108 Cal. 33 | Cal. | 1895
Action to foreclose a street assessment in San Francisco.
The validity of the assessment is contested upon the ground that the contract for doing the work was invalid by reason of the failure on the part of the superintendent of streets to fix the time for the commencement and the completion of the work. Judgment was rendered in favor of the defendant, from which and from an order denying his motion for a new trial the plaintiff has appealed.
The contract in question was awarded to W. H. Maxwell, and notice of the award having been posted and published December 11, 1890, the contract was entered into by Maxwell and Thomas Ashworth, as superintendent of .streets, December 23, 1890. The body of the contract was written, dated, and signed on one page» which was numbered “ page one,” and provided, among other things, that Maxwell would do and perform all the work required to be performed, under the direction and to the satisfaction of said superintendent, “ according to the specifications hereunto annexed and made part of this contract.” Upon the upper part of another sheet of paper which was attached to the contract, marked “ page 2,” was pasted a copy of the specifications which had been included with the notice inviting proposals for doing the work; and beneath this copy of the specifications were the following words: “ The work to be commenced fourteen (14) days and completed within
Section 6 of the act under which these proceedings were had (Stats, of 1885, p. 151) requires that the superintendent of streets shall fix the time for the commencement, which shall not be more than fifteen days from the date of the contract, and for the completion of the work under all contracts entered into by him.” This provision is mandatory, and an omission to comply therewith renders the contract void. (Libbey v. Elsworth, 97 Cal. 316.) The fixing of these times is not a matter of agreement between the superintendent and the contractor, nor is the signature of the contractor essential; but it is a duty imposed by law upon the superintendent (Fletcher v. Prather, 102 Cal. 425), and, like any other official act, must be authenticated by his signature. (Dougherty v. Hitchcock, 35 Cal. 512.) This-
The first publication and posting of the notice of award was made on the 11th of December, and Maxwell signed the contract on the 23d of December. The execution of the contract was then complete on his part; but, although it was then signed on the part of the
The provision in the contract, that the work shall be done “ according to the specifications hereunto annexed and made a part of this contract,” does not extendió the clause by which the time for the commencement and the completion of the work is fixed. The “ specifications” thus referred to are those which, by section 3 of the act aforesaid (Stats., 1889, p. 159), are to be furnished by the city engineer, and which, by section 5 of the act (Stats., 1889, p. 160), are to be stated with the notice inviting proposals for doing the work.
As the contract was equally valid whether the superintendent indorsed thereon the clause fixing the times for the commencement and completion of the work on the same day that he signed the contract, or upon any day within fifteen days from its date, it follows that, if his term of office expired before the expiration of the fifteeen days, this act could be performed by his successor. The act of fixing these times is the act of the officer, and not of the individual, and can be performed by the individual who at the time of performing it is the incumbent of the office. The execution of the contract being inchoate on his part until this act is performed, it is immaterial that one of the steps in the completion of its execution is performed by the outgoing officer and the other by his successor. They are each official acts, and are entitled to the same consideration, whether performed by the same or different officers.
The judgment and order denying a new trial are reversed.
Garoutte, J., and Van Fleet, J., concurred.
Hearing in bank denied.