Young Men's Christian Ass'n v. Gibson

Citations

• 58 Wash. 307
• 108 P. 766
• 1910 Wash. LEXIS 934

Syllabus

<p>Principal and Surety—Discharge of Surety—Building Contracts—Release of Party to Contract. Where a firm of building contractors dissolved partnership before completion of a building, the owner did not release the retiring partner, or acquiesce in his release by the copartner, by merely writing a letter and making a payment individually to the copartner without mention of the firm, in the absence of any intent to do so; and therefore the surety on the building contract would not be discharged from liability by reason of the release of one of the parties.</p> <p>Same — Discharge of Surety — Superintendent’s Estimates — Partial Payments. Where the superintendent of construction, as representative of the owner, is by the contract made the agent of all parties for the purpose of making estimates and certificates for partial payments as the work progressed, payment by the owner in good faith of estimates that were too high will not discharge the surety on the building contract, although the superintendent did not properly discharge his duties and the certificates might not have been sufficient to bind the owner; since the estimates were not final or intended to be absolutely, correct.</p> <p>Same—Discharge of Surety—Payments—Contract—Filing of Receipts—“Subcontractor.” A surety on a building contract is not discharged by the owner’s making partial payments without requiring the contractors to file receipts showing that all claims for labor and material for the previous month were paid, where the contract only required the contractors to file receipts showing that all subcontractors had been paid in full to the amount of the estimates; as “subcontractor” is used in its technical sense and does not include laborers or materialmen.</p> <p>Same—Discharge of Surety—Contract—Conditions—Waiver. A provision in a building contract that the superintendent shall audit and certify to the cost of completing the building after abandonment by the contractors does not apply, so as to w