Burns v. Sousa
Burns v. Sousa
Concurring Opinion
I concur in the judgment, and in the opinion wherein it is held that the evidence justified a finding that defendant kept correct accounts in the legitimate part of the business. As to the receipts from the gambling devices, the parties are not entitled to any consideration at all by the court as to the state of their accounts in those illegal transactions.
Appellants’ petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied July 15,1948.
Opinion of the Court
On March 24, 1945, Marguerite Burns, Fritzi Ann Lalis and Olive V. Dunn, owned certain real property in the town of Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County, subject to a life estate in their father, John E. Doran. On that day they leased the premises for five years to John P. Sousa, to be used and occupied in carrying on a cafe, on-sale and off-sale liquor business which had theretofore been conducted by the owners of the property. Sousa evidently acquired the stock-in-trade of the agreed value of $10,218.91. As rental he was to pay John E. Doran $150 per month, and also to the three daughters, at the end of each month, 50 per cent of the profits of the said business and any other business conducted on the premises. The profits were to be computed by deducting from the money actually received during the month the monthly rental paid to Doran, the cost of keeping up the stock-in-trade, and the usual and ordinary expense of the business, the cost of liquor licenses, taxes and insurance, and the cost of repairs. The lease provided that the lessee would keep “perfect, just, and true books of account when each of the items of expenditure incurred in the operation of said businesses shall be set down as well as each and every item of income shall be set down, which said books shall be used in common between the parties to this lease so that either of them may have access thereto without any interruption or
For an undisclosed time preceding the lease to Sousa, the business had been operated by Mr. Doran and his three daughters. The sources of revenue were the cafe, the liquor business, and 50 per cent of the returns from music machines, slot machines and punchboards. The coin machines and punchboards were gambling devices.
The court received exhaustive evidence as to the methods followed by defendant in keeping books and records reflecting his business operations. All of the plaintiffs testified, defendant was examined at length, and accountants who had examined the books and records at the instance of both parties testified as to defendant’s bookkeeping system and as to the results of their audits of the same. Defendant had a cash register in the cocktail lounge and another in the cafe, both of which had been furnished by plaintiffs, and neither of which had a recording tape. Defendant kept a book in his place of business in which he recorded sales of various types of merchandise, such as hard liquor, wines, etc., sales of which were required to be segregated. He entered in this book all of his cash disbursements and receipts, except as hereinafter noted. He kept all of his invoices and bills payable. From time to time he deposited in bank all cash on hand. Periodically he took his records, including all invoices, to Lucille McGowan, a bookkeeper of San Luis Obispo. Mrs. McGowan kept a set of books from defendant’s daily cashbook, the invoices, and information received from Sousa as to his income from various sources. It was on the basis of these accounts that sales and income taxes were reported and paid. Beceipts from slot machines for 1945 were not put in the book until later, but were reported with the 1946 income. Partnership income returns were made by defendant and copies were furnished to each of the three plaintiffs. The testimony of the accountants was to the effect that these returns checked with the books kept
According to the testimony of the accountants, the computations of monthly profits would have reflected more accurately the true profits if consideration had been given to fluctuations in inventories or if there had been regular mark-ups of supplies purchased, but plaintiffs’ accountant, Mr. Boyce, testified that the contract called for accounting on a cash basis and that the books did truthfully portray the receipts and expenditures of the business, and further that in reconciling the figures shown on the books with the sales of merchandise,
We do not find that plaintiffs ever made objection, and we do not understand that they now seriously object, to the practice followed by defendant of not setting forth in his account books the sums received from slot machines and punehboards. It would not be difficult to understand that they were content to have their partner or coadventurer, assume the responsibility of handling these gambling devices and to receive their share of the proceeds with a minimum of recorded evidence showing their participation in the gambling profits. If they were not satisfied to trust defendant in the gambling department of the business they should not have taken him in as a business associate, or should have had one of their number on hand to assist in the division of the money when the machines were opened. No point is made respecting defendant’s testimony that for a time he derived revenue of 25 cents per player in poker games on the premises, but discontinued the practice when Mrs. Burns demanded a share of the money.
Mrs. Burns, assisted by one 0 ’Callahan, made an examination of Mrs. McGowan’s books. They discovered, so they testified, that there was some $1,500 unaccounted for. They reported this fact to defendant and he told them that the $1,500 was in the bank. It does not appear that the money was not in the bank or was not properly accounted for. Defendant made a practice, from month to month, of estimating the amount he should keep on hand for the purchase of supplies and other expenses. It does not appear that he made any secret of this practice, or that plaintiffs made any objection to it. Neither does it appear that they ever made any objection when the profits were distributed as to the method by which they had been computed. It was to their interests that the business have on hand sufficient money to replenish liquor stocks and to meet current operating expenses.
From our analysis of the testimony we are satisfied that it fully justified a finding that the accounts kept by defendant truly and correctly reflecied the amounts of his receipts and expenditures in the manner required by the contract, with the sole exception of the receipts from the gambling devices. The finding that plaintiffs had waived strict
The trial involved nothing but the decision of issues of fact as to whether defendant kept true and complete books of account which were open to the inspection of plaintiffs. The findings on these issues being fully supported by the evidence may not be disturbed. The court properly concluded that plaintiffs were entitled to no relief.
The judgment is affirmed.
Vallée, J. pro tern., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.