Halferty v. Marsch

Citations

• 252 Pa. 137
• 97 A. 196
• 1916 Pa. LEXIS 582

Syllabus

<p>Affidavit of defense — Sufficiency—Contracts — Subcontractor — Abandonment of work — Completion of work by defendant — Superintendence of work.</p> <p>1. In an action by a subcontractor against a contractor to recover a balance alleged to be due on work done on a railroad, an affidavit of defense was sufficient which set up that the plaintiff had abandoned the work, that defendant, as provided by the contract between them, completed it, placing in charge his general superintendent and assistant superintendent, who devoted a large part of their time to the direction of the work, and for such superintendence defendant charged a proportionate part of their salaries.</p> <p>2. Whether it was necessary for the contractor to have his superintendent and assistant superintendents devote a portion of their time to the supervision of the work and, if so, how much, will be questions for a jury, as will be the reasonableness of the charge which he makes for such services, for he cannot make an arbitrary or unreasonable charge for them.</p>