Egolf v. City of York

Citations

• 246 Pa. 455
• 92 A. 695
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 538

Syllabus

<p>Contracts — Municipalities—Building contracts — Construction of sewer — Time of completion — Damages for delay — Cost of cleaning —Inspection—Set-off—Notice to proceed with worh.</p> <p>1. In an action by a contractor against a municipality to recover a balance claimed to be due on a contract for the construction of part of a sewage system in the defendant city, and to secure incidental damages, the court did not err in leaving to the jury tbe question as to whether defendant was entitled to a,set-off for damages resulting from plaintiff’s failure to complete the work on contract time and for an additional amount expended by defendant for cleaning the sewer; where plaintiff introduced evidence to show that defendant had waived its right to a penalty for noncompletion on the specified date, and claimed that the contractors were not obliged to clean sewers and hence could not be charged with the cost thereof; and where defendant offered evidence that the contractors were without a sufficient number of men to complete the contract within the time limit, that they were arbitrary in the conduct of the work and if they had followed the instructions of the city’s authorized agents, the contracts could have been completed on time, that defendant could not inspect the work done by the contractors on account of the accumulation of cement, dirt and other substances stipulated against in the contract, which made it necessary to clean the sewers before they could be inspected, and the officers and engineers of the defendant proved the amounts expended by it in cleaning the sewer and in completing the work under the contract.</p> <p>2. In such case the fact that the plaintiff was ordered to proceed with the work shortly before and after the time limit specified in the contract, is not sufficient to show a waiver by the defendant of its right to damages for delay.</p>