231 Pa. 441 | Pa. | 1911
Opinion by
A company chartered and organized to supply with gas two towns, and the intervening territory, all in Chester county, entered into an agreement with the Philadelphia Engineering Company for the construction of its system. The latter company contracted with the plaintiffs in the present action for the digging of the trenches for the pipes between the towns. The evidence introduced on behalf of plaintiffs was to the effect that they entered upon their work, and had proceeded with it until about one-third was completed, when, having received no pay for the work already done, they became distrustful of the financial ability of the engineering company to meet its contract obligations with them; that they then decided to abandon their contract, and communicated this fact to these defendants who were financially interested in having the work completed; that the defendants then promised that if they (the plaintiffs) would go on with the work, they (the defendants) would pay for the work done and for the work to be done; and that relying upon this promise plaintiffs resumed operations and completed the work. The action was brought to recover from the defendants on the alleged promise, and a verdict for the full amount of the plaintiff’s claim resulted.
Except as it was error to refuse the motion to strike out the testimony of the three witnesses called on behalf