Abner M. Harper, Inc. v. the City of Newburgh

Appeal from a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the second judicial department, entered February 1, 1915, affirming a judgment in favor of plaintiff entered upon a decision of the court on trial at Special Term in an action to have canceled, rescinded and annulled plaintiff’s competitive bid upon a public street improvement in the city of Newburgh and to recover a certified check deposited as liquidated damages to insure execution of the contract. The question of law presented for determination was whether a court of equity had power to and should reheve a contractor from the effect of a conceded clerical error in arranging the figures in a bid submitted for the performance of work upon a public improvement, by rescinding the erroneous bid and preventing a forfeiture of the check submitted with the erroneous bid as a guaranty of performance.