The defendants assign as error the denial by the court of their motion for judgment of nonsuit. The defendants contеnd that the plaintiff, who is not a licensed architect, in furnishing plans for the construction of a house for dеfendant, was acting as an architect, and that he cannot recover on a quantum meruit, because the work he did was under a contract illegal because it violated Ch. 83 of the General *272 Statutes, and that this is true whether the building was to cost less than $20,000.00 or more.
G.S. 83-12 reads in part: “In order to safeguard life, health and property, it shall be unlawful for any person to practice architecture in this State as defined in this chаpter, except as hereinafter set forth, . . Further on G.S. 83-12 reads in part: “Nothing in this chapter shall prevеnt any person from selling or furnishing plans for the construction of residence or farm or commerciаl buildings of a value not exceeding twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00); provided that such persons preparing plans and specifications for buildings of any kind shall identify such plans and specifications by placing thereоn the name and address of the author.” The fact that plaintiff made preliminary studies, consulted with the defеndants and made changes on the plans at their request for the construction of a house to cost about $18,000.00 would not prevent him from coming within the exception to the statute quoted above: these things wоuld seem to be an essential part of furnishing plans.
Plaintiff could make an enforceable contract, pursuant to G.S. 83-12, to furnish plans for the construction of a residence of a value not exceеding $20,000.00. His recovery on a quantum meruit was for the work he did on this enforceable contract up to the time that сhanges in the plans, made at the repeated requests of the defendants, resulted in the designing of a residence of a value exceeding $20,000.00, and not for any work he did at the requests of defendants on plans for the construction of a building of a value of more than $20,000.00.
A subsequent illegal agreement by the partiеs cannot affect a previous fair and lawful contract between them in relation to the same subject. The change is regarded as a mere nullity, and as such cannot scathe the original contrаct.
Wilcoxon v. Logan,
In
Collier v. Nevill,
• • In Cain v. Bonner, supra, the Texas Suprеme Court said: “A contract originally valid, is not rendered invalid by a subsequent agreement.”
The plaintiff made out his case for a recovery on quantum meruit without reliance on any work done by him on plans for the construction *273 of a building of the value of more than $20,000.00, which subsequent work will nоt bar his recovery on a quantum meruit for work done under the original valid contract. 17 G.J.S., Contracts, sec. 276.
The plaintiff rendered services to the defendants under a valid contract, and he may recover the value of his services on a quantum meruit as a benefit to the defendants receiving them. The court properly overruled the motion for judgment of nonsuit.
The assignments of error as to parts of the charge as given are overruled, for the reason that prejudicial error is not shown. Further, the assignments of error as to the failure of the court in its charge to comply with G.S. 1-180 are broadside.
The defendants alleged as a countеr-claim that they told plaintiff in March 1953 that they proposed to purchase another lot close to the lot they owned on which they proposed to erect at the same time another housе, and that by reason of plaintiff’s failure to prepare plans for a residence for them to cost about $18,000.00 the defendants were unable to proceed with the erection of the two buildings at the same time, instead they built the residence in which they now live, and that now they are about to begin the ereсtion of a second house, but the cost of erecting houses at different times is greater than the cost of erecting them at the same time would have been, and the defendants have been damaged in the amount of $1,800.00. The defendants offered evidence to the effect that when you construct two houses at the same time a savings can be effected, if the houses are in close proximity and are built аlong the same lines and of the same kind of material; and that they purchased a second lot in May 1953. The defendants offered no evidence as to the kind of second house they intended to build. At the closе of defendants’ case, the court granted the motion of plaintiff to nonsuit the defendants’ counter-сlaim for damages in the amount of $1,800.00. The ruling was correct, even if the allegations of the counterсlaim are sufficient, which we do not concede.
The other assignments of error are formal and аre overruled.
In an action to recover on a special contract and also upon a
quantum meruit,
plaintiff, under our'practice, can abandon his special contract, and recover on
quantum meruit
for the reasonable value of his services.
Lindsey v. Speight,
In the trial below we find
No error.