Henry Ripley v. United States No 887 United States v. Henry Ripley No 888

• Decision Date: 24 April 1911
• Docket Number: Nos. 887 and 888,s. 887 and 888
• Parties: HENRY C. RIPLEY, Appt., v. UNITED STATES. NO 887. UNITED STATES, Appt., v. HENRY C. RIPLEY. NO 888
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

220 U.S. 491

31 S.Ct. 478

55 L.Ed. 557

HENRY C. RIPLEY, Appt.,

v UNITED STATES.

NO 887.

UNITED STATES, Appt.,

v. HENRY C. RIPLEY.

NO 888.

Nos. 887 and 888.

Submitted March 10, 1911.

Decided April 24, 1911.

Messrs. William H. Robeson, Benjamin Carter, and F. Carter Pope for ripley.

Assistant Attorney General John Q. Thompson and Philip M. Ashford for the United States.

Mr. Chief Justice White delivered the opinion of the court:

These are cross appeals from a judgment entered by the court of claims against the United States and in favor of Henry C. Ripley. The claim of Ripley was based upon a written contract between himself and the United States, executed on April 6, 1903, containing numerous stipulations, by which in substance Ripley agreed to furnish materials for and do certain jetty work at Aransas Pass, Texas, authorized by an act approved June 13, 1902 (32 Stat. at L. 340, chap. 1078).

In his amended petition Ripley set forth numerous items of damage, aggregating $45,930, which it was asserted resulted from violations by the United States of the terms of the contract. Judgment was entered against the United States for $14,732.05. 45 Ct. Cl. 621. Ripley prosecuted this appeal in order to obtain an increased allowance while the United States, by its cross appeal, seeks a reversal of the judgment.

Among other things it was provided in paragraph 61 of the specifications as follows:

'Between Stations 20 and 27, and from the vicinity of Station 55, seawards, the method of construction shall be as follows: A mound of small riprap shall first be built up over and around the existing structure to about one foot elevation. When, in the indgment of the U. S. agent in charge, this mound has become sufficiently consolidated, its gaps and interstices shall be filled and its crest leveled with small riprap, generally one-man stone. Large blocks shall then be bedded in crest of mound in two rows, breaking joints with their longest dimensions parellel to the axis of jetty in such manner that voids under the placed blocks will be at a minimum, and side slopes and remainder of crest shall then be covered with large riprap.'

A large sum was demanded by Ripley, upon the contention that the completion of the work was greatly delayed, owing to the fact that 'on the portion of the line where no foundation had previously been laid, and where petitioner therefore placed the foundation materials, said Captain Jadwin and the subordinate officers in charge forbade and restrained petitioner from imposing the cap blocks until long after the foundation, in their judgment and, in fact, had become sufficiently consolidated and they had caused the creast to be leveled.' On this branch of the case the court of claims found as follows:

'7.

'In the performance of said work it was advantageous to claimant to have his employees operate on the lee side of the structure, where they could be protected from the action of the rough seas, and for this purpose it was desirable that he be allowed to impose the crest block on the top of the core as rapidly as possible, so that the waves could not pass over it and interfere with the workmen, and thus prevent delay in the completion of the contract. The Aransas Pass Harbor Company had laid the foundation for the entire jetty and for 2,800 feet; that is, between Stations 27 and 55, the entire core of the structure had been built up, and between Stations 27 and 40 the crest blocks had been laid. The foundation and the core thus previously constructed were fully consolidated when the contract with claimant was let.

'When claimant had completed from 100 to 200 feet of the core, he requested from the inspector in charge permission to begin to lay crest blocks, which was refused on the ground that the core had not consolidated. By the end of December, 1903, claimant had completed 400 to 500 feet of the core, and again he requested permission to impose the crest blocks. Said inspector refused and continued to refuse permission to lay said crest blocks until May, 1904, at which time between 1,400 and 1,500 feet of the core had been repaired and completed. Commencing in October, 1903, when about 300...