Rice v. Bd. of Trs. of Haywards

Citations

• 107 Cal. 398
• 40 P. 551
• 1895 Cal. LEXIS 766

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations —Creation of Indebtedness—Statutory Construction.—Section 865 of the Municipal Corporation Act of 1883, which forbids the hoard of trustees of cities or towns to create, audit, allow, or permit to accrue any debt or liability iu excess of the available money in the treasury that may be legally appropriated for such purpose, has no application to a proceeding under the Municipal Indebtedness Act of 1889, to provide for a public improvement requiring an expend!tute in excess of the amount allowed therefor by the annual tax levy of the town; and the latter act is controlling in the cases provided for therein.</p> <p>Id.—Rejection of Bids—Power of Municipal Board.—The municipal hoard is justified in rejecting or refusing to consider a bid put in for a public improvement by a town official who could not lawfully take the contract therefor; and may also reject any bid which is clearly collusive ami fraudulent.</p> <p>Id.—Proof of Character of Bids—Records of Board—Admissibility of Evidence.—It is not requisite for the board in making a record of its action in rejecting bids to make an entry of their reasons for so doing, and any statement of reasons entered in the record does not preclude the board from showing in court what reasons in fact caused their action; and the court may admit evidence as to the facts in the ease.</p> <p>Id.—Restriction of Bidders—Action of Members of Board—Harm—• Irregularity—Equitable Relief.—The action of individual members of the municipal board in directing the engineer to inform intending bidders that no bids for the work would be received unaccompanied by a hid for the purchase of the bonds is not sufficient ground for relief in equity against a contract for a public improvement, where it does not appear that any injury accrued from the irregularity complained of, and there is no evidence that any one was deterred thereby from bidding on the contract, or that atiy person would have hid without such condition who di