Doland v. Clark

COOPER, C.

This case was submitted upon a written stipulation as to the facts, and thereupon judgment was ordered and entered for plaintiff declaring the contracts set forth in the complaint void, and ordering that they be surrendered and canceled. This appeal is from the judgment.

On June 5, 1900, the city of Sacramento, through its board

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of trustees, entered into two certain contracts with appellant which may he considered together as to the legal questions involved. The first contract provided, in detail, for supplying the city of Sacramento with the “Gamewell system of automatic non-interfering fire-alarm telegraph,” within twelve months from the date of the contract, the contract to continue for five years after the completion and acceptance of the system, the city to pay three hundred and ninety dollars per month rent each and every month during said contract of lease. The city was given the privilege of purchasing the plant and system at any time during the five years for the sum of nineteen thousand five hundred dollars, provided that if the city should elect to purchase at any time within two years from the date of acceptance, then the amount paid the city as rental should he credited as part of the purchase price, and deducted therefrom.

The second contract provided in detail for supplying said city with the “Gamewell system of police telegraph,” within twelve months from the date of the contract, the same to continue five years after the completion and acceptance of the system, the city to pay three hundred dollars per month rent during each and every month of said contract of lease. The city was given the privilege of purchasing the plant and system during the five years for the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, provided that if the city should elect to purchase at any time within two years from the date of acceptance, then the amount that had been paid by the city as rental should be credited as part of the purchase price and deducted therefrom. The board of trustees in making said contracts fully complied with the requirements of the law as .to form and procedure, except that at the time of entering into and executing said contracts neither of them specified the fund out of which the rent to accrue thereunder should be paid; however, a few days after the contracts were executed the board of trustees passed a resolution to amend each of them, so that they should specify the proper fund out of which the payments should be made. The contracts were accordingly amended so that the amount to be paid under the former should be paid out of the fire department fund, and the amount under the latter out of the police fund. The contracts as thus amended were approved by the board of trustees and by the mayor of the city.