Beck v. Sampson

• Decision Date: 27 December 1962
• Citation: 158 Me. 502,186 A.2d 783
• Parties: Meivin W. BECK, Simear Sawyer and Fred Haight v. Richard SAMPSON and Mary Sampson.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 783

186 A.2d 783

158 Me. 502

Meivin W. BECK, Simear Sawyer and Fred Haight v. Richard SAMPSON and Mary Sampson.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Dec. 27, 1962.

Jerome G. Daviau, Waterville, for plaintiff.

Richard J. Dubord, Waterville, Donald E. Eames, Skowhegan, for defendant.

Before WILLIAMSON, C. J., and WEBBER, TAPLEY, SULLIVAN and SIDALL, JJ.

SULLIVAN, Justice.

Plaintiffs, Beck and Haight, are registered, professional engineers. R.S. (1954) c. 83, as amended. Plaintiff, Sawyer, is a registered architect. R.S. c. 81, as amended. The plaintiffs sued these defendants to obtain payment for the engineering and architectural design of a new residence for the latter. At a trial by jury plaintiffs were awarded a verdict and the defendants appealed.

Defendants' points of appeal include exceptions to the admission of certain testimony, to the denial of a motion for severance of the claims of the plaintiffs, to the refusal of requested jury instructions and to the denial of motions for a new trial and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

The plaintiffs' short and plain statement of their claim for relief reads essentially as follows:

'Melvin W. Beck and Fred Haight * * * both being registered engineers under the Laws of Maine and Simear Sawyer * * * being a registered architect under the Laws of Maine, the three said plaintiffs doing business under the name and style of Melvin W. Beck & Associates claim that the defendants owe them the sum of $37,133.12. For engineering and architectural design on proposed residence of defendants: * * *'

There is contained in the record of this case acceptable and believable evidence to furnish and warrant this subjoined narration. Beck, an engineer, was in early January of 1960 employed by the defendants to plan and design a pretentious residence for them upon their vacant land. Beck engaged both Sawyer (January 30, 1960) and Haight (late 1960) to collaborate with him because of the magnitude, distinctiveness and complication of the task. Beck and his employees did some preliminary work which was corrected by Sawyer. The commission was an overlapping of engineering and architecture. Neither Haight nor Sawyer had been associated with Beck as partner. Neither Haight nor Sawyer at any time entered into direct communication or confrontation with either defendant. Haight contributed some 200 hours ( of personal services applied to plumbing, ventilating and heating aspects. The defendants were advised by Beck of the latter's enlistment of Haight's professional aid and approved. Sawyer at the invitation of Beck participated as architect and in conjunction with Haight and Beck devoted some 373 hours of his professional efforts to the undertaking over a span of some 10 months. Beck several times told Richard Sampson of Sawyer's professional association with Beck. Mary Sampson was once informed by Beck that the latter purposed to take the plans to Sawyer at Bangor. The work done by Beck in connection with the plans was not architectural. Sawyer scrutinized, developed and revised the preliminary plans and approved so much of the sustained work as had attained accuracy and completion. The architectural features of the enterprise were under Sawyer's supervision. He stamped his professional seal upon drawings he adjudged to be in a finished state, to certify that such had been prepared by or under his direct supervision. R.S. c. 81, § 14. Beck took 3 separate sets of plans and designs to the defendants through a period of several months. Some of the sheets bore the seal of Sawyer and all drawings and the photo copies thereof carried the legend, 'Melvin W. Beck and Associates, Engineers and Architects, Waterville, Maine.' The defendants in 3 instalments paid Beck a total of $11,000 on account. Upon receipt of the 3rd set of plans in February or March, 1961 the defendants elected to discontinue the transaction. Plaintiffs thereupon sued. The planning and designing had been some 75% to 85% completed at the termination of the employment and there had been no occasion to supervise any building construction. 7% of an estimated cost of construction was a fair rate of compensation and had been set by agreement of Beck with Richard Sampson. The projected dwelling bade fair to cost some $1,200,000. With allowances for the obviated supervisory building charges and for unfinished planning together with due credit for $11,000 paid to Beck, Plaintiffs demanded $37,133.12. The jury assessed the damages as $30,562.10.

Defendants had unsuccessfully moved that the Court drop Haight and Sawyer as parties plaintiff or that the Court in the alternative sever the claim of each plaintiff from those of the other plaintiffs for the reasons that no plaintiff claim was common with the claim of either of the other plaintiffs, that no privity of contract existed between either Haight or Sawyer and the defendants and that with the other plaintiffs neither Haight nor Sawyer enjoyed any legal relation justifying a joinder as party plaintiff. The presiding Justice was within sound discretionary bounds in denying such motions, Rule 20, M.R.C.P. 155 Me. 510.

Defendants with adverse results filed a motion for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence, a later motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a motion for a new trial. The reasons asserted for all such motions cumulatively are aggregated as follows:

'1. The evidence is insufficient to warrant a verdict for the plaintiffs;

'2. The evidence shows that plaintiff Melvin W. Beck was the only plaintiff having contractual relations with defendants that said Beck was not a duly licensed architect; that the services rendered by said Beck were architectural; and that the contract was therefore illegal and void; and said Beck is not entitled to recover for services rendered;

'3. That the services rendered by plaintiffs Simear Sawyer and Fred Haight were without contractual relations, express or implied, with defendants, and they are therefore not entitled to recover herein;

'4. The evidence shows that any consideration paid by defendants to plaintiff Melvin W. Beck was in pursuance of an illegal and void contract and defendants are therefore entitled to recover the same as prayed for in their counterclaim;

'5. The damages are excessive;

'6. The verdict is contrary to the evidence;

'7. The verdict is contrary to the weight of the evidence;

'8. The evidence is insufficient to warrant a verdict for the plaintiffs; and

'9. The damages are not supported by the evidence and are clearly the result of a compromise on the part of the jury.'

Upon the defendants' motions the defendants must sustain the onus.

'In the instant case the burden of proving to the satisfaction of the court that the verdict was manifestly wrong is upon the one seeking to set it aside. * * * The credit of the testimony of the witnesses of the plaintiff was for the jury and not for the court to decide. * * *' Witham v. Quigg, 146 Me. 98, 103, 77 A.2d 595, 598.

There was sufficient evidence to justify the jury in concluding that plaintiff Beck contracted with the defendants either at a fixed rate of compensation or for the fair worth of his services. There was testimony that all plaintiffs became actively associated in the transaction and that the defendants knew or ought to have understood that truth. Gordon v. Keene, 118 Me. 269, 270, 107 A. 849; Wadleigh v. Katahdin Pulp & Paper Co., 116 Me. 107, 113, 100 A. 150.

Sawyer alone of the plaintiffs was a registered architect. Whether the commission to the plaintiffs was preponderantly or incidentally architectural, nevertheless the jury were possessed of credible evidence that Sawyer accepted responsibility and did supervise the architectural features of the work. R.S. c. 81, as amended, an exercise of police power, regulates the practice of architecture in the interest of public life, health and property and requires that precedent to practicing such an accomplished profession one schooled in architecture first vindicate his competency in an official test. The act proscribes the practice of the architectural skills by an unregistered practitioner:

'* * * in person or as the directing head of an office or organization preforming them.' R.S. c. 81, § 8.

The jury were sufficiently fortified by credible evidence in deciding that the mischief which the legislative enactment, R.S. c. 81, as amended, sought to remedy had in the instant case been allayed by the participation of the plaintiff Sawyer, registered architect, as the supervisor of the architectural features in the planning and designing of the projected Sampson residence. There was evidence to sustain a finding that Sawyer functioned as an autonomus professional associate and not as an employee or subaltern of Beck and that Beck's services upon the plans were not architectural. There was testimony that the work done was by classification and inextricably both architectural and engineering. R.S. c. 81, as amended, does not prohibit a full allocation of architectural features of a building to a registered architect and the assignment contemporaneously of engineering details as such to a registered engineer in collaboration.

As for reasons 1 and 4 through 9 assigned by these defendants in support of their 3 motions, supra, our review of evidenced...