Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1915 — Verdict in Favor of Gault Ditch Bondsmen. [ARTICLE]

Verdict in Favor of Gault Ditch Bondsmen.

A verdict in favor of the bondsmen on the Gault ditch was returned Tuesday morning by the jury at Kokomo which heard the case, in which efforts were made to hold the bondsmen for failure of the contractors to complete their work. The jury took the case Monday night, the trial having lasted over two weeks.

The defense was based on the claims that the original specifications were erroneous, and that it was impossible to dig a ditch according to these specifications. A new survey and new specifications were at one time made by former Surveyor Vernon of Cass county, upon whose plans the ditch was completed. The jury held that, with these new plans as the basis of reckoning, the original contractors were not overpaid for the work they did —indeed, it was held that they were underpaid to the amount of about SIO,OOO.

The suit on the bond, brought by Construction Commissioner Davisson, asked for a reimbursement to the amount of about $35,000, including SB,OOO increased cost at the second letting, $5,000 attorney fees, $3,000 penalty, about SII,OOO alleged to have been overpaid the original contractors, and interest on these sums. The court ruled out the attorney fees and penalty, leaving Ihc question of overpayment to be settled by the jury. According to the verdict it is held that Hillis and Smith, the original contractors, did $52,000 worth of work (based on the later estimate) but that they received only $42,000. It is figured, apparently, that the difference of SIO,OOO about offsets the SB,OOO increased cost occasioned by the second letting. The verdict means, we are informed, that the second assessment on the ditch is to stand, and that any unpaid assessments are collectible. The defending bondsmen were Logansport men, including R. M. Carney and Dr. M.. A. .Jordan, both of whom are now dead, Thomas Flinn, M. W. Collett, Silas Storer and G. A. Gamble. Every move in the case was hotly contested on both sides. -—Pulaski County Democrat.