OFFXc& OF !IXE&TTORHfXOEpDpRAL OFTEXAB BUSTS% Cterald C. Mann Attorney

General

Honorable

C. D. Siolplonrr,

Co~~ptrollor sttigty 2bartt 1 op5.nion No. 

### 04938 

# Dser Slrl~ Ritt

oontttruotion of ma- ~n~e;tFuel compaw :

. We have your lettsr.of February



### 19, 19433

reqwstlngour oplniorkoonstruiagoertaiapr,rovislcms of a oontraat

bfotween

Tha Mollleater

Fuel Company

and The Stateof Texas covering the flsael

year 1942-43,

from whleh letterwe quoter



# Y ~%he MoAlester Fuel Capany, dth enoral 02ftoeaet EWlerCter, Oklahcmat

and wi %l other offlaerr

at 3002 sunlus street Dellat, Texas and also at R0okiW.e Teas &as the oonWa& for iurniehLng

lign& to l&e Unlverslty of Tsaaars for the fittaal

year 

### 194243. In pore

t&arm la .not

a pro er dttrunderof;sndingo

P one aoctordlq

to theoontraot. Tha q3mpttny has replIedthat the ahergeIs e one In aooordenoe

with thc~

a4tntraote we have your offloial ad-rho on the

n * + +,wHonorable C. D. Slmnons,

Page 2

Pertinfant

provisions are the followinga of the aontraotln question

"The Party oft

the FirstPart hereby oontraota, binds and obligates %tselfto furnish

to %%iversity of Tems 6f the State of Texas

~omftE~ioTtyooitheBeaartdPartt;hroughallt: the perladoovered

by this eontreot,



### w*+** * + * * All lignite to be of go@ gram

ta ot.not lass thfl 10

onHonorable C. D. Sialptoas,

Page 

### 3

"The said Uhlverslty of Texas end the Stats of Texan agree to pay to The laiilester Fuel Companythe sum OS One Dollarand Seventy-three Cants 

### ($1.73)

per ton F.O.B.Austin, Texas f'or each and every ton of llgnlte delivered

uuder this oontreat. The above prlaaof Oua Dollar end Seventy-three

Cants 

### ($1.73)

per ton for all Ligtitk

deliver&d

under~this

oontradt

shall

"It la understood

end agreed that in the *Vent the unitedStatesof Awrlaa or the State of Teht imposes

a .saverenoo

hx or other direat tax on Lignite

during the liie of this ~o&tra&, aad the Sellerhas to tax will be added to tEe ay the tax, that SW& nlte. Sellers priae on L+

n * * **
"It is further

oontraoted

and agreed that* breaahof the termsof this oontraut,

"1chis aoutraot

has bean gntaredinto by authority

oi? e~rasolutiou

durJI~entered

iut@ by the Board of Controlof the State of Terns,Honorable C, D. SImmoas,

Page 4

after cellingfor bids and advertisementstheraEXHIBIT At Conditions of ProwsaL a@ sDeaifL'ioationa

for llanL*

. %XHIBIT Bt Id of MoAlester Fuel CO~IJ~Q.~ phesisours) Tha pertinent

part of the bid referred to In the abovequoted -p?or;tions of the oontraat

reads.

The general pule enuexed to or referred tie as e part 0~sthe aontraot 716, 8eoI 29% that writings whlah am either. in a aontre& will be am&rued is well stated In 17 C.J.6.

A **cursory** examination of the oontraut,

~from whluh wo have quotbdoo ioualy, diaoloaes the feat that almwt everyprovlaion

tie rein oontelnad

is referable

to end dependent

upon the terms end aondItions of the *%paaifiaations, proposals

endbid*nhiohare "medee pert" thereofby reSinmoe end are enwxed theretaes Erhlbll% With&at suah axh%bIts

it la crlear

that the eontreat

is lnaomplete. Werower, the aontreqt oontaipa its own 8peaiilo rule of construction

req&r%ng that the exhibits shellbe eonatruad es pert thereoft "the terms of this * * * oontreot shellbe aonstruad

to inoltade

spealfiuetlons,

bids and propose18

oonneoted

thercrvith

end heretoettachedW.Honorable C. b, Simuons~

Page 5

It is fundauental

that 3.n

aonstruing

contraots effeot ail1 be If possible. Ifiven to all provIsions thereincontained, is likewisefundamental that the expressed inteot of the c6ntraating

parties

mst be given effeot.
We think that under the rule of uonstruation laid down In the aontract i&elf, the provlslons aontained

in the specifications bid and proposals

mst be given the sam *eight, and that &ey are of equal roraeand effeatof any otherprovisions

oontalned

In the aontraat. Unless thke 3.8 someambiguity

or eonfliat

betweenthe variousprovisions of the aantract,

no construatlon

is needed. **We** find no such aonfliat

and no suah ambiguity es to justiry

a **aon** struction

of the aontract. It is clear and expllait with referenae

to the matterstherein oontalned. 1tspeolf@aUy provides

that In the event of au lnarease or dearease

In freight rates or of Federal taxes thereon, that the prioe provided

for in the eoattiaot shallbe increased

or deareased acoordinglp.

Vtilel therefore advfaeyou that if-the frei f ratehas increased

or 1f the Federal

taxes thereon e Y8 increased

the sellerls entitledto add Such Auarease t0 the priae of the Y te treat ,Ss

.obllgated~ end the pur&aser uuder this aonveraely,~

if pay such additional an&m!&, W suoh.rekes

**or** taxea **should** be dimepjed then the purahaaer

would be entitledto have the advantage of suchdecmase in the price **peld?**

Our ittention

Ma been aalled to the cases of Johnson V* GrandFraternity+ 255 Fed. 929 and Delanray ve Fefnt%rs

Siiate~ ?3enlc, 115 8.8. (26~

a neither

of suuhoeaes la In pain 736, We think that here, The Jc&xrison 0888 is authority

for the general

propesitlon

that the statement%hat the exhibit14 #madea art" of a tm&raati; ir not aontrolling,

a@ that~

where, &It pZ’OViS$~lN of the ,&antreatand those of the arhlbitare in ednflictt the prbc visionsof the aontraot will oo&reL Th* Ddla~y O~SI) did not involve

an exhibitat all but a eneml referenae ta oontraots

betwen other parties, and fh e ooart h&dHonorable C, IL Binanon5,

Page 6

that suuh general

zyferenoe

oouldnot have the effectof substltutlng

the provlslo~ of the oontraot referred

to Yor the speaifieally expressed

provisions

of the oontract." We have neitherof suah f#ltuationn presented

here.
On the aontraryt the contraat beforeus speolflaally ii rovldes

that it shallbe oonstrued to "iAaiUde

speoiflcatlona, Ids, and proposals

eonuected

therewlthn.We can no more disregard

this provision

of the ooatraat

than we 06~1

disregard any OtherprOVhiOA theIWin oontained,
It has alla0

been suggested

that the portion

of the bid providing

for the add%tionto t&e selling prioe of .an lnarease,of

freight rates or Pederaltaxes is %n ao~- fllct with that portionof the oontraot whloh provides

that lf Stateor Federal%everanae taxesor other directtaxes" are levied

upon llgnite",~

and seller

has to pay such taxes the mount so paid shallbe added to the selling price because It .ls

said that only ~~~evcmnce or other dlreat&es on lignite*

were %A the m$nds of' the aontraating

patiies and that such **revision** superuedeb the said provision

In thebld. To &a we cannot agree for the reasonthat it is oboioua~that

a Federal.

tax upon fzelght

ratesmentioned

ln the bid is neither

a %mveranqe tax" ,nor Is It any "other dhwt tax upon llgA%W. aAddietiAt?t* The two are altogether differen Furthermore

having lnoluded

the provW.en for the addltlon

of such transportation taxes in the bid whiahjunder the speclflo lrnguage

of the aontraot,

must be construed

ae a part of It, It ,was nelther~neoessary nor desirable

to reiterate

sucrh~provislon

in the addltlonal writ+& Aguln it Is 

### sugge8tea that the Z?OV.tSfOA

~Shat "all traces OOACL p" rtatlon’aharges

must be prepaid4y the geller.,lr In at ulth -the

provlsian

that lnoreased

Federaltransportation

taxas'shall

be added to the price, The bid was ~made.FcO.Bi

rtustin,

Texa& It dleems

fairlyobvloua

that all partlea

to the oontraat,

at all times,

axpeated

mtlLer to pey euah izansportotl6n tiger. Thla,however doe8 not, ia the leastBkilitate agnhUt 0Ur co~~hIsioA iha% ther? in no%kfllat In auuh provisions. It ls'equally asxonorable C, 9, %BEWSU% Pm 7

obvious

that if the pax-tier,



### had UoAtemplated

paymeAt

of transportation

ehargea by the buyer therewould have been **ho** reasonand **ho jU8tificratioA**  **for** addingan increase in such charges to the selling prioe, nor would therehave been any reason for the provision deareaslng

the selling prlaein the event of a dearease in euah **aharges.**

n?usting

that the above fully answers your in=- quiry, we are Very trulyyours : ATTORWHY

OEWSRALOF TEXAS
By /is/ ForlerRoberts

i?ow~~ler~tts