Dyer v. Middle Kittitas Irrigation District

Citations

• 25 Wash. 80
• 64 P. 1009
• 1901 Wash. LEXIS 365

Syllabus

<p>IRRIGATION DISTRICTS — CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION OF DITCH-INTERPRETATION- SUSPENSION OF WORK-RECOVERY OF INSTALLMENTS DUE.</p> <p>Under a contract for the construction of an irrigation ditch, thirty miles in length, for which the contractor was to be paid at an agreed rate for excavation and materials, payment to be made monthly to the extent of ninety per cent, of the value of the work done, as estimated by the engineer in charge, “provided that if said contractor completes said work and estimates on the same are returned sooner than the funds from the sale of bonds reaches the treasurer of said district, then whatever estimate would have otherwise been payable . . . shall not be payable until the funds arising from the sale of bonds are in the hands of said treasurer to meet the same,” the contractor is not required to complete the work before being entitled to maintain an action for any installment due him, but where, after having earned a monthly installment, he waits a reasonable time for the defendant to sell its bonds and pay him the compensation due, and defendant neglects and refuses to raise moneys from the sale of its bonds, he is warranted in suspending work and bringing an action for the recovery of the pro tanto amount due under his contract.</p> <p>SAME-REFUSAL TO APPROVE ENGINEER’S ESTIMATE-EFFECT.</p> <p>A contractor is not debarred from maintaining an action to recover compensation due him under the estimates returned by the engineer in charge of the work, by the fact that such estimates had never been approved by the board of directors of defendant corporation, as the contract required, when it appears that the refusal of the board to act upon the estimates was purely arbitrary.</p> <p>SAME DIRECTORS ■— POWER TO AUTHORIZE SUSPENSION OF WORK.</p> <p>Under Bal. Code, § 4176, which provides that the board of directors of corporations organized for irrigation purposes shall have power to make and execute all necessary contracts, and perform all suc