Brunson & Co. v. McLendon & Co.
Brunson & Co. v. McLendon & Co.
Opinion of the Court
J. C. McLendon & Co. sold their stock of goods to William Brunson & Co. on time, for $3,000 with interest, and dissolved, J. C. McLendon retiring from the firm under an agreement that Curtis & Wright, the other partners, should assume all liabilities of J. C. McLendon & Co., and that all debts owing to the partnership should be paid to Curtis & Wright. This action is prosecuted by J. C. McLendon & Co. against Brunson & Co. for a balance of the purchase price of the goods. Under a plea of payment, the following facts were (developed: Curtis & Wright before suit brought made a final settlement with Brunson & Co., which was intended and agreed between the parties to it to cover and be in satisfaction of the claim of McLendon &
On this state of case, the court, among other things, charged the jury that “if Curtis & Wright received said due bill on Curtis, Wright & Payne in settl^nent of said amounts due from the defendants, then the plaintiffs would not be estopped from recovering in this action by reason of such settlement with such due billand refused to instruct them at the request of defendants that “if the jury believe from the evidence that at the time the defendants used the due bill on Curtis, Wright & Payne, that the defendants were indebted to Curtis & Wright in the sum of about two hundred dollars, and the settlement was made both as to the indebtedness to J. C. McLendon & Co. and to Curtis & Wright, at the same time, and the balance was paid to Curtis <& Wright in money, then the law would presume that the due bill was applied to the debt due Curtis & Wright so far as to the amount of their debt.” Exceptions were reserved to the action of the court in each of these particulars, and upon them arises the only question presented by this appeal.
That Curtis & Wright, though there had been a dissolution of the firm of McLendon & Co., had no authority to receive in payment of a debt due that partnership the satisfaction of a debt which they owed the partnership debtor is too well settled to require discussion.—Cannon v. Lindsey, 85 Ala. 198, and authorities there cited; Manning v. Maroney, 87 Ala. 563. Nor do we conceive that the particular stipulations of the agreement of dissolution, or the fact that the due bill received by Curtis & Wright, bears also the' name of Payne, could prevent the application of this principle in the premises. Curtis & Wright were not authorized by the stipulations referred to to devote the assets of the
Reversed and remanded.
Reference
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