American Casualty Co. of Reading, Pennsylvania v. Idaho First National Bank

American Casualty Company, appellant here, brought this action in the district court against V. A. Roberts and his wife, to recover a sum in excess of one million dollars representing the company’s loss as surety upon the performance bond of the contractors, hereafter named, who had undertaken to construct, for the United States Air Force, a Capehart housing project at the Amarillo Air Force Base in Texas. Prior to the execution of that bond by the appellant American Casualty, Roberts and his wife had executed, at the request of the contractors, an indemnity agreement agreeing to indemnify American Casualty against any loss which the latter might incur by reason of having executed the bond. The payments contemplated under the con *139 tract were in excess of $7,750,000. 1 The contractors were V. 0. Stringfellow, K. H. Vitt and Burl A. Johnson who had formed a so-called joint venture under the name of Stringfellow Amarillo Associates, under which name they bid on the contract. Before the contract had been completed the contractors defaulted and American Casualty was required to provide the necessary funds for its completion, in consequence of which, it suffered the loss mentioned.…