United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Tate County

Citations

• 114 Miss. 1
• 74 So. 769

Syllabus

<p>Judgment. Res judicata. Entire cause of action.</p> <p>Where a road contractor, contracted with a county to work its roads for a term of two years, hut abandoned his contract and refused to carry it out and the board of supervisors notified his bondsmen, requesting them to carry out the contract which they refused to do and the contract was then relet' to the lowest bidder, who carried it out, and the county recovered judgment against the original contractor's, bondsmen for the amount of money which the county paid the second contractor for one year’s work over that agreed to be paid the first contractor, such judgment was res judipata of the county’s rights in the premises and the county could not bring a second suit for the failure of the first contractor to perform his contract for the second year, since the contract for working the roads for two years called for continuous work, not work to be performed by installments so that the original contractor’s obligation was entire, not divisible, and on his failure to perform, the county had the right to recover all. damages then and thereafter to be sustained, but it had no right to bring separate suits for each new item of damages resulting from its original cause of action. .....-, a rule of law that a man shall not be twice vexed for one and the same cause.</p>