Prendergast v. City of St. Louis

• Decision Date: 02 June 1914
• Docket Number: No. 16436.,16436.
• Citation: 258 Mo. 648,167 S.W. 970
• Parties: PRENDERGAST v. CITY OF ST. LOUIS et al.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

167 S.W. 970

258 Mo. 648

PRENDERGAST v. CITY OF ST. LOUIS et al.

No. 16436.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

June 2, 1914.

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (§ 238)—CONTRACTS—SIGNATURE OF BIDDER.

Under an ordinance requiring that bids for a city contract should be signed by the bidder or by an authorized officer or agent where the bid was by a corporation, the bid of a corporation signed in its corporate name by a director at the direction of its president, in the absence of fraud or disadvantage to the city, did not invalidate the company's subsequently executed contract based thereon.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; Daniel D. Fisher, Judge.

Injunction by Edward Prendergast against the City of St. Louis and another. Judgment for defendants, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

C. Porter Johnson, of St. Louis, for appellant. Wm. E. Baird and Truman P. Young, both of St. Louis, for respondents.

BLAIR, C.

This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing a bill filed to enjoin respondents from carrying out a contract whereby the respondent agreed to furnish the city 3,000 reinforced interlocking concrete boxes at $5.50 each. Appellant sued as a resident taxpaying citizen of St. Louis. As the sole ground of the suit, it is urged that the bid of the company was not properly signed. There is no objection made as to the advertisement for bids or any other requisite proceeding on the part of the city officials. The contract itself is concededly in proper form, duly executed and signed by sufficient surety. No fraud is alleged. Appellant is president and principal owner of the stock of a corporation which unsuccessfully bid for the same work. It is not contended the price fixed in the contract is not lower than that bid by any other company or person. The bid of the respondent company was signed only by the corporate name, and this was signed by a director of the corporation under the eye and at the immediate direction of the president thereof. An ordinance in force required that:

"Each bid shall be signed by the bidder, or by an authorized officer or agent, where the bid is by a firm or corporation."

And provided that:

"If in any bids, blanks are not properly filled up so as to make a bid complete and without any ambiguity as to its intended meaning; or, if a bid has any alteration or erasure upon it; or, if it be not properly signed; or, if the certified check has not been enclosed with the bid as hereinbefore provided, then said bid shall be...