Freeman v. River Farms Co.

THOMPSON, J.

A dismissal having been filed as against all defendants except the River Farms Company, there is but one defendant involved herein, although by the title it appears otherwise.

Plaintiffs brought this action to recover from defendant the amount due for work done for The Sacramento River West Side Levee District by way of repairs to the levee on the west

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side of the Sacramento River, north of Knights Landing and adjacent to lands owned by the defendant. It appears that the district comprises about 107,000 acres and that the defendant owns about 30,000 acres in the southern portion of the district; that for a few years subsequent to 1915 the usual procedure followed by the district in paying for work was to issue its warrants to the contractors; that thereafter an assessment would be levied for the purpose of retiring the warrants. However, later on, and particularly commencing in 1929, conditions became so bad that the district “could do no work and compel the contractors to take warrants, for which reason the district was obliged to make arrangements with some bank or landowner whereby the bank or landowner would agree to cash the warrants for the contractor”. In fact, the district had an agreement with Dr. Dow as president of the defendant if it- would not call on him for any financing for the thirty miles north of defendant’s land, that when it became necessary to do work along the twenty miles of the water front of defendant’s land, he would see to it that the warrants were financed. When the particular work involved in this case became necessary Dr. Dow told the board of commissioners of the district to instruct any contractor who might be interested in doing the work to see him about cashing the warrants. Prior to the time plaintiffs’ bid on the present work, one of them called Dr. Dow on the telephone and asked “if the River Farms Company would pay the warrants”. Upon assurance that it would, plaintiffs bid upon and secured the work. Had it not been for that assurance, it was testified, plaintiffs would not have submitted a bid. The work was completed. Dr. Dow died and the River Farms Company refused to take up the warrants at a five per cent discount. This action was accordingly brought, and judgment having gone for plaintiffs, the defendant prosecutes this appeal.

The trial court found, among other things, as follows: ‘ ‘ That said agreement between defendant and the Board of Commissioners of said Levee District (t)o buy or cash said warrants was made expressly for the benefit of the successful bidder for such contemplated work and that after the making of said agreement and prior to the making of any contract by plaintiffs with the Board of Commissioners of said Levee District for the performance of said work, and prior to the doing of any of said work provided in said contract, defend