Graham v. City of Lebanon

Citations

• 240 Pa. 337
• 87 A. 567
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 674

Syllabus

<p>Contracts — Municipal bonds — Agreement to purchase — Cash deposit — Liquidated damages.</p> <p>1. Where a bidder for an entire issue of municipal bonds deposited with his bid a certified check for $5,500, being five per cent, of the amount of the bid, with an agreement that the same might be retained by the city as liquidated damages, if he failed to fulfill the terms of his bid, and the bidder refused to accept and pay for the bonds, because of a doubt as to their validity, the city is bound to return the whole amount of the cheek, if it appears that no loss had in fact been suffered.</p> <p>2. In such a case the amount of the deposit is so out of proportion to any damages which might have been reasonably anticipated by a default of the bidder, that the parties will not be deemed to have intended anything more than compensation or indemnity.</p> <p>Municipalities — Increase of indebtedness — Over two per cent, of assessed valuation — Notice of election — Weekly advertisements— Failure to advertise — Illegality of bonds.</p> <p>3. Municipal bonds representing an increase of indebtedness beyond two per cent, of the assessed valuation of taxable property are valid only as the provisions of .the Act of April 20, 1874, P. L. 65, are complied with, and publication of notice of an election under the act in three daily newspapers, not continuously in any one, but from time to time in each, during the required period, in such manner that twelve days elapsed during which no publication of the notice appeared, does not satisfy the statutory requirement that “thirty days’ notice shall be given by weekly advertisement.”</p>