Chapman

This is an action to quiet title to certain real property. The complaint is in the usual form. It is alleged therein that defendant Rudolph is the duly appointed and acting treasurer of the city of San Jose, and that the defendant Elliott and Horne Company is a corporation; that both defendants assert an interest in, or lien upon, the land described in the complaint, adverse to the claim and ownership of plaintiff, and that such claim is asserted wholly without right.

The city treasurer filed a general denial. Defendant Elliott and Horne Company also denied ownership in plaintiff, and, as an affirmative defense, set up an interest in the land arising under a sale for nonpayment of a bond issued for street improvements.

The work for which the bond was issued was "alleged to have been performed pursuant to the provisions of the city charter of San Jose, of the so-called Vrooman Act (Stats. 1885, p. 147, as amended), and of the Street Improvement Bond Act approved in 1893 (Stats. 1893, p. 33). The contract called for the grading of the street, the installation of a concrete base thereon, and an asphalt top. The issues in the case involve the validity of the award of the contract…