George G. Taylor v. James L. Pierce

Summary

Taylor contracted with Pierce to repair a boiler for 'usable condition' based on a P954 estimate plus additional work. Pierce refused payment when the repaired boiler failed city engineer inspection for 90-pound pressure requirements. The Court of First Instance and Supreme Court both ruled for Taylor, finding he performed the contracted work as agreed. The Supreme Court applied Civil Code Article 1598, holding that third-party approval was not a contract condition since it was not expressly agreed upon, unlike competing bids that included such requirements. The case establishes that contract performance standards must be explicitly stated and cannot be implied, and that 'usable condition' differs from 'first-class condition' requiring express stipulation for enforcement.