Rowland v. P. P. Carroll Loan & Investment Co.
Rowland v. P. P. Carroll Loan & Investment Co.
Opinion of the Court
This action was brought by respondent against appellant to recover for services as civil- engineer, alleged to have been- rendered appellant at the proposed town of Harriman, at what is called Dofflemyer’s Point, in Thurs-ton county. Respondent claimed to have been employed by appellant on April 1st, 1904, at the agreed salary of $300 per month, and to have continued in such employment until August 31, 1904; and demanded judgment for $1,355. The answer was a general denial. The case was tried by the court, which found that the plaintiff, at the special instance
Defendant excepted to the findings of fact and conclusions of law made by the court.
Appellant, in its testimony, denies that respondent or any other person was ever employed by it. It admits that a town was to be built at Harriman, but claims that P. P. Carroll as an individual, and not the appellant corporation, was carrying on the work there, and that respondent, if he was employed at all, was employed by said Carroll. The P. P, Carroll Loan & Investment Company was incorporated under the laws of the state of Washington on July 30, 1903. The following were the officers elected: Trustees, P. P. Carroll, S. J. T. Carroll, F. M. Carroll, J. E. Carroll, O. G. Carroll; President, P. P. Carroll; vice-president, F. M. Carroll; treasurer, O. G. Carroll; secretary, John E. Carroll.
The main contention of the appellant is that the respondent does not show any authority in P. P. Carroll to employ him for the appellant corporation. But the record discloses
It is not in harmony with any sound code of ethics, and is not the policy of the law, to permit a solvent corporation to obtain and appropriate the property of another on the credit of its solvency, and then escape responsibility by hiding behind some impecunious officer of such company. On all the disputed questions of fact in relation to the terms of the contract, and the amount of labor performed under such contract, we are not inclined to disturb the findings of the trial court. The judgment is affirmed.
Crow, Fullerton, and Hadley, JJ., concur.
Mount, C. J. and Rudkin, J., took no part.
Root, J., dissents.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- O. O. Rowland v. The P. P. Carroll Loan & Investment Company
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Corporations — Contracts—Authority of Officer — Ratification. The evidence is sufficient to establish that a contract of employment as engineer for a new townsite, made ’by the president of a corporation, was authorized or ratified by the corporation, where it appears that the contract was made with the knowledge of a majority of the trustees, that the company took options, purchased supplies, and dealt with the operations in its own name, with the president in charge in the name of the company, which received the benefits of the contract; since such employment was within the scope of the general management and apparent or implied authority of the president.