Erie City Iron Works, Inc. v. City of Marshfield
Erie City Iron Works, Inc. v. City of Marshfield
Opinion of the Court
The following opinion was filed January 13, 1925:
This is a case involving the interpretation of the terms of a contract, the wording of which is not disputed. The plaintiff corporation obtained a contract from the defendant city to install a boiler for the city, and in order to obtain this contract the agent of the plaintiff agreed to.repair certain brick work connected with two other boilers, said repair work to be included in the bid for the installation of the new boiler. By the terms of the original proposal made by the plaintiff, Exhibit A, it was provided that “it is understood that contractor will make necessary repairs to the brick work on the present setting of two 300 horse-power boilers. This does not contemplate any repairs to the furnace brick work or other repairs which may be occasioned
The plaintiff claims that it has performed its obligations in accordance with the terms of the contract and that the defendant is withholding the amount of $624.90, being part of-the sum due under the terms of the contract.
The defendant sets up that the plaintiff failed to repair the brick work about the furnace as required by the contract, and that the sum withheld is the amount which the 'city had to expend in order to have the repairs made. The defendant claims that all of the brick work about the boilers, •whether immediately about the part used as a furnace or about the boilers proper, is to be understood as included in the clause of the contract wherein the plaintiff agrees to repair all of the brick work of the present setting of the two 300 'horse-power boilers. The plaintiff contends that “the setting” and “the furnace brick work” are distinct
Some claim is made by the appellant that the furnace part of the first boiler was constructed by the plaintiff; that it was defective; and that there was a moral obligation to repair it. We find no testimony in the record to that effect. The only testimony on the subject is that the furnace part was constructed by another company. .
There was no evidence that the plaintiff refused or was not willing according to the contract to make necessary repairs “on the present setting of the two 300 H. P. boilers.” It was the view of the trial court that the contract was not ambiguous and did not require the plaintiff to repair the brick work on the furnace proper. Considerable testimony was offered and received on the theory urged by the defendant that there was a latent ambiguity in the written contract. This evidence consisted of statements made by the agent of the plaintiff, mostly before the contract was executed, of correspondence and of statements as to the meaning and interpretation to be given to the contract. Witnesses for the defendant testified that the furnace was a part of the vertical boilers; that there was no distinction between the setting of the boilers and the fitrnace brick work; that the setting and furnace brick work are all one, and gave it as their interpretation of the meaning of the contract that it included the repairs in the furnace brick work because it was a part of the boiler setting. Counsel for the appellant
The plaintiff made a claim against the defendant for five days’ delay in the prosecution of the work, caused by the city. The defendant city filed a counterclaim for delay on the part of the plaintiff. Both of these claims were disallowed by the trial court on the facts proven. We see no reason for disturbing the judgment of the circuit court as to either claim.
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.
A motion for a rehearing was denied, with $25 costs, on March 10, 1925.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.