Welch-Eckman Const. Co. v. Vancouver Plywood Co., WELCH-ECKMAN

• Decision Date: 29 July 1968
• Docket Number: No. 2417,WELCH-ECKMAN,2417
• Citation: 213 So.2d 134
• Parties: CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. VANCOUVER PLYWOOD COMPANY, Inc., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 134

213 So.2d 134

WELCH-ECKMAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. VANCOUVER PLYWOOD COMPANY, Inc., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 2417.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

July 29, 1968.

Fusilier, Pucheu & Soileau, by A. Gaynor Soileau, Ville Platte, for plaintiff-appellant.

Smitherman, Smitherman, Purcell, Lunn & Le Van, by Gerald Le Van, Shreveport, for defendant-appellee.

Before TATE, FRUGE and SAVOY, JJ.

SAVOY, Judge.

We are called upon in the present case to decide whether or not the trial court correctly granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Vancouver Plywood Company, Inc., after the plaintiff, Welch-Eckman Construction Company, filed suit to recover expenses allegedly incurred by it over and above the written contract price agreed upon between the parties in the construction of foundations and slabs at Vancouver's plywood plant located in Allen Parish, Louisiana.

On September 11, 1964, the parties entered into a written contract whereby plaintiff agreed to construct the plant foundations and slabs at Vancouver's plant for the total consideration of $112,885.00. The contract provided that final payment was to be due sixty days after the completion of all work as evidenced by the written certificate of the Consulting Engineer and acceptance thereof in writing by the owner.

Under Article Eight dealing with General Conditions we find at paragraph seven the mode by which changes in the work were to be made. Paragraph seven reads as follows:

'7. Changes in the Work. The owner may order changes in the work, the Contract Price being adjusted accordingly. All such orders and adjustments shall be in writing. Claims by the Contractor for extra cost must be made in writing before executing the work involved.'

In Meaux v. Southern Construction Corporation (La.App., 3 Cir., 1963), 159 So.2d 156, this Court dealt (inter alia) with a claim for work allegedly performed under a painting contract which provided that no alterations or changes were to be made except upon the written order of the contractor. We stated the general rule in Louisiana involving claims for extra work under written contracts to be that:

'* * * no claims for extra work or materials shall be allowed unless made in writing * * * and that when the contract so provides, and there is no written order for such extras, no recovery can be had for them in the absence of a waiver of that stipulation.'

We also stated the often enunciated rule that:

'* * * legal agreements have the effect of law as between the parties, that the courts are bound to give legal effect to contracts according to the true intent of the parties, and that the intent is to be determined by the words of the contract when these words...