Consolidated Pipe Co. v. Gunn

JENNINGS, J. Plaintiff instituted this action for the purpose of foreclosing a lien on defendant’s land for the price of certain material and supplies purchased by defendant and used in drilling a water well on said land. The defendant filed a combined answer and cross-complaint to the complaint. In the answer it was admitted that plaintiff had furnished the material and supplies and that the price charged therefor was the amount alleged in the complaint but denied an indebtedness to plaintiff of any amount for the reason set forth in the cross-complaint. The last-mentioned pleading alleged that the defendant purchased certain well-drilling supplies including easing' shoes from plaintiff and proceeded to drill a well on his land using the quality and type of casing shoe which the plaintiff had advised to be used and which defendant had purchased from plaintiff; that when the well had reached a depth of 150 feet the casing became jammed and defendant was unable to proceed further, whereupon, acting on plaintiff’s advice, he procured [414]a smaller sized casing and after the well had been drilled to an additional depth the casing shoe collapsed and it became necessary to remove the casing; that thereupon another easing shoe was procured from plaintiff and fastened to the casing and drilling was resumed; that when the well had been drilled to a somewhat greater depth the second shoe collapsed through no fault of defendant and could not be withdrawn or repaired so that it became necessary to abandon further drilling of the well which had been completely damaged and ruined by reason of the collapse of the casing shoe. The final paragraph of the pleading alleged that the defendant had been damaged in the amount of $2,000 by the collapse of the shoe and the consequent injury to the well. The cross-complaint concluded with a prayer that plaintiff take nothing by his complaint and that defendant have judgment against plaintiff for the amount mentioned.

When the ease was called for trial plaintiff’s counsel stated that it would not rely upon the claim of lien and would merely seek the recovery of a personal judgment against defendant for the price of the supplies furnished as alleged in the complaint.

Upon the conclusion judgment was rendered in plaintiff’s favor for the amount demanded in the complaint reduced by the sum of $95.75, which the court allowed by way of credit for the expense incurred by defendant in removing the casing from the well after the collapse of the first casing shoe. The plaintiff made no objection to the allowance of the above-mentioned amount as a credit against the sum which was demanded by the complaint. From the judgment thus rendered the defendant has prosecuted the present appeal.