The Transit Case That Made the County Pay
A Stevens County surveyor ordered the tool he needed; commissioners refused the bill. The state Supreme Court said the county was liable.
The case of W. M. Manning vs. the Board of County Commissioners of Stevens County was decided in the Supreme Court this week in favor of Mr. Manning.
The point in dispute in the case was whether or not a county officer had the right to order necessary supplies, and whether the county is liable in such cases. Mr. Manning ordered a surveyor's transit, and the commissioners refused to pay it, claiming that the surveyor and not the county should furnish the instrument. Mr. Manning brought suit against the county and won in the Superior Court. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court and has been affirmed.
“The point in dispute in the case was whether or not a county officer had the right to order necessary supplies, and whether the county is liable in such cases.”
The case turned on a small piece of equipment but a large question: when public employees buy what the job requires, who pays? Modern city halls and counties still litigate purchasing authority and liability in much the same way.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.