Crowley v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.

Citations

• 29 Wash. 268
• 69 P. 784
• 1902 Wash. LEXIS 584

Syllabus

<p>BUILDING CONTRACTOR'S BOND-ACTION AGAINST SURETY- — EVIDENCE.</p> <p>Although a building contract may have- required written authority from the owner for deviations in the plans, yet where the owner orally directed changes made, which were acted upon by the contractor, both parties thereby waived the provisions of the contract requiring written evidence of alterations, and consequently they could be established by oral evidence in an action between the owner and the surety upon the ’contractor’s bond.</p> <p>SAME-EIGHT TO OFF-SET CLAIM FOE EXTEAS.</p> <p>In an action against the surety upon a building contractor’s bond to recover the amount' of unpaid bills for material the owner was compelled! to pay, the defendant is entitled to off-set the value of extra work performed by the contractor, and for this purpose may introduce evidence showing that there was a dispute between the owner and contractor as to the reasonable value of such extras and that the owner, though requested, refused to submit the matter to arbitrators, as by the contract required.</p> <p>SAME — RECOVERY OF ATTORNEY FEES INCURRED DEFENDING AGAINST LIENS.</p> <p>In an action against a surety to recover on account of the failure of its principal to comply with a building contract conditioned that the principal should furnish all materials and labor and construct certain buildings, the owner is entitled to recover the amount paid by him to secure a discharge of liens filed against his property on account of materials unpaid for by the contractor, and is also entitled to recover his reasonable expenses and attorney fees in defending against such liens, where the surety neglects to defend the suit after notice.</p> <p>SAME- — -LIABILITY-OF SURETY UNAFFECTED BY PRINCIPAL’S PARTNERSHIP.</p> <p>The fact that a contractor who entered into a building contract in his own name had a partner interested with him in the work would not relieve a surety upon such contractor’s bond from the obligation to indemnif