State Ex Rel. Piper v. Pratt

— At the general election held on November 7,1944, Whatcom county voted to issue $800,000 in bonds for the erection of a courthouse. The moneys derived from their sale were placed in the courthouse building fund. Approximately $80,000 was used for the purchase of a site for the courthouse, which left approximately $720,000 for construction purposes.

The county commissioners entered into a contract with the relators, which provided for the payment to them of six per cent of the cost of building the courthouse as architects’ fees. The contract recited:

“That whereas the owner intends to erect a…