St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance v. James I. Barnes Construction Co.

This is the second appeal in this case. The original complaint was filed by St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company (St. Paul) on November 27, 1959 alleging that James I. Barnes Construction Co. (Barnes), after notice, had improperly paid money to Stewart & Nuss, Inc. (Stewart) that was due it under an assignment from Stewart. The trial court decided in favor of St. Paul in the amount of $37,964.10 and the Court of Appeal affirmed the decision. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for retrial of the action. (St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. James I. Barnes Constr. Co., 59 Cal.2d 691, 697 [ 31 Cal.Rptr. 52 , 381 P.2d 932 ].)

The second trial without a jury resulted in a judgment in favor of St. Paul on January 30, 1967, in the amount of $1,540.64.

A detailed statement of facts is contained in the opinion of the court in St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. James I. Barnes Constr. Co., supra, 59 Cal.2d 691 , and for the purpose of this opinion is summarized.

Barnes was the general contractor for the construction of *933 the Fresno County Hospital. Stewart was the subcontractor for the paving and grading work. Barnes required that Stewart obtain a performance bond, the premium…