Hoppes v. Baie

• Court: Iowa Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: ROBINSON
• Citation: Hoppes v. Baie, 105 Iowa 648, 75 N.W. 495 (Iowa 1898)
• Decision Date: 21 May 1898
• Parties: HOPPES v. BAIE.

105 Iowa 648

75 N.W. 495

HOPPES

v.BAIE.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

May 21, 1898.

Appeal from district court, Marshall county; B. P. Birdsall, Judge.

Action in equity to recover an amount alleged to be due for drilling and casing a well, and for the foreclosure of a mechanic's lien therefor. There was a hearing on the merits, and a decree for the plaintiff. The defendant appeals. Affirmed.J. M. Bishop and Binford & Snelling, for appellant.

James Allison, for appellee.

ROBINSON, J.

On the 27th day of June, 1895, the parties to this action entered into an agreement the terms of which were expressed in a writing signed by the plaintiff, a copy of which is as follows: “This agreement, made and entered into this 27th day of June, 1895, by and between E. G. Hoppes, of State Center, Iowa, and Andrew Baie, witnesseth: That said E. G. Hoppes has this day agreed to drill a well for said Baie on the farm occupied by Albert Baie, southeast of State Center, and furnish and place therein five (5) inch inserted joint iron casing, as far as possible, and privilege of reducing when necessary, and agrees to sink said well until a good and sufficient flow of water is obtained, or he says stop, he being satisfied with well; and, if said well fails, said E. G. Hoppes agrees to return and sink same not to exceed one thousand (1,000) feet, and test same before leaving; and said Andrew Baie agrees to pay said E. G. Hoppes therefor the sum of one dollar per foot in cash upon turning over said well to said Baie, or his note bearing interest at 8% per annum, and said Baie further agrees to furnish board for men and teams while at work on said well. Witness our hands, this 27th day of June, 1895. E. G. Hoppes.” Acting under that agreement, the plaintiff drilled and cased, on the farm of the defendant designated, a well to the depth of 244 feet, and in December, 1895, filed in the office of the clerk of the district court of Marshall county, Iowa, a verified statement for a mechanic's lien, in which he claimed, on account of the well, $1 per foot for the first 100 feet, $1.25 per foot for the second 100 feet, and $1.50 per foot for the remainder, $18 for the board of two men for three weeks, and $10 for putting a pump in the well on four different occasions, or for the aggregate amount of $319. The petition as originally drawn conformed to the statement for a mechanic's lien as filed, and not to the writing which was the basis of the agreement; but, the defendant having set out the agreement in his answer, the plaintiff filed an amendment to his petition, and a reply, in which he stated that, although he had signed and delivered the writing, he had understood that, although the defendant had retained the writing, he had refused to sign it, or treat it as binding upon him until the commencement of this action; but the plaintiff admits in the pleadings referred to that the writing contains the agreement made by the parties, and asks judgment for drilling and casing the well according to the terms of that agreement, and for board which the defendant was required by the agreement to furnish, but which he did not furnish. The defendant denies that the well was completed as required by the agreement, and denies that the plaintiff is entitled to recover anything on account of it. The defendant, by way of counterclaim, asks to recover $205.54 for the cost of a test of the well made by the defendant, and for board furnished employés of the plaintiff, and for keeping his horses while the well was being drilled. The decree of the district court awarded to the plaintiff $245, and provided for the sale of the premises in which the well had been drilled for the amount found due, with...