VOLUME I

THE LAW OF CONTRACT

BY

ALEXANDER HARING, C. E., LL. B., LL. M.

Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers; Professor of Bridge and
Railway Engineering, New York University; Member of the Ameri-
can Society of Engineering Contractors; Attorney
and Counselor at Law.

FIRST EDITION

FIRST THOUSAND

1910

THE MYRON C. CLARK PUBLISHING CO.

CHICAGO

PREFACE

This book is intended for the use of engineers and engineering students. The purpose is to present a condensed text of the law of contract to give the general theory of the subject as taught in schools of law, while yet avoiding the reading of endless cases. Following the various rules in the order given, it is hoped that the student will get an understanding of the subject sufficient to guide him in meeting the legal phases of whatever branch of engineering may engage him.

It is the author's belief that the case system of teaching law is not the best for the engineer. On the other hand, the text-book method taken alone does not enable the student to understand fully how the courts work out the rules of law in connection with the concrete facts. A combination of the two methods judiciously arranged by the instructor seems better adapted to provide the student with a knowledge of this important subject than is the present meager lecture system. To this end the rules of law in each chapter are followed by cases from practice, in many instances involving situations closely allied to engineering and intended to illustrate the application of the rules previously learned. Brief extracts from opinions in cases of a strictly engineering nature are given at the end of each section for the purpose of further illustration.

The law of contract as presented to the majority of engineering schools at the present time consists of half a dozen lectures delivered by an attorney, who, aside from these lectures, does no further lecturing or teaching. The result is what might be expected: the engineering student graduates with practically no knowledge of the subject. This text is intended for use as a recitation course, to be supplemented by an occasional lecture by the instructor, and to be given by an experienced professor of engineering.

The author is indebted to Dean Clarence D. Ashley of New York University Law School for matter on Conditions in Contract, and to Samuel Williston, Professor of Law, Harvard University, for the privilege of using a number of cases from his Case-book on Contracts. Acknowledgment is also made to John C. Wait, author of The Law of Contracts, for various excerpts from engineering decisions. A. H.

New York, January, 1910.

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