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, I
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable Julian Montgomery
State Hlghwa~ m&mar
Autfn, Texas
Dearslrt
I
wo are Fa ..n6riptof rour-lottarof my 14, 1940,
the,oplnlon
wherein ycm aubmlt~-‘for oh thin Department the
Pag8 1 of 1 P8gos
oonstruotion of &4+-T mkilxoad Underpass and
Roadway Approaohee, a diatsnos 0r 0.397 ?niler,
on state iii&way No. 78, and to be known a8
State Projaat Control Ro. 980 Motion 1 Job 5
(lmdoral Project W&J%! No. 803-B Part Unit (1))
18 awarded to Rum Xitohsll, 1~0.. Houston,
;i;;sbfodr $.t33,600.3B, whioh is the lowest and
.
Honorable Sulian Montgomrp, Peqo 2
The bids reoeired are as follows:
1. Ruas Xltohell, Inc., Houston,
Texas ...................$B3.600.3!3
2. L.R.Laoy Company, Dallas,
Texas .................... 87,214.45
3. AU8t.h Bride. Co. t AUS-
tin Road Co., Dallas..... 91.900.35
4. W. B. west, Fort worth,
Tare8*............*....,. 9*,161.69
5. 3an Blra & Company, Dallss,
TOXal.................... 94.293.57
6. Cage Broa. 6; F, L8. Rearas
& Sons, Ino., Bishop,
Texas....................104.252.73
The Progmm Allotinent is ao,ooo.oo
Tha Total xngineer*s kcs-
tinate (Part. & Non-
Part. in Pad. Aid) 1~01.
itugr. k co&g. io 100,890.00
The'Low Bid (Part. 8:Eon-
Part. in Fad. Aid) Plus
10s Engr. k Contg. la 98,004.91
'It is reaomwnded that aontraat be awarded
Buss xitohe11, mo., Houston, Taxes, on their
10~ bid of @3,600.38, aubjeat to tha oonour-
rsnce of the-Pub110 Roads AdminlattmtiOn.~
a/ c.D. wells, Conotruotlonlbnglneer
D.C.maar
Chier mginssr, Coastr. k Dasti&s
signed: S, C. Mekline
Bridge Engineer
APPROVXD:
Julian Xoatgol;sry,iXste
zighway n;lglneer
Zoobert Lee aobbltt, Combaimar
;3radp Oentry, Commissionor
R. J. lank
:Uperlnt.endent of Aid Troject.s*
Honorable Julian Xontgomery, page 3
“YOU will note that the minute awarding
the contract to Rum A’itohell, Inc., has been
conditioned upon ooncurrenoe in the award by
the Public Roads Adsinistratlon. This concur-
rence haa Dot been secured at thla time.
*Under the general requIran.enta and cove-.
hshts section of our s~oIficatloas, under
whioh the proposal waa submitted by Russ ?!ltchell,
Ino., Item 3.2 provides;
‘3.2 Award or Coatraat. The award
of the oontraot, I? It be awarded,
will be to the loweat responsible
bidder. The award, ii -de, will
be within thirty (30) days after the
opening ot the proposal, blat IE ho
oass will an award be made until the
responrIbIlIty of the bidder to whoa
it la proposed to awards the contra&
has been Inveatlgated.*
-On May 13, 1940, Busa Iditohell. Ino. wrote
a letter to the State UQhwey Engineer stating
that since thirty daJra had OlapIled sines the pro-
posala on the project wers oj%&ed and they kad
not been notified of the award, that their g-o-
poaal be oonalderadnull and void and their bid-
dar*a check returned.
*‘sill you review the above doomsate and
feats and adriaa ma at your early ooavsnlonoeif
the nfnute of the Highway C%htiaissfon, aa set out
above W aonatitutea an award of the contract to
Russ Ltltahell, Inc., aa provided ror in Item 3.2
of the SpaclflcatIona.w
Refers It map be dotsmined whether or not the
aontraat in question wae properly awarded in aocordanoo
with the requirementa and time lf3litatIons embodied In
Item 3.2 of your a~ctiicat~iona, under whioh the proposal
WBBaub!aItted by Rum Yitchell, Ina., It must first be es-
tablished that the nlnutr described in your letter resulted
ia the oonatmzation or e oontract For the desorlbed con-
struction Rrojeot between the State of Texas md the said
Rues LZItohell, Inc., as contractor. Thi8 iS so becaUSe if
no valid and binding contractual obligation was created be-
tween the State and the contractor In question by t.hIa
Honorable Julian xontgomary, ??age 4
minute avldaacinq the award, than it become immaterial
whether or not notice thereof was timely given, under Itam
3.2 or your 6pe0iriO6ti0n6.
bpplyleg the law or aontraat8 to the instant
0866, it may be said that the bid of' RUM &itahall, Ina.,
on tha stated project, when duly received and opened by the
duly constitutad Stat6 Highvmy orriciair, aonatituted an or-
rer on tha part or said contractor to do and prrorm tha
work contamplated by thia projeot according to tha oubdt-
ted spaoiriaatlona. On tha other hand, the award of this
oontraot to tha said Russ ~ltchell, Inc., es tha lowest and
baat bidder on this projact, when mada in accordance with
tha formnlitiar and raquirenunts of tha rtatute, and by tha
Hlghuay oiiiaial~'obargad with this duty under the statute,
constitutes and ia en aaaaptanaa or ma oommunicatad Orrer
of tha aald Rues Xltahell, Ino., 60 as to oo&plata tha oon-
traot, and gfva rise to legal right6 and obligations tharo-
undb2. I
Tha only quastlon praeantad ror our oonsidaration
in this oontrovarsy is tha 8uf'ilctanoy or the alleged award,
daaoribed fn your lettar', and rarlaatad In the minute 0r the
Highway commlsaion or data b?ay 9, 1945, to constitute an ac-
captanoa or the oontraotor'a offer, ao ao to giva rtaa to a
valid and binding highway conatruotion oontraat. Aa we ln-
terprat your latter, no quaation is mad6 ~hara a6 ta the mr-
rlaianoy or tha aontraotor@a offer or bid, because it appaara
that all statutory and adminiatsativa nquiraments have bean
fully oompliad with.
tfarind in the &nita~ of the Highway Commioalon 0r
Idai0, 1940, p666d and antarad in conaaotion with tha de-
earlbed Highway projaet, and reproduced in your latter, a
patant ambiguity, in that an lrraconcllabla ConillOt lies in the
language amployad therein. The rirst paragraph or the award
atatae unequivooal~lp and by word6 of ?reaent and lmmadlate
operation, that the oontnot for aonsrtruation of the daaaribed
projeot “ia azardad to 2~~66Mitchell, Ioo.~ Far aontra, the
laet para@aph or the award stated ES r0ii0w6~
“‘It la recommended that contract be awarded
%ms xltohall, Ina., Bmaton, T6xe6, on their low
bid of g83,000.38, 6ubjaOt to the cormurrenc8 oi
the ?ubllo Toads .%&ainiatrati.on.r* @ndersooring
ours)
Thw, it Is readily seen that if tfla last para-
graph quoted abova controls the iirat paragraph or thia award,
Honorable Julian bzontgomary, Paga 6
no final but ohly a provisional or oonditionalaward has
boon mda ror thia highaay aonstruation oontraot to ~uaa
Yltahall, Inc., baaausa it is stated in your latter that
the aonaurranc~of the Public Roads Ad&,hiat.ration haa hot
at this writing been obtainad. III view of t.hia petant am-
biguity, wa are, under the authorltlaa, required to reaort
to axtranaow raota, oiraumetancaa, ragulationa, ato., to
datanaine the intent of tha Highway Commission in.the
prwl.ieeo *
To this and, wa point to pega 71 of vyadaral
Lagialation and Rules and Regulation8 Rglatlng to sighway
Conatruatlonw compiled by the Publio RoaCa AdzirAstration,
and qoota Section 8 of Regulation 8 relating to contracts:
90 contract ror any projaat or part
thareot shall ba entered into or award thcra-
for c;adaby any Stata rittwut prior ooncur-
ranaa in ouch-action by the Chief of the Bureau
ot Publfo Roads, .or hia aut~horizad regresanto-
tlva.*
In this oonnaction, there haa bean aubnitted.to
w copy or a letter to you rr0a 63. a. A. Rlliott, Diatriat
Xnginaer, for the Publio Roade A6miaiatration of the Federal
Iporhs Aganoy, of data t;aroh 29, 1940, Fittan in connection
with the Federal projaot involved hare, ahd ooilttnihing, in
part, the ro~ioa~g language:
‘Plans apaciriaatlona,
l and aatimts for
thie project have bean reviewed and raoomandad
ror approval. You an authorized to advertise
ror the raoaipt or bfda and to bagin pork after
t.ha award of a contract on any part of tha pro-
ject not 6p6CiriCallyaraaptad haraicaftar with
the understanding that this authorization is
@van subject to 8UChahahgaa being -da ic tha
plans and apacirleationa aa may be ihdiastad ba-
low or required by tha Chiaf Tginaar. It is
understood that no contract for any work on this
project will ba entered into or award tharaor
aada without grlor concurvance in such nation by
tha Xstrlct Ragineur of tha Tublio Aoads Adsinis-
tratibn. It is slso uhderstond that 30 :>syaont
on any work dam ~rioi to the sxacutlm of 5?0
project. agreazmt dil he mda until !x& unless
tha aqraemmt la linally exsautad.*
Honorable Julian Xontgomry, Page 6
The above quoted regulation of the Fublio Roads
ddsinistration of the Federal Sorks Agency and the letter
written pursuant thereto and in aonneotlon therewith were
existant and In the riles or the Highway Com~&sslon at the
time of and long before the exeautlon by the Sighway Com-
mission and'its appointed representatives, of the award
in question. These parties aontraatlng on bahelr or the
Stats, were fully cognizant01 these matters and &ust ha~e
entered the &nute in qneation in keeping with the rsgula-
tions and requirement8 or the Public Roads Administration,
nhiah appeared to be aonditions prsrequielte to aonaruronae
by that agenop In the aontomplated projeat.
It is thereiors our opinion, irora the attending
faata and airoumstanaes outlined above, that It was not the
intention of tha Highway Conmieslon, by the deaaribed
adnute, to enter an award or acceptance of the offor of
Russ E.itohell, Ina., so as to oaraplete a valid a&d binding
aotitzaat between the parties. In rlew of the existing doubt
and the aoniliating~and ambiguous language in the iaoe of
the minute in question. this intention will be aocorded a
aontrollingoozislderation in reaohlng our aonalusion that
valid and binding oontraatual obligations hats not been
thereby areated between ths State and the said Russ hiitahell,
DO.
Trusting we have rally answered your inquiry, we
are
ATTORfIslcGE#BRAL
GFTTBXAS