nixon State Bank.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published