Court Opinion

ID: 9825623
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 13:48:36.295436+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:41:13.503933
License: Public Domain

McCulloch, C. J. I concur in the judgment of reversal for the reason that the city is entitled to recover, all that it is allowed under the opinion of the majority, and more. I discover no sound theory upon which the damages should be limited to such as accrued up to the organization of the new improvement district. The damages, and the right of action to recover same, accrued upon the breach of the contract, and there would seem to be no good reason why appellee should benefit by the change in the control of the public utility in the city or that the city should be held to have forfeited its right to recover the. damages because it relinquished control to another- public agency. The city was the public agency in the control of the utility, and the change of control was merely from one agency to another — both being for the public. All damages recovered by the city inure to the benefit of the public, hence it is wholly immaterial that there has been a change to the agency which is in the future to control the utility. The damages suffered by the public from the breach of the contract were not mitigated in any degree by the change in the control of utility, for, as before stated, the public was the sufferer from the breach of the contract, regardless of the particular agency which represented the public in the control of the utility. There was neither in fact nor in law a mitigation of damages, and I think that the city should be permitted to recover for all the damages which accrued from the breach.