124 Iowa 617 | Iowa | 1904
Peterson & Sampson, a firm of builders, entered into a written contract to erect a dwelling house in the city of Des Moines for the defendant Theodore L. Evens at the agreed price of $2,800, payable in five stated installments, according to the progress of the work. The performance of this contract by Peterson & Sampson was guaranteed or secured by the bond of the appellant surety company. Excepting in the name of the owner of the building, the bond is identical in form and substance with the bond considered and construed by us in Getchell & Martin Co. v. McQuaid et al., 124 Iowa, 599. The contract is evidently drawn upon a printed form substantially identical with the one used by the parties in the case referred to. In filling the blank, however, the word “ owner ” is written in the space left in the body of the foim for name of architects, making the’ clause read: “ The contractors shall under the direction and to the satisfaction of the owner architects acting for the purposes of this contract as the agents of the owner,” etc. The name “ The C. E. Eastman Co. Architects ” appears as a heading or prefix to the form, but nowhere appears in the body of the instrument. Just the extent to which this apparent obscurity in the contract differentiates it from the one passed upon by us in the other case we will not undertake to decide, but we think it evident that it was intended to reserve to the owner some greater degree of independence in dealing with the contractors than would be allowed were the names of the architects used in- that place. The contract bears date August 8, 1901. Eollowing the signatures there is written, under date of November 6, 1901, an agreement signed by Peterson & Sampson and T. L. Evens, for 'a change in the kind of wood with
The decree appealed from is affirmed.