Koch v. Inter-River Drainage Dist. of Missouri

• Decision Date: 07 January 1924
• Docket Number: No. 3435.,3435.
• Parties: KOCH v. INTER-RIVER DRAINAGE DIST. OF MISSOURI.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

257 S.W. 176

KOCH v. INTER-RIVER DRAINAGE DIST. OF MISSOURI.

No. 3435.

Springfield Court of Appeals. Missouri.

January 7, 1924.

Rehearing Denied January 23, 1924.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Butler County; Almon Ing, Judge.

Action by V. E. Koch against the Inter-River Drainage District of Missouri. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

Welker & Mulloy, of Poplar Bluff, for appellant.

Sheppard & Sheppard, of Poplar Bluff, for respondent.

COX, P. J.

Action to foreclose the lien of sewer tax bills issued by Poplar Bluff, Mo. Trial by court, who held the tax bills invalid, and rendered judgment for defendant. Plaintiff appealed.

It is conceded that the formation of the . sewer district and the provision for the work of building a sewer were legal as provided by ordinance. The trial court made and filed a finding of facts, and his action in holding the tax bills invalid was based on the facts as he found them as follows:

"Wherefore the court finds that the tax bills in suit are void, for the reason that the provision in the contract entered into by the city of Poplar Bluff and the plaintiff, V. E. Koch, providing for the completion of the works of sewer district No. 2 in eight months, operated in law a fraud, in view of the fact that the advertisement for bids published in the newspaper doing the city printing stated that, the work should be completed in 4 months; and for the further reason that the action of the council of the city of Poplar Bluff in extending the time for the completion of said works on the 7th day of August, 1916, was without warrant of law, as the time limited in the previous order of February 21, 1916, granting an extension of time, had expired on the 1st day of August, 1916."

The ordinance directed the city clerk to advertise for bids for one insertion in Engineering and Contracting, a paper published in Chicago, and for one week in the paper doing the city printing at Poplar Bluff. No direction was given the clerk as to what should be included in the notice published in the Chicago paper, but in the notice to be published in the home" paper he was required to "* * * specifically state the character of the proposed work, where the same is to be done, the time within which the same is to be completed, which time shall be fixed by the city council by resolution or ordinance. * * *" The clerk had a notice to bidders published in the Chicago paper July 28, 1915, and in the home paper July 21st to 28th inclusive. At that time the council had not fixed the time in which the work should be completed. The notice published in the home paper stated that the work must be completed within four months after the execution of the contract. The notice published in the Chicago paper made no reference to the time to complete the work. Both notices stated that bids would be received up to 7:30 p. m. of August 16, 1915. On August 2, 1915, the city council, on motion, fixed the time for completion of the work at 90 days from date of the contract, but no publication of that fact was made. At a meeting of the council on August 16th the engineer reported that two bids had been received as follows: A. C. Brown, Connersville, Mo., $17,387.45; V. E. Koch, Joplin, Mo., $16,749.22.

The council accepted the bid of Mr. Koch, and directed the mayor to enter into a contract with him. His bid fixed the time in which he would finish the work at eight months from date of contract, and that provision was incorporated in the contract under which the...