District of Columbia v. Gallaher

Citations

• 124 U.S. 505
• 8 S. Ct. 585
• 31 L. Ed. 526
• 1888 U.S. LEXIS 1887

Syllabus

<p>When, in the performance of a written contract, both parties put a practical construction upon it which is at variance with its literal meaning, that construction will prevail over the language of the contract.</p> <p>In this case the defendant in error having under a written contract witli the agents of the plaintiff in error constructed a sewer which in the course of construction was, by mutual consent, and for reasons assented to by both parties, made to vary in some respects from the plans which formed part of the contract, but without any agreement a0 to a change in the contract price; Held, for the reasons given by the Court of Claims, that the judgment of that court awarding the contract price for the work is affirmed.</p>