Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., No. 51465
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
| Writing for the Court | PATTERSON |
| Citation | 375 So.2d 1202 |
| Parties | MISSISSIPPI STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION v. DIXIE CONTRACTORS, INC. |
| Decision Date | 10 October 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 51465 |
Page 1202
v.
DIXIE CONTRACTORS, INC.
Page 1203
A. F. Summer, Atty. Gen. by Frank E. Shanahan, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Shell, Buford, Bufkin, Callicutt & Perry, K. Hayes Callicutt, Jackson, for appellant.
Cox & Dunn, Vardaman S. Dunn, Jackson, for appellee.
Before PATTERSON, SUGG and WALKER, JJ.
PATTERSON, Chief Justice, for the Court:
Dixie Contractors, Inc. brought suit in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County for additional compensation allegedly owing by the highway commission on a contract known as Federal Aid Project # I-10-1(15)16. The case went to trial at the April 1976 term of court, and on December 29, 1978, the chancellor rendered judgment against the highway commission in the sum of $359,763.96, plus interest at the rate of 8% From the date of the final decree until payment. This appeal by the highway commission followed.
The issue raised by the complaint concerned the proper measurement for hauling materials in performing the contract. Dixie's bid fixed unit prices for various materials, a specified dollar amount being offered per cubic yard. Dixie's case requires interpretation of the contract to determine the aggregate number of cubic units which had been hauled in a manner entitling it to additional payment under the contract.
Blueprints illustrating engineering cross-sections of segments of the construction of this interstate highway in Hancock and Harrison Counties beginning at the Jordan River were introduced into evidence. The project begins in a low-lying, sandy area, and progresses into more hilly terrain. Construction of the four-lane highway required both cutting into the hills ("cut sections") and filling up the depressed areas ("fill-sections") to create parallel lanes for travel. The first 0.9 miles of the project, referred to as B.O.P. ("Beginning of Project") to Station 870 k 00, is depicted in Plan Sheet 2-D, the blueprint designated as Exhibit D-1. The remaining 11.4-mile segment of the project, referred to as Station 870 k 00 to E.O.P. ("End of Project"), is depicted in Plan Sheet 2-E, the blueprint designated as General Exhibit 5.
As can be seen from the plans, various types of material encountered in the excavation required for building the highway received different classifications (e.g. "muck," "plating material"). Each classification carries with it a "pay item" in the contract. The "pay item" states the amount to be paid per cubic yard for the classification in question. Excavation of certain classes of materials pays more than other classes: Unclassified excavation (F.M.) pays only 62cents per cubic yard; whereas unclassified excavation (plating material)
Page 1204
(F.P.M.) pays $1.45 per cubic yard under Dixie's bid. Thus classification of materials bears directly upon the measure of payment under the terms of the contract.The highway commission drafted the entire contract in question and invited unit bids on it. The contract includes a number of documents proposals, specifications, plans (blueprints), etc. all of which were admitted into evidence by stipulation. The basic handbook and guide to the construction under the contract appears as Exhibit 3 in the record, a technical book entitled "Mississippi Standard Specifications for Road & Bridge Construction" (1956 Ed.). Section 5.04 of the specifications defines the constituents of the contract between the commission and any contractor doing road work under a bid. It states:
The specifications, the plans, special provisions, and all supplementary documents are essential parts of the contract, and a requirement occurring in one is as binding as though occurring in all. They are intended to be complementary, to describe and provide for complete work. . . . Plans, generally, shall govern over specifications, and...
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In re Miss. Rules Evidence, No. 89-R-99002-SCT
...likely to affect the probability of a fact of consequence in the case. Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So. 2d 1202, appeal after remand 402 So. 2d 811 (1979). If the evidence has any probative value at all, the rule favors its admission. Such has been th......
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Stringer v. State, No. 55607
...the probabilities of some fact of Page 948 consequence in the action. 1 Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So.2d 1202, 1205 (Miss.1979). The issues in this case were whether Jimbo Stringer was an accessory before the fact of the murder of Ray McWilliams dur......
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King v. State, No. 07-KA-59203
...probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence." See, e.g., Mississippi State Highway Comm'n v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So.2d 1202, 1205 (Miss.1979). Under Rule 402, evidence "which is not relevant is not Judge Carlson concluded that Johnny's acquittal of the drug char......
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Shephard on Behalf of Shepard v. Scheeler
...1961); Stafford v. Stafford, 618 S.W.2d 578 (Ky.App., Jun. 19, 1981); Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So.2d 1202 (Miss., Oct. 10, 1979); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Budd, 185 Neb. 343, 175 N.W.2d 621, 44 A.L.R.3d 476 (Neb., Mar. 20, 1970); Sommer v......
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In re Miss. Rules Evidence, No. 89-R-99002-SCT
...likely to affect the probability of a fact of consequence in the case. Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So. 2d 1202, appeal after remand 402 So. 2d 811 (1979). If the evidence has any probative value at all, the rule favors its admission. Such has been th......
-
Stringer v. State, No. 55607
...the probabilities of some fact of Page 948 consequence in the action. 1 Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So.2d 1202, 1205 (Miss.1979). The issues in this case were whether Jimbo Stringer was an accessory before the fact of the murder of Ray McWilliams dur......
-
King v. State, No. 07-KA-59203
...probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence." See, e.g., Mississippi State Highway Comm'n v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So.2d 1202, 1205 (Miss.1979). Under Rule 402, evidence "which is not relevant is not Judge Carlson concluded that Johnny's acquittal of the drug char......
-
Shephard on Behalf of Shepard v. Scheeler
...1961); Stafford v. Stafford, 618 S.W.2d 578 (Ky.App., Jun. 19, 1981); Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Dixie Contractors, Inc., 375 So.2d 1202 (Miss., Oct. 10, 1979); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Budd, 185 Neb. 343, 175 N.W.2d 621, 44 A.L.R.3d 476 (Neb., Mar. 20, 1970); Sommer v......