Angel v. Murray

113 R.I. 482, 322 A.2d 630 (1974)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Maher (D) and Newport have been doing business since 1946 with respect to garbage collection. Another such contract was entered into by D and the city for five years starting on July 1, 1964, and terminating on June 30, 1969. The contract provided that D would get $137,000 per year. An unanticipated growth of 20% occurred in the number of homes from which D had to collect. In June 1967 D requested an additional fee of $10,000 per year for the remainder of the contract because of this unexpected increase. There had been an increase of more than 400 new dwelling units, and the contract had been predicated on an increase of only 20-25 per year. After a public meeting, the City Council accepted D's modification of the contract. The Council gave D an additional $10,000 for the following year based on similar facts. Angel, a taxpayer, and others (P) brought a civil action against D and Murray (D2), the City Treasurer, to compel D to repay the $20,000. The trial court held for P; there was no new consideration to support the modification, and the new units were in the contemplation of the parties when they entered into the contract. This was based on the rule that D had a preexisting duty to collect the refuse generated by the new homes and thus there was no consideration for the additional payments. D appealed.