Case Name: THE SOUTH BOSTON IRON COMPANY v. THE UNITED STATES
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1886-04-19
Citations: 21 Ct. Cl. 503
Docket Number: 
Parties: THE SOUTH BOSTON IRON COMPANY v. THE UNITED STATES.
Judges: 
Reporter: United States Court of Claims Reports
Volume: 21
Pages: 503–504

Head Matter:
THE SOUTH BOSTON IRON COMPANY v. THE UNITED STATES.
(18 C. Cls. R., 165; 118 U. S. R., 37.)
On the claimant's Appeal.
By letters between the claimant corporation and the Secretary of the Navy, separately signed, the former offered to build such new boilers “as may be required” for certain naval vessels, and to receive some old material in part payment, and the latter accepted the offer with a slight modification, to which there was no reply from the claimant.
Nine days after the acceptance a new Secretary, who had just been appointed, discontinued the order, and no work was done under it, and none was requested of the claimant.
The claimant sues for damages for non-performance on the part of the defendants.
The court below decides—
Negotiations, correspondence, proposals, and acceptances, although conducted in writing, but signed only in part by one party and in part by the other, are not sufficient compliance with Revised Statutes, section 3744, to constitute a valid contract by the Secretaries of War, Navy, and Interior, which requires such contract to be “ reduced to writing and signed by the contracting parties with their names at the end thereof.”
The decision of the court below is affirmed on the same grounds.

Opinion:
The Chief Justice
delivered the opinion of the Supreme Court, April 19,1886.