82 Mich. 263 | Mich. | 1890
The plaintiffs brought an action in justice’s court to recover an amount claimed to be due them for work and labor performed in sinking a mining shaft for the defendant. The plaintiffs recovered a judgment in justice’s court, and the defendant appealed to the circuit, where the plaintiffs again had judgment, and the case is brought to this Court on writ of error.
The case made by the plaintiffs is that they made a contract with defendant through Capt. Florida, who was at the time superintendent of the defendant company, by which they were to sink a shaft 8 by 11 feet, down to
“It is the law that, if an employer terminate a contract without any fault on the • part of the employé or contractor, then the employé or contractor may sue upon the contract to recover damages, or he may sue in ■assumpsit upon the common counts, as they are called,— the quantum meruit, — to recover what his services were worth. That does not mean what they were worth to the employer. It is the fair value; that is, the value of work and labor. Of course, the main question is first as to whether the contract was performed up to that time by the plaintiffs. If it was not, then the defendant had the right to stop the work, and discharge them, and' they could not recover.
“Now comes the question as to the discharge. That depends upon two witnesses, as I remember the testimony; that is, Capt. Carlin and the plaintiff Mooney. I understand all the testimony there is upon that point is given by these two men. Mooney says that Capt. Carlin ‘ told us to stop and take the timbers up.’ Mr. Carlin denies it. The burden of proof is upon the plaintiffs in the case, so that if you find that the contract was performed up to that time by the plaintiffs, but still that they were not discharged, but stopped the contract without being discharged, then they cannot recover in this case at all. If that were the case, then the plaintiffs could recover only upon the ground that their work had been of value to the defendant.”
“ Q. Isn't it true that Cap. Carlin had more to do with this matter than you did?
“A. Yes, sir; he did.
“ Q. You are a general superintendent of this mine, are you not?
“A. Yes, sir.
“ Q. And you conceimed yourself more about the business generally than you did about those little details about the shaft?
“A. Yes, sir.
“ Q. And you left this in a large measure to him, did you not?
There was no testimony to the contrary. There was no error in this statement by the circuit judge of an admitted fact on the trial. The judgment is affirmed, with costs.