McDonald v. Mezes

Citations

• 107 Cal. 492
• 40 P. 808
• 1895 Cal. LEXIS 781

Syllabus

<p>Street Assessment—Validity of Contract—Exemption of Superintendent from Liability.—A clause in a contract for a street improvement purporting to relieve the street superintendent and his sureties from liability for any delinquency on his part is not authorized by the statute, and it seems is void as against public policy as between the parties to the contract; but such clause does not affect or prejudice the rights of the property owner, and does not render the contract void as to him, nor prevent a recovery against him of the amount of the street assessment.</p> <p>Id.—Doing of Unauthorized Work—Separable Demand—Modification of Judgment.—Where the contract substantially follows the resolution of intention as respects the work specified therein, but in addition to the work so specified the contractor also laid a sidewalk in front of defendant’s lot not authorized by the resolution of intention, the assessment properly made for the work clearly specified in the resolution is not vitiated by a separate assessment for the sidewalk not embraced in the resolution, but a judgment foreclosing the entire assessment should be modified by striking out that portion of the assessment which relates to the sidewalk.</p> <p>Id.—Time for Commencement of Work.—A contract providing that the work is to be commenced within fourteen days and completed within ninety days from the date of the contract sufficiently fixes the time for the commencement of the work, and the effect is the same as if the fourteenth day from the date of the contract had been specified as the day for the commencement of the work.</p>