Cramp & Co. v. Boyertown Burial Casket Co.

Citations

• 241 Pa. 15
• 88 A. 69
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 729

Syllabus

<p>Arbitration — Reference under Act of May 1¡¡, 187If, P. L. 166— Agreement of reference — Enforcement—Appeals.</p> <p>1. Where a case has been submitted to a referee under the Act of May 14, 1874, P. L. 166, and the parties to the agreement of reference have stipulated that the referee’s findings of fact shall be final, the Supreme Court cannot consider assignments of error complaining of alleged errors in such findings.</p> <p>Contracts — Building contract — Construction—Liquidated damages — Delay—Extension of time — Certificate of architect — Evidence.</p> <p>2. In an action to recover the balance due upon a building contract, where the defense was a set off of liquidated damages at fifty dollars a day, accruing on account of delay in completing the work, and the contract provided for an extension of time to be allowed by the architects where the delay had been caused by the owner, architects or other contractors, but that “no such allowance will be made unless a claim thereof is presented in writing to the architects within five days of the occurrence of such delay, the duration of such extension to be certified by the architects,” the plaintiff is entitled to allowance where claims were made within five days, notwithstanding the fact that the architects did not make any certification of extensions until tbe termination of the contract, and also where the architects declined to pass upon the claims for extension of time, but the referee has found as a fact that the delay was due to causes, which excused plaintiff, and that he was entitled to the extension. In such case the letter of the architect, after the close of the work, declining to pass upon claims for delay, is admissible in evidence, as showing that the architect had received notice of claims for delay, and as amounting to a refusal to make a complete award.</p>