Sweeney v. United States

• Court: U.S. Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: WAITE
• Citation: Sweeney v. United States, 109 U.S. 618, 3 S.Ct. 344, 27 L.Ed. 1053 (1883)
• Decision Date: 17 December 1883
• Parties: SWEENEY v. UNITED STATES

109 U.S. 618

3 S.Ct. 344

27 L.Ed. 1053

SWEENEY v. UNITED STATES.

December 17, 1883.

[Syllabus from page 618 intentionally omitted]

[Statement of Case from pages 618-620 intentionally omitted] T. W. Bartley and M. I. Southard, for appellant.

Asst. Atty. Gen. Maury, for appellee.

WAITE, C. J.

This judgment is affirmed on the authority of Kihlberg v. U. S. 97 U. S. 398. It was provided in the contract that payment for the wall was not to be made until some officer of the army, civil engineer, or other agent, to be designated by the United States, had certified, after inspection, 'that it was in all respects as contracted for.' The officer of the army designated under this authority expressly refused to give the necessary certificate, on the ground that neither the material nor the workmanship were such as the contract required. The court below found that there was neither fraud nor such gross mistake as would necessarily imply bad faith, nor any failure to exercise an honest judgment on the part of the officer in making his inspections. The...